Rural Iowa family finds support through NAMI after navigating a mental health crisis

NEOLA, Iowa (KMTV) — When a loved one experiences a mental illness, the whole family can be affected. For one Pottawattamie County neighbor, the National Alliance on Mental Illness — NAMI — helped her through a family crisis.

Brittany Seely took an eight-week family class from NAMI. She says it gave her the tools to cope.

"I experienced going through a mental health crisis with my own family and I had no way of navigating. I wasn't sure what to do or how to talk to them," Seely said.

The family member who needed help is a man; Seely thinks that made it harder for him to seek help.

"Because you feel less than, you feel like you're failing, you feel like 'I'm supposed to know what to do, why can't I fix this on my own?'" Seely said.

She also works for a social service agency in rural Iowa and says access to care is more challenging in rural neighborhoods.

"As we find clients who have gone unnoticed, or having conversations with people who just don't seek services, because they have to drive all the way to Council Bluffs or to Omaha to seek any sort of treatment," she said.

That need is why Seely stays involved, including helping out at NAMI's upcoming Hope Illuminated event. I'm honored that NAMI invited me to emcee its sold-out gala this weekend. Anyone wishing to learn more can visit the Southwest Iowa NAMI website.

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