Good Neighbor Podcast: Cobb County

E31: Understanding PsychSynergy: A Deep Dive into Mental Health

• Milli M. & Dr. Candace Giles • Episode 31

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In a world where mental health is often stigmatized, it’s essential to have conversations that empower and educate. Join us as we speak with Dr. Candace Giles from PsychSynergy Practices, who shares her insights on creating a supportive environment for mental wellness. With a mission centered around personalizing mental health care, Dr. Giles breaks down the barriers created by stigma, encouraging listeners to view psychiatric support as a normal part of healthcare. 

Throughout the episode, we delve into Dr. Giles’s personal journey and professional experience in mental health, highlighting the urgent need for accessible services, particularly for children and adolescents. Her compassionate approach emphasizes that those struggling with mental illness are not defined by their conditions. 

Dr. Giles also tackles common misconceptions surrounding mental health, providing listeners with facts that reveal the stark reality of delayed treatment needs. The conversation explores the importance of mental health advocacy, emphasizing how societal pressures can leave individuals feeling isolated and unsupported. 

Listeners will come away with a deeper understanding of mental health, armed with knowledge on how to approach their own wellness and that of others in their lives. This powerful episode is not just a discussion; it’s a call to action for us all to break down mental health barriers and support each other in the journey toward wellness. Subscribe, share, and engage with us as we work together to create a healthier world.

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Millie M.

Speaker 2:

Hello everybody and welcome to Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm your host, millie M. Are you in need of a mental health specialist? Are you looking for a psychiatrist? Well, one might be closer than you think. I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, dr Candice Giles of Psych Synergy Practices. How are you, candice?

Speaker 3:

I'm doing very well today. Thank you for asking.

Speaker 2:

Awesome. We're excited to learn all about you and your business. Tell us more about Psych Synergy.

Speaker 3:

Sure. So my business is called Psych Synergy Practices. It is an independent mental health company providing outpatient psychiatric care. So we differ from other places because we really do recognize that you are a person, not just a disorder, and that all the different parts of you are uniquely important. We try to identify and put together all the missing pieces, whether psychiatrically and sometimes medically diagnosing certain things through getting like lab results and everything but ultimately it's to create a more stable you. That is the goal. Psychsynergy is committed to creating a safe, non-judgmental environment for you to be all facets of yourself. Psychiatric treatment is meant to be a collaborative process where you have a critical voice in your treatment. We know that change can be difficult and uncomfortable, but we want people to know that you are not alone in that process. My practice, psych Synergy, is here to listen and help guide you to becoming the best version of yourself.

Speaker 2:

I think that's so reassuring to people is knowing that they're not alone. So how did you get into this business?

Speaker 3:

Well, I was born and raised here in East Point, georgia. I went to Elijah Mays High School, then went to Emory University for college and during that time I was pre-med at Emory University. I always knew that I wanted to be a physician. When I was young it was the idea that I wanted to be a pediatrician. That was, you know, what my original dream was. But when I went to Emory and I took my first psychology course and I did get my BA in psychology I really just was very, quite taken with it, and so my perspective, my dream, kind of shifted at that point I still wanted to go to medical school, so I did complete my medical school training at Howard University College of Medicine in DC. There. I completed that and then went on to do my adult psychiatry residency at Jackson Hall in Miami, florida, and finally I did come back home to Atlanta at Emory University for my forensic psychiatry fellowship. So it's been a total of 10 years of medical training post-college.

Speaker 3:

I am a triple board certified child adolescent forensic psychiatrist. I've worked in a wide variety of places emergency rooms, inpatient units, outpatient offices and in legal settings. I've been working independently in the outpatient psychiatry field since August 2018. However, as I said, it has been a long-awaited dream to create my own company that is patient focused and whose mission is centered on breaking down the stigma of mental health and normalizing receiving psychiatric services. Mental health can be just as critical as your medical health, and problems in either area can really impact the other, so I think that is a part of my mission that I really hope to help other patients to understand and see. I started PsychSynergy practices in December 2021 due to the lack of access and the lack of personalized psychiatric care in the community, especially for children and adolescents.

Speaker 2:

So what are some myths or misconceptions in your industry or about what you do?

Speaker 3:

So I believe the most damaging problem is stigma really, and stigma really does encompass stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination, and this is still perpetuated in today's society. And, just for clarity, I do like to educate whenever I can. Stereotypes are how we think about something Like people with schizophrenia that are, they assume they're dangerous or violent. Prejudice is when you agree with that stereotype and that leads to an actual emotional response when you feel fearful around people with schizophrenia. This is just, you know, an example. Discrimination is, of course, when you act on that prejudice by being, like, dismissive or withholding care in those areas, being dismissive or withholding care in those areas.

Speaker 3:

So really wanting to look at how stigma really does affect all of these things, in multiple sites, whether it's the National Alliance for Mental Illness, the National Institute, institute for Mental Health, the American Psychiatric Association, world Health Organization, all of these places, all of these organizations all report that stigma plays a key role in worsening mental health symptoms and creating barriers to treatment. There's actually about a 40% of those with mental health symptoms report unmet treatment needs, even though, of course, resources are available. But all of this mainly due to stigma and it leads to about an 11-year delay when symptoms first start to when people actually get treatment. So this really can be damaging. Self-stigma really is the worst, because this is when a person has completely internalized society's stereotypes, the prejudice and discrimination, and of course that just ultimately worsens your own mental health symptoms. And when that happens it can lead to self-sabotage, self-isolation, self-hate, self-harm and, of course, that potential delay in treatment.

