An Overview of Mental Health in Montebello, California
Montebello is located in the Los Angeles area, making it ideally situated near nightlife, shopping, and fine dining. Established in 1771, the city has a colorful history, first as a home for the missionaries who founded it, then as an farming community, then as a host for major oil production as the industry moved in. Today, it boasts a bustling metropolitan hub, filled with hardworking residents. But these residents are struggling with mental illness and limited resources.
Mental Health Struggles for Montebello Residents
Montebello has only 272 mental health professionals to service every 100,000 people in the area. This is not nearly enough to cover the growing mental health needs of this metropolitan area. The most common mental illnesses in the area are the same as those across the country: anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. These conditions take a toll on people’s everyday lives, and they’re only becoming more common.
There are many contributing factors that can lead to mental health complications. Financial strain, job or housing insecurity, relationship strife, and a history of addiction can all contribute to mental illness.
Financial Struggles
Many of these problems face residents of the Montebello area, largely due to a low median income of only $47,518, and high property values, at an average of $413,900 per home. This median income is nearly $8,000 below the national average, and around $15,000 below the averages for both the surrounding metro area, and California as a whole. Income inequality and wage distribution also compare poorly with national averages.
Despite this, property values are more than double the national median, though they seem to be about par for the area. This makes it incredibly difficult for the average family to afford a home, and can lead to anxiety and depression commonly associated with housing insecurity.
Financial strain also makes it more difficult to seek therapy to prevent mental health complications. Families struggling financially may find it hard to come up with the funds to pay a mental health professional. Even if services are covered by insurance, transportation, work scheduling, and childcare expenses may prevent people from getting the help they need.
Addiction
Substance abuse and mental illness are known to be closely related. According to a study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 9.6 percent of California residents suffer from a substance use disorder, 16.8 percent admitted to using illicit drugs in the past year, and 21.5 percent confessed to binge drinking within the past month.
There is a close correlation between drug and alcohol abuse and mental health disorders. Many substance abusers use drugs to self-medicate existing mental illness, while in other cases, long-term addiction leads to mental illness as a result of the drug’s effect on the brain. People struggling with other factors, such as financial strain or divorce, are more likely to turn to drinking or recreational drug use as a way to numb the pain, though this often leads to even more problems in the end.
For this reason, therapy can be a great place to start for addiction treatment, as it helps to address these underlying causes that led to the substance abuse in the first place.
Divorce
One of the most common causes of divorce is financial strife, and with a 14.5 percent poverty rate, median income below the national average, and median property values nearly ten times that, the financial strain for Montebello residents can be quite high. It’s no surprise, then, that over seven percent of residents over age 15 are divorced. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Counseling can be a great resource for couples going through or considering divorce. An experienced couples’ therapist can help work out unresolved emotions or arguments with the couple, and foster communication to help them resolve problems in the future before they get to the breaking point again. Though counseling may not prevent every divorce, it can also be extremely helpful in making a smoother transition through the process. Therapy can help both parties to work through their emotions as they go through the difficult process of deciding to save or let go of their marriage. Once the divorce is final, counseling can also help them develop healthier practices for their future relationships.
E-Counseling offers a therapist directory to help you find the right therapist for you. Your mental health is important, so we want to ensure you have the right tools to take care of your needs.
