OZH MENTAL HEALTH “Our area has a huge population dealing with trauma, abuse, ne-


glect and it’s really, really high here compared to other parts of the U.S.,” she said. The Behavioral Health Center, of which Wallace has been man-


ager for three of her six years in West Plains, has worked to keep up with the level of need in the community with new programs and outreach to reach as many people as possible. “I oversee four departments at our regional crisis office where we


answer calls for seven counties,” she said. “We’ve got the Emergency Room Enhancement Program that diverts patients who are high need, helping them avoid constant ER admissions. We’ve got Community Behavior Health Liaisons who work with law enforce- ment to teach them about how to recognize individuals who might need treatment instead of incarceration. And then we’ve got out- patient therapists at the different clinics — Mountain Grove, West Plains, Thayer, Gainesville — as well as all our school-based sites.” Each step the center makes — such as adding a residential pro-


Myriah Wallace, Behavioral Health Center manager


Behavioral Health a Beacon in a Sea of Need


BY DWAIN HEBDA | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON MASTERS I


n conversation, Myriah Wallace comes off as a perenni- ally cheerful person whose voice chirps with optimism. But underneath the sunny, caring disposition, one can also detect the steely tones of a woman with a cause she is deter-


mined to conquer. Wallace, along with her team of professionals at the Ozarks


Healthcare Behavioral Health Center, is out to serve the many peo- ple suffering with behavioral health issues, showing them the kind of compassionate care that improves their quality of life. “Over the past five years, the stig-


ma for mental health issues has re- ally decreased,” she said. “People are not worried about being seen for treatment of their mental health.” Wallace said the cumulative ef-


gram, integrated treatments for co-occurring disorders, ER en- hancements and several new school-based sites — only loosens an- other brick in the dam of pent-up demand. Meaning, Wallace and staff constantly have their hands full. Not the least of the center’s concerns is the mental health of


Ozarks Healthcare employees, especially given the stress of life during a pandemic. Wallace and her team always find time to care for caregivers, helping them order their feelings. Even in a life and death business, perspective can be brought to bear with practice and help. “Things get out of our control sometimes; it’s inevitable. I think a


lot of people jump to conclusions. It’s just human nature to prepare for the worst. As we like to tell people, ‘Don’t make the situation a catastrophe.’ We’re not fortunetellers. We can’t predict the future. Things rarely turn out as badly as we think they will. Our goal is to help providers learn to cope and deal with things so that they can, in turn, provide care for patients.” As for general advice on coping with stress, Wallace says there


Any change in life, regardless if it is bad stress, good stress ... still uses


the same type of hormones and still has that same effect on your body.


fect of recent national issues has been a major accelerant of this trend. From the presidential election to the COVID-19 pandemic to the recent turmoil in Europe, anxiety over global events has only stirred the pot on mental health issues locally.


40 | OZARKS HEALTHCARE | SUMMER 2022


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are some simple mental exercises that can help in most situations. “Any change in life, regardless if it is bad stress, good stress, positive, negative, whatever, still uses the same type of hormones and still has that same effect on your body,” she said. “Planning a wedding, a good thing, or losing a job, a bad thing, is exhausting either way. It produces the same hormones, and you’re focused on the event for a long period of time. “We advise people to address problems, no matter how big or how small. Sometimes it’s as simple as asking yourself, ‘Will this matter in one year, or will this matter in five years?’ There are also all kinds of hotlines that anybody can use to talk to an anonymous professional. Here at our clinic, we have an on-


call therapist that’s available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sometimes we do respond to somebody in a suicidal crisis. We’re also there for somebody who just needs to chat.”


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