Speaker 2:

So catch you of the highlights.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and I just wanted to highlight, like, why this is important. It was just some like quick fact numbers so people understand why. I think mental health care is very critical and really important for people to understand like, hey, this doesn't have to be taboo, this doesn't have to be so stigmatized, this can be a part of your normal care. You have a primary care provider. Yeah, I have a psychiatrist. That is fine and that is normal. So a few quick numbers to highlight this One in five US adults approximately 23% live with a mental illness and in 2022, only 50% of them actually received mental health treatment in the past year.

Speaker 3:

One in six youth aged six to 17 experience a mental health disorder each year. 50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14 and 75% by age 24. And, unfortunately, suicide is the second leading cause of death from age 10 to 14 and the third from age 15 to 24. And overall, in the US, suicide is the 11th leading cause of death. So this is really important. This has real life, real time, disasters and consequences sometimes for individuals who are left untreated. Disasters and consequences sometimes for individuals who are left untreated. And I'm pretty sure we all know someone, whether in our family, our friend group, school that you know potentially, are suffering.

Speaker 3:

So if anyone listening, is struggling or in crisis. Help is always available. You can call or text 988 to reach a suicide. To reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, you may also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or the Georgia Crisis and Access Line at 1-800-715-4222. These resources are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and, of course, for any medical emergencies, you know to call 911. Absolutely.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely so. Let's let's talk about you personally. Can you describe a hardship or a life challenge you overcame and how it made you stronger?

Speaker 3:

Um, well, to be vulnerable. Um, I did lose my father suddenly on March 15th 2016 to a house fire, uh, which means I also lost my second childhood home. Both were gone in an instant. So 2016 was a really, really hard year for me, um, and it is still an ongoing challenge. Um, it hurts that I never got to say goodbye, I never got to say I love you. So anytime where you're dealing with like a sudden loss, that's really hard because there's no closure, really for that. But I had to learn how to cope with the pain and in order to really move forward in life. It truly made me realize that you can't predict the future right, and just how precious life truly is. It made me appreciate things more and really it did give me a drive to be more present in my life, whether that's with family, friends or attaining life goals?

Speaker 3:

Absolutely. Let's just switch gears a little bit Outside of work. What do you do for fun? Sure, so another thing I really and truly do love movies, going to the movie theater. I'm a big Marvel fan. I recently just saw the new Captain America movie for Valentine's Day, so love that. I enjoy reading, actually just joined a book club that's kind of in the area and starting to go to that Local festivals, concerts. I really adore having a good game night. So game night, yeah, all the things I have tons of games. Are you super?

Speaker 2:

competitive.

Speaker 3:

Really favorite things to do. I always think that I'm not, but then when I'm in it, I'm in it. You sound like me Competitive is not a word.

Speaker 2:

I'm used to describe myself, but when I'm in competition, I take it seriously.

Speaker 3:

Exactly If we're playing space, I'm going to need you to know how to play space. If we're playing owner, this isn't like your first time trial. We're not doing that, but yeah. But just to say I'm also a new mom this year, so I actually have a one-year-old baby boy, so a lot of sometimes these things kind of get put on the back burner, of course, but spending time with my husband and son is definitely, of course, the fave.

Speaker 2:

Oh, one year. That's the fun zone right there, oh yeah.

Speaker 3:

I'm learning a lot of things, a lot of things. I can imagine the transition, yes, indeed.

Speaker 2:

Well, Dr Candice, please tell our listeners one thing you would like for them to always remember about psych synergy.

Speaker 3:

Sure that psych synergy practices provides personalized psychiatric services and that we believe in compassionate, comprehensive and collaborative care to meet your mental health needs. I want listeners to know that being in an emotionally frustrating, dark or chaotic place doesn't have to be normalized and that change can happen. My goal is to get you to a better mental state and, hopefully, stability. That is the goal.

Speaker 2:

And how can they reach you?

Speaker 3:

Sure. So listeners can visit my website at wwwpsychsynergypracticescom. That's spelled P-S-Y-C-H-S-Y-N-E-R-G-Y practices, p-r-a-c-t-i-c-e-s, so on the website you will find detailed information about what we offer, the conditions we treat, the different types of psychiatric visits. We do see children, adolescents and adults from ages 5 to 55 years old. The practice is self-pay, but we do take Lira Health, eap benefits, fsa, hsa and we do provide Superbill receipts for insurance reimbursement. So to get the process started, you will simply complete the pre-screening questionnaire on the website. Afterwards you will get a response within 24 to 48 hours for scheduling and we do have openings within the week. So we look forward to working with you sounds good.

Speaker 2:

Love the work that you're doing to release the stigma and the stereotypes around these subject matters. I really appreciate you being here today, uh, wishing you and your business the best of luck moving forward.

Speaker 3:

Thank you, I appreciate it so very much.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpcobbcountycom. That's gnpcobbcountycom, or call 470-470-4506.