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Feel Good 5K Set to Support Local Mental Health Initiatives

By Teresa Schiffer The Feel Good 5k is a great way to get out and show your support for one of our most valuable resources – the mental health professionals at Peace River Center. Make an impact in the lives of vulnerable children by participating in this fun event! It’s no secret that mental…
New Therapy Method Being Studied for PTSD Patients

A type of grief experts call prolonged and complicated causes some 10 million Americans to suffer, experts say. But a fairly new type of therapy is believed to offer help for many of them. Often felt by seniors who have lost their longtime spouse, this grief is characterized by an ongoing, daily yearning for the…
Local Behavioral Health Recovery Programs Offers Support

By Brenda Eggert Brader The Mental Health Recovery Program at Winter Haven Hospital, started in 2008, has grown into a popular peer-led program providing education, socialization and support. The program offers ready help to keep those with mental health issues out of crisis and out of the hospital. “When you talk about recovery, there are…

Editor’s Dose: Tips for minimizing back-to-school stress

IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, then come early July you were already thinking about preparations for the new school year. Parents and children in the community this year are getting ready extra early because Polk County public schools moved up their calendar by one week — day one of school is August 15.
Making the choice to breastfeed

THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH in Polk County (DOH-Polk) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) recognize August as Breastfeeding Awareness Month. This is a wonderful time of year to promote breastfeeding as a vital health activity and discuss the health benefits breastfeeding provides. Although every woman has their own…
Editor’s Dose: Keeping kids’ bodies and minds active this summer

WHEN I FIRST had the twins, my mom would say, “Have a schedule for them, or they’ll have a schedule for you.” Basically, she was cautioning that I’d better keep those little minds and bodies active, or chaos would inevitably ensue. Being a mother of eight children, I think she was speaking from personal experience.…