Jen Osterhaus, Gresham, OR

Because mental health is just as important as physical health.

Keelie Duncan

Our mental health should be nurtured and cared for in the same respect as our physical health.

Summer Fox

You can’t truly be healthy and happy when you are fighting your demons on a daily basis.

Addison Perez-Johnstone

Your brain registers emotional pain the same as physical pain. You go to a doctor or a school nurse when your leg hurts, so why not go to therapy when your soul hurts.

Eric Matthews

Mental and Physical Health are intertwined.

Dan Trudo

To help us cope with how broken the rest of the American health care system is.

Galen Schmitt

Therapy can help with deescalation, saving resources and time in the long run.

Sydney Darnell

Because no matter who you are, where you come from, or how fortunate you may be, we ALL have to deal with mental health. No one should disregard their feelings, even if they may seem smaller than everyone else’s.

Jaylin Voss

Our brain is an organ that, for many, isn't always chemically balanced. Having the resources to help your mental health is just as important as getting a cast for a broken bone. Not all wounds are visible. 

Ericka Farlow

Our mind and body are connected, therefore whole health cannot exist when attention is given to only one system. Therapy should be part of the American health care system because mental-wellness is directly correlated to and often responsible for our physical-wellness.

Travis Mowery

As a physician, within the first 6 months of my private practice I realized the majority (80-85%) of my patients chronic health issues were directly connected to the negative habits/addictions that were formed as coping mechanisms to deal with traumas and abuse in life. Trauma just isn’t abuse. Not being picked for the kickball team or feeling your siblings are favored more than you can be traumatic. I had to learn trauma therapy techniques to help my patients digest those traumas, and when we did, many chronic “incurable” diagnoses completely resolved. Ultimately I have learned that mental health is foundational for physical health, and if there is one thing especially young people need to understand… their self worth needs to be independent of what others think of them. Codependency is is far too prevalent in our culture and has been worsening over the last generation. (Feel free to take whatever you want from my comment).

Beth Learn

DDHS graduate class of ‘97 here and former news editor of The Highlander! I’m loving this question because I truly know the impact of physical therapy on maternal physical and mental health. After high school, I went on to OSU to get my degree in exercise and sport science. I now work with postpartum women as a core fitness specialist. In my field we advocate for moms to get therapy for their minds and bodies as soon as possible after they have a baby because it dramatically speeds their physical recovery and helps address any birth injury or trauma. Leaving mental and physical issues unaddressed has been shown to dramatically worsen quality of life for women later in their lives. Women who are prescribed therapy have better sleep, better pelvic health, stronger cores, and less severe symptoms of menopause. Having therapy be a standard of postpartum care would lessen the financial load on families and the medical system at large down the road.

-Beth Learn, founder of Fit2B.com #goscots

Daylin Buckle

Unresolved trauma can be contributing factors to mental illness and the risks associated with it, so without a doubt yes.