Dolores Holtcamp,
NSMHA Quality Review Team

My cold, blunt introduction to the mental health world occurred more than four years ago, when our 18-year-old son was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.  Since then, my family and I have greatly expanded our understanding of mental illness. For example, we had no idea that huge numbers of people suffer from severe mental illness—not only schizophrenia, but also bipolar disorder, like my sister, severe depression, and many other kinds of serious brain disorders. As a family our awareness has been shocked wide open.

Over the past year and a half, my own education in the area of mental health has been greatly furthered by my work as a Quality Review Team member with the North Sound Mental Health Administration. Here I’m an advocate, not only for my son with schizophrenia, but also for all our loved ones suffering from mental illness.

I feel privileged to have this job. It lets me speak directly to people receiving or seeking mental health services, and then report exactly what they tell me about their level of satisfaction with the services they receive. I talk with people at hospitals, jails, schools, homeless shelters, evaluation and treatment centers—anywhere people need quality services or a better understanding of mental illness. We set up Provider site visits, write reports on findings, and recommend specific service improvements. The Quality Review Team calls for positive changes, such as more respect for individuals, easier access, more appropriate services, and the best quality of services available. We listen to consumers, with a goal of helping assure that their needs are met, their concerns addressed, and that they’re safe and lead lives as happy as possible.

This mental health world is frustrating and often sad. I feel very hopeful, however, that by working together and focusing on the common goal, we families and mental health professionals can make a big difference in the quality of services. The amount of effort being put forth is enormous. Speaking for my family—and maybe for yours, too—whatever it takes, it’s worth it. 

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North Sound Mental Health Administration