Seeing Faces of Mountains and Minds

Promoting Mindfulness in Montana

By A. C. Johnson

From the back porch of the Hope House, one has the opportunity to watch the sunrise every

morning. Some days it comes like the slow painting of a tangerine sun, gracefully planting

pinkish wildflowers across the clouds as snowy hills cling to calmer colors. On other days it’s

gray and cold, hiding any and all warmth. I have lived in Bozeman for four years, and in this past

year, I’ve served as a crisis stabilization worker at the Hope House: Western Montana Mental

Health Center’s Bozeman facility. The number of times I've looked out at colorful mountain

faces, only to look back to the tired, cold eyes of another human being—trying to comprehend

why they can’t find the right help—is enough to question the beauty of a sunrise.

The function of the Hope House is to provide a place where those considering suicide can

find mental stabilization during a time of crisis. This includes supplying immediate needs, such

as shelter, food, clothes, a person to talk to, medication services, and assistance in finding

community resources. What it doesn’t do is serve as a long-term treatment facility. The average

stay is four days, and the services provided are designed to be stepping-stones before continuing

to other long-term solutions. One of the valuable resources we provide is “mindfulness training,”

where a crisis stabilization worker—like myself—sits down with clients and instructs various

ways to practice meditation, journaling, future planning, environmental awareness, and

mood-stabilization skills. Mindfulness is one of the most important practices during a time of

crisis; often, it’s the exaggeration or overlooking of relevant details that prompts someone to

believe their situation is less manageable than it is. This serves as a great short-term remedy, but
with Montana's current lack of mental health resources, many are still unable to find complete

recovery.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness in 2021, Montanans were 7 times more

likely to be forced out-of-network for mental health care, compared to primary health care:

requiring many to drive across states to get the help their loved ones—or they,

themselves—needed. Forty-seven thousand adults in Montana didn’t receive much-needed

mental health care, and 48.6% of that population reported cost as the reason. More than half of

Montana's population—573,811 people—live in communities that lack mental health

professionals. One in 20 people in the U.S. experience a severe mental illness, with 44,000 of

those people being Montanans. Montana Moves and Montana Meals reported that additional

factors are also contributing to mental health struggles in Montana: the social isolation promoted

by its geography, a culture of commonplace alcohol use, and the high value placed on ideas of

self-sufficiency and independence. This last dynamic forms cultural expectations of being able to

take care of yourself, and not requiring assistance for any issues surrounding personal

well-being.

Montana's current lack of mental health care resources doesn’t allow for a diversity of

treatment options, which inevitably causes people—those who desperately need assistance but

don't benefit from the specific care available—to be readmitted into static, ineffective programs.

The clients I work with frequently struggle to find services for individuals under 18, addiction

counseling, and homelessness. Without these resources, they continuously relapse into harmful

behaviors, and are often imprisoned because of the danger they pose to themselves or society.

According to NAMI, about 2 in 5 adults in jail or prison have a history of mental illness, and

about 7 in 10 youths in the juvenile justice system suffer a mental health condition. Thus,
providing more mental health services offers a path closer to lowering the number of people

engaged in dangerous or illegal behaviors, as well as towards fighting stigmas about those with

mental health issues being the “rejects” of society.

Montana has won some small victories: Bozeman’s new psychiatric inpatient unit at the

Deaconess Hospital has been approved for arrival in 2023, and mental health awareness is

becoming mainstream. Due to recent COVID-19 restrictions, adjustments like virtual meetings

have even enabled clinicians to reach more people.

Douglas Fontenot, the clinical site manager at the Hope House campus, suggested that the

struggles Montanans are experiencing seem to stem more from the “shortage of mental health

professionals in Montana, [and] that is only going to get worse as inflation and the cost of living

increases.” He stated, “ Simply put, clinicians cannot afford to live and work in the state of

Montana.” Fontenot elaborated by explaining that if licensing requirements were more uniform,

and if clinicians licensed in other states could immediately start working in Montana without the

hassle of expensive exams, more mental health clinicians would be willing to live and work in

the state.

Actions that average citizens can take include supporting and connecting with legislators,

working towards awareness, and providing funding for mental health. This can be done by

advancing conversations about mental health in local circles, as well as promoting the

conversation in our larger communities. Once legislators see these critical issues present in the

lives of their voters, they will hopefully respond and represent the voice of the people.

Not everyone sees the faces of those struggling. That’s why Montanans must continue to raise

their voices on the matter, start pursuing jobs in the field, and support the creation of mental
health resources for a wider range of needs. But most importantly, take care of yourselves, and

don’t forget to meditate on those beautiful mountains.

Crisis and Support Lines 24-Hour:

Community Help 211
Hope House (406) 585-1130
National lifeline 1-(800) 273-8255
National Crisis Text Line 741741
Bozeman Help Center (406) 586-3333
MSU VOICE Center (406) 994-7069