Hannah Sims, LISW, LIMHP, CMSW, Mental Health Practitioner, Iowa Western Community College

1. Please describe your role on campus.

I am a mental health practitioner. My main role is to meet with students and provide short-term, solution-focused therapy. Additionally, I provide case management, assistance with our food pantry, and crisis intervention services. Alongside my director, I facilitate campus trainings for faculty and staff and provide psychoeducational groups for student cohorts. 

2. How do you lead and interface with mental health and well-being on your campus?

I spend my day-to-day providing therapy to the students, collaborating with folks on campus, and providing consultation. My director and I are both enthusiastic about increasing awareness of suicide prevention and integrating techniques from QPR and SAMHSA’s de-escalation tips into our trainings for staff, faculty, and students. One goal is to collaborate more with athletics, as we have been able to do group work with one team already. 

3. Would you share a story where you were concerned about something or someone, and the steps you took that either helped and/or left you considering how you would do it differently?

A situation I have been encountering more is navigating health insurance nuances. I aided a student in applying for Iowa Medicaid so they could set-up a primary care provider, OBGYN, and dentistry. We discovered that ONE dental office in Council Bluffs accepts Medicaid. Despite the Iowa Total Care website listing 5-6 offices being in network, the information is not correct or up to date. We would never have known if we had not called the offices ourselves. When folks talk about the lack of therapists and long waiting lists, what they are actually referring to is mental health providers who accept Medicaid and/or rare sliding fees. Increasingly, providers are not accepting Medicaid due to low reimbursements, random and numerous audits, and other barriers. With the lack of available mental health providers, especially in rural Iowa, making referrals to proper community providers is taxing. To combat this issue, I created a shareable and fillable document with mental health providers in SW Iowa and NE Nebraska. I update it often to ensure accuracy and I make sure to personally contact providers about insurance and availability before providing the information to students.

4. Is there something which you would like to normalize for others, where they may think they cannot share it?

Do not be afraid to ask questions on behalf of students or alongside them. So many are quick to pass students along and walk them to someone else’s office. This makes students feel frustrated and dismissed. If a student is willing to go to you and trust you enough to seek support, follow up, even if you cannot help them with their specific needs. I challenge you to be more patient, probe a little bit, and be transparent about what you know and do not know, and what you can and cannot do. Investigate, if you are not sure what department or staff member can aid.

3 Self-Care Strategies Hannah Swears By

1. Participate in activities and events at your institution. I block out time for campus events such as lunch and learns, employee appreciation gatherings, sporting events, continuing education trainings, wellness events, etc. Join campus committees or groups. Becoming more involved diversifies your daily schedule and allows you to interact with campus colleagues. This makes for a more enjoyable work environment. 
2. Everybody needs that something to make everything a bit more “fun.” Whether it is an interest or niche hobby you “geek out” with, whatever it is, you need it. It is important we have fun and integrate “play.” Get “quirky” and “weird” and indulge in safe fun. I love playing with and alongside my son. I find toddler toys to be fascinating. Joy, awe, amusement, and humor are all emotions our bodies and minds love to feel. 
3. Learn something new every day and stay informed. Go to the library and check out books, read local feature stories, stay up to date with various newsletters, publications, reports, engage in microlearning, etc. There are so many options at our fingertips to be more knowledgeable.