Employee Spotlight

 DeVere Hunt

In 1998, RHS was established by Tony Bell LSW, Bruce Hampton LSW, and DeVere Hunt MS, CRC, CPRP. 25 years later Hunt continues serving our community through RHS as CEO.

“In high school, all of my friends needed counseling, so I went into the field and never looked back. I felt like I had a knack for helping people.”

This knack for helping people includes, but is not limited to, his assistances with crisis housing, managing the crisis centers, and putting on an annual mental health symposium and 5K fundraiser.

“I always felt like it was my obligation. My parents always taught me to give back to the community. That is where and why the symposium and 5K come in, as well as staffing the crisis centers both here in Idaho Falls and in Pocatello and the Center for Hope.”

This ability to multitask, such as run multiple companies and programs, shows in his varied interests.

“I recently became a certified scuba diver and went on my first scuba dive in Belize. I’ve done two cycling trips across Idaho, one in 2021 and the other in 2022, to help raise funds for Rifle Rated Armor for law enforcement, Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office and Twin Falls Police Department.”

Our local community is lucky he went into the mental health field instead of following a different passion or taking a scholarship to attend Dixie State University as a running back!

Lastly, some words of advice for those coming into the mental health field.

“I would say make sure you have your own mental health in a good, stable place, so that you know how to take care of yourself before taking care of others.”

Ways to Help You Be More Assertive

Assertiveness skills can help you in all areas of you life. One way that it helps, it is a way to help build your self esteem/confidence. It allows you to stand up for yourself and get whatever point you’re needing to make across. The definition for assertive is “the quality of being confident and not frightened to say what you want or believe.” There is a difference between assertiveness, passive and aggressive. Passive’s definition is “accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance”. Aggressive’s definition is “ready or likely to attack or confront; characterized by or resulting from aggression.”

Ways to be assertive in a nonverbal manner are to stand up straight and to directly face people you are speaking to while maintaining their eye contact. Maintaining eye contact can be a difficult thing for a lot of us so looking at the bridge of their nose, forehead or ears is a way still appear to still be making eye contact. 

Role playing also helps us practice being more assertive so that when it comes to doing it in our daily lives, we are more ready to do it. Plan ahead boundaries that you’re comfortable with keeping, that will also help you be more assertive as well. As always, start small with your assertive skills! If you start with something too big, it becomes too overwhelming and we’re less likely to keep it up! 

Carmen Stites, LCPC and RPT

Got the Winter Blues?

It can be difficult during Idaho winter months, especially after the holidays to feel like you feel like yourself. Many people suffer from what is called “Seasonal affective disorder” or otherwise known as SAD. Cause of SAD is still unknown even though it has been researched by many for decades. 

Signs and symptoms of SAD may include:

• Feeling listless, sad or down most of the day, nearly every day
• Losing interest in activities you once enjoyed
• Having low energy and feeling sluggish
• Having problems with sleeping too much
• Experiencing carbohydrate cravings, overeating and weight gain
• Having difficulty concentrating
• Feeling hopeless, worthless or guilty
• Having thoughts of not wanting to live

The Mayo Clinic reports that you may suffer from SAD even in the Spring and Summer, not just the Fall and Winter months. 

Symptoms specific spring and summer may include:

• Trouble sleeping (insomnia)
• Poor appetite
• Weight loss
• Agitation or anxiety
• Increased irritability

Ways to help treat SAD include using light therapy, medications, counseling, and watching what they eat. The National Institute of Health (NIH) reports that those who suffer from SAD can tend to crave sugary and/or carbohydrates. Balancing with fruits and vegetables helps our mental health when we’re struggling. 

Carmen Stites, LCPC and RPT

GIVE

In Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) there is a great Interpersonal Effectiveness skill called "GIVE."  This skill focuses on how to strengthen and maintain relationships.  It's often balanced with another DBT skill, called the "FAST" skill, with is used to strengthen and maintain self-respect.  Each letter of the GIVE skill represents more "specific" applications for strengthening and maintaining relationships:  

1.  G: Be Gentle.  Often in our relationships we can come across as harsh, uncaring, impatient, mean, cold, judgy, etc.  Being gentle has to do with the "delivery" of what we say/do.  Often what we say is good, but we don't say it in good ways.  And in 2022 we don't use the word "gentle" often....it might help to think of it as being nice, understanding, patient, soft, open, non-judgmental, etc.
   
   
2. I:  Act Interested.  In our relationships (romantic, parent/child, coworker, church, clubs, etc) we don't always have the same interests with other people.  However, acting interested is a big deal, because you're showing your interest in the other person.  (And sometimes this also leads to you developing new interests!)  One of the best ways to show interest is with eye contact, put your phone away, listen, AND remember what people say. 
   
   
3. V:  Validate.  Our world is hungry for validation.  Humans want to feel seen and heard, and to feel like our experiences are valid and matter.  Three of the best validation phrases are:  "That sucks."  "Tell me more."  "I can't imagine what that might be like."  Too often we are invalidating without realizing it, and this starts to tear down relationships.   There are 3 main ways we invalidate each other:   *When we tell someone they "shouldn't feel like that/think that way" (because they get to feel and think however they want to); *When we try to fix them (by jumping over validation and going right to problem solving or criticism); *When we "one up" or "one down" each other ("cool that you went on a vacation to Utah but I went to Australia" or "You're sick?  I'm way sicker and have been coughing and puking all day!")
   
   
4. E: Easy Manner.  This is means being more "chill" than "intense."  Relationships do better if it doesn't feel like a war-zone or like everything is dramatic or intense.  One of the best ways for this is to be mindful of your facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice.  Also, it really helps to be able to laugh at yourself.  This breaks the tension that can be damaging to relationships.  

A good challenge if you are struggling with a relationship (of any kind) is to pick one of the letters (G-I-V-E) and practice being mindful of it for a week.  See what you're doing well, and where you can improve.  And then practice actions in the "need to improve" areas. 

Suzanne Powers