Kevin Hines, a mental health advocate and survivor of a suicide attempt from the Golden Gate Bridge, will share his story

High Hopes, Lindner Center of HOPE’s fundraising auxiliary, presents An Evening of HOPE, May 30, 2024, at MegaCorp Pavilion. This will be a unique and impactful event featuring the renowned speaker, Kevin Hines, a mental health advocate and survivor of a suicide attempt from the Golden Gate Bridge.

An Evening of HOPE will take place on Thursday, May 30, 2024, at MegaCorp Pavilion, 101 W. 4th Street, Newport, Kentucky starting at 6pm with a cocktail hour and dinner and program to follow. Co-chairs are Amy Russert & Blake Gustafson.

There are several ways to get involved through registration or sponsorship.

Visit lindnercenter.ejoinme.org/HighHopes.

All proceeds from the event benefit Lindner Center of HOPE’s Transforming HOPE Campaign. Funds enable the Center to add more treatment units, expand wellness facilities, add clinical staff, increasing the number of patients served, and lessen the suffering of people with mental illness.

Lindner Center of HOPE in Mason is a comprehensive mental health center providing excellent, patient-centered, scientifically-advanced care for individuals suffering with mental illness. A state-of-the-science, mental health center and charter member of the National Network of Depression Centers, the Center provides psychiatric hospitalization and partial hospitalization for individuals age 12-years-old and older, outpatient services for all ages, diagnostic and short-term residential services for adults, and research. The Center is enhanced by its partnership with UC Health as its clinicians are ranked among the best providers locally, nationally and internationally. Together Lindner Center of HOPE and UC Health offer a true system of mental health care in the Greater Cincinnati area and across the country. The Center is also affiliated with the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine.

Trip to honor wife’s memory and raise awareness of the importance of friendship for mental wellness

Michael G. Leadbetter, MD, retired plastic surgeon, will launch his year-long friendship bus tour of the United States June 2024 raising awareness around the importance of friendship and connection for mental wellness. The trip is in memory of Leadbetter’s wife, Debbie, his life partner for 49 years. The couple had planned much of the trip before Debbie passed, with the goal of visiting friends around the country, highlighting the significant role friends played in their lives and their mental wellness. Leadbetter intends to donate $25 to Lindner Center of HOPE, a mental health center of excellence in Mason, Ohio, for every friend he interacts with on his journey. He is also hopeful that interested individuals that he meets will contribute to Lindner Center of HOPE and/or mental health causes of their own in recognition of his year-long tour. Leadbetter has a list of 150 friends he would like to visit who have played an important part in he and his wife’s journey.

Leadbetter and his wife lost their oldest daughter, who was living with bipolar disorder, to progressive illness caused by years of depression and uncontrolled addiction in 2020.  This devastating loss has fueled his passion for mental health.

“A person can hear, but a friend listens for meaning. A person can look, but a friend sees the heart. A person can know, but a friend understands your dreams. When in need, the Lindner Center of HOPE is where you will find your friends,” Leadbetter shared.

“A friend loveth at all times.” Proverbs 17:17

Leadbetter and Lindner Center of HOPE will have a launch party for the friendship bus tour on May 19, 2024, as part of Lindner Center of HOPE’s Community Education Day at The Manor House in Mason. The community event offers mental health education to local community members during a half-day event that includes a key-note speaker, resource fair and break-out sessions on mental health and wellness topics.

The official tour will begin in Brookville, Ohio, Leadbetter’s hometown on June 2 at a reunion with classmates from the classes of 1965 and 1966.

About Dr. Leadbetter

Leadbetter was a 1965 graduate of Brookville Ohio High School. He graduated from Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio in 1969. In 1974 he graduated from The Ohio State College of Medicine. He completed his general surgery residency at The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He went on to complete his plastic surgery residency at The Christ Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a founding member of the Plastic Surgery Group in Cincinnati where he practiced for 40 years before retiring in 2020. He is a board member of the Reid Rizzo Foundation. He is past president of the Ohio State College of Medicine Alumni Society and a past board member of The Cincinnati Music and Wellness Coalition.

