By Cynthia Grau/WJEZ News

While mental illness still has a stigma surrounding it, people are still hesitant to reach out for help.

Reaching out for that help can seem both daunting and time-consuming, and Joe Vaughan, executive Director at IHR in Pontiac, has some tips to get you through that.

“It’s just like anything else. It’s a process of learning how it can benefit you, taking care of some of the myths about it. Our medical physicians in the area are very up to speed about psychiatry themselves. They’re not specialist on it, but they know enough to at least start someone or make a formal referral. A lot of our referrals come from the medical field, because they want to see a specialist and then, again, once they’re stable, they’ll take them back,” Vaughan said.

Vaughan was a guest on a recent Community Forum, where he explains even more about psychiatric care.