Virtual Therapy Wyoming

Accessible Virtual Therapy for Wyoming Residents

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that about 121,000 Wyoming residents struggle with a mental health condition, including chronic stress, ,anxiety, and varying degrees of depression. This number is more than 3-times the population of Laramie, the state’s third most populated city. Of added concern, is that about 33,000 Wyoming adults have a serious mental illness, and that nearly 17% of WY youth between the ages of 12-17 experience a major depressive episode each year. Furthermore, Wyoming is consistently leads the nation in per capita suicide rates. Without intervention, the state is headed for an especially troubling future when considering that 560,000 Wyoming residents live in a community that does not have enough mental health professionals. That’s a startling 95% of the entire population.

“Approximately 95% of Wyoming’s population lives in a community without adequate access to mental health support”

“Wyoming consistently has one of the highest suicide rates per capita in the United States“

What’s the reason for the lack of adequate mental health support? Local reports indicate that Wyoming’s mental health professional shortage stems from its rural nature, low provider reimbursement rates, low funding, transportation barriers, and cultural stigma, leading to vast areas being designated as mental health shortage zones. On-premises providers are overwhelmed, unable to take new patients, and are often struggling financially despite high demand due to a lack of fiscal support from governing bodies. In response, Kindbridge Behavioral Health has stepped in. We have opened our virtual doors to “The Cowboy State” with specialized counselors on standby to receive new clients.

Using Technology to Overcome Tech Addictions

Ironically, given the rural nature of the region, technology addiction is one of the fastest growing threats to public health in Wyoming. Problematic behavior regarding engagement with web-enabled activities has compromised the wellbeing of vulnerable residents. These issues include the following:

• Problematic online gambling behavior: Google Search data from within Wyoming indicates consistent growth in year-over-year online search for “problem gambling treatment”, “compulsive gambling treatment”, “how to stop sports betting”, “how to quit sports betting” and semantically related expressions.
• Problematic use of pornography: As with problem gambling (above) National studies suggest that up to 7% of adults meet the criteria for problematic gambling behavior, which equates 31,200 WY residents.
• Problematic online trading behavior: National studies suggest that 8% of investors meet the criteria for compulsivity regarding online trading.
• Unhealthy video gaming: National studies suggest around 3-5% of gamers experience issues with unhealthy gaming.
• Problematic online shopping behavior: National studies suggest that up to 16% of Americans struggle with unhealthy online shopping behavior. It’s estimated that 94,400 Wyomingites may be affected, assuming the state mirrors national averages. 

As a virtual counseling platform, Kindbridge leverages technology to treat all of the above. Counseling specific to each issue are available to any Wyoming resident with a smartphone, tablet, or laptop (everyone). Click or call to connect right now.

Successfully Treating Cooccurring Issues

A number of mental health concerns are comorbid with technology addictions. Whether you struggle with one or more of these as cooccurring (w/ problem tech use) issues or they are standalone concerns, we will help.

Anxiety	ADHD
Bipolar Disorder	Chronic Anger + Irritability
Depression	OCD
PTSD	Substance Use Disorder