Human beings are social creatures and need meaningful interactions to thrive and succeed. For those who are participating in residential treatment facility care, a community-based model of care is an excellent way to provide support and promote mental health healing and management. When someone feels accepted and truly seen without judgment being passed on to them, it’s a lot easier to gain self-confidence and find peace.

Why Community-Based Care is Effective

A good overview of residential treatment should include a community-based care component. There is a level of support in this model that is hard to beat. Being in a structured community environment allows every patient’s needs to be met by their peers, mentors, and therapists. It’s truly a group effort that gets positive results. Attending to the human need for meaningful social interactions improves social skills and aids in boosting self-esteem. 

When residential treatment facilities leverage the structured community, residents feel as though they have a community role and that they’re needed. This atmosphere gives residents a chance to gain life skills and to practice and hone their social skills while preparing to transition out of the care facility and into their homes and the community at large. 

Eliminating the Stigma

It is no secret that modern society tends to ignore mental health issues and those who suffer from them. Somehow, suffering in silence and isolation is better for society’s modern and civilized image. But it does absolutely nothing to support, humanize, and treat mentally ill individuals or educate other members of society about mental health. This disconnect with mental health allows a lot of people to go unnoticed and unsupported. But community-based care works to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness and mental health support. 

This model of care mobilizes community engagement through community service opportunities and projects and other engaging activities between the residential treatment facility and the community it’s located in. Collaborative opportunities help community members to better understand mental health patients are just normal people going through something, just like anyone else. 

Finding Community-Based Mental Health Care

There are residential treatment centers all over the country. Some of them provide specialized care for a particular demographic like elders, veterans, women, or teenage boys. There are even facilities that focus on specific mental illnesses like bipolar disorder or depression.  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services can help locate healthcare or support for anyone who needs it. Whether you’re seeking crisis care or just looking to maintain your current mental health care regimen, getting adequate support is going to make a big difference in your quality of life and overall health outcomes. 

Isolating factors are often experienced by those who battle with their mental health. And that is why it is so important to take a more community-centered approach to caring for these individuals. Bridging the gap between the community and the individual does a lot to alleviate isolation factors and educate the community. This is a more holistic approach to mental health care that is changing outcomes for everyone involved.