Launch Events:

Lindner Center of HOPE Community Education Day
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Time: 12:45pm
Manor House, 7440 Mason Montgomery Rd., Mason, Ohio

 

Brookville Ohio
Monday, June 3, 2024
Time:  2pm
Location:  Golden Gate Park with high school classmates

 

Lindner Center of HOPE  provides excellent, patient-centered, scientifically advanced care for individuals suffering with mental illness. A state-of-the-science mental-health center and charter member of the National Network of Depression Centers, the center provides psychiatric hospitalization and partial hospitalization for adults, outpatient services for all ages, diagnostic and short-term residential services for adults, intensive outpatient program for substance abuse and co-occurring disorders for adults and research. The center is enhanced by its partnership with UC Health as its clinicians are ranked among the best providers locally, nationally and internationally. Together Lindner Center of HOPE and UC Health offer a true system of mental health care in the Greater Cincinnati area and across the country. The center is also affiliated with the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine.

Half Day Workshop May 19th to Increase Awareness of Mental Health and Wellness

Lindner Center of HOPE will host Community Education Day on Sunday, May 19, 2024 in acknowledgement of May Mental Health Month at Manor House in Mason from 11am to 4pm. The half-day workshop offers an opportunity for community members to enhance their awareness of mental health and wellness. Knowledge helps break down stigma and open the conversation around prevention, treatment, and the mental health journey.

Brandon Saho, Creator of The Mental Game Podcast, Cincinnati native and former sports reporter with WLWT-TV will be the keynote speaker. Saho said goodbye to his dream job in 2022 to focus on his mental health. Saho says he was at his lowest. He was depressed and alone and he didn’t know how to live. Saho spent time as a patient at Lindner Center of HOPE and realized that he didn’t want anyone to struggle like he did, so he started The Mental Game podcast. Saho spends time talking with athletes, musicians, and celebrities with the goal of saving lives through these conversations.

Three sets of breakout sessions follow the keynote presentation. Attendees can design their afternoon according to their areas of interest with 12 total breakout sessions to choose from varying topics such as:  depression, self-care, empowered parenting, finding a therapist, addictions and more.

Just prior to the breakout sessions, attendees will be invited to participate in a friendly farewell to Michael G. Leadbetter, MD. Dr. Leadbetter, retired plastic surgeon, will launch his year-long friendship bus tour of the United States June 2024 raising awareness around the importance of friendship and connection for mental wellness. The trip is in memory of Leadbetter’s wife, Debbie, his life partner for 49 years. The couple had planned much of the trip before Debbie passed, with the goal of visiting friends around the country, highlighting the significant role friends played in their lives and their mental wellness.

Community Education Day also offers a resource center for participants to gather information on other community services and offerings.

Community Education Day 2024 Schedule

11am                     Registration and Resource Center Opens

11:30am              “Nourishing the Mind” Buffet

12pm                    Welcome by Paul Crosby, MD, MBA, President and CEO, Lindner Center of HOPE
Keynote by Brandon Saho, Creator, The Mental Game Podcast

12:45pm               Friendship Bus Launch for Michael Leadbetter, MD

1:15pm                 Breakout Session 1

2:15pm                 Breakout Session 2

3:15pm                 Breakout Session 3

Lindner Center of HOPE in Mason is a comprehensive mental health center providing excellent, patient-centered, scientifically-advanced care for individuals suffering with mental illness. A state-of-the-science, mental health center and charter member of the National Network of Depression Centers, the Center provides psychiatric hospitalization and partial hospitalization for individuals age 12-years-old and older, outpatient services for all ages, diagnostic and short-term residential services for adults, and research. The Center is enhanced by its partnership with UC Health as its clinicians are ranked among the best providers locally, nationally and internationally. Together Lindner Center of HOPE and UC Health offer a true system of mental health care in the Greater Cincinnati area and across the country. The Center is also affiliated with the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine.

Lindner Center of HOPE Welcomes

Heather A. Dlugosz, MD, FAPA, CEDS

Medical Director, Lindner Center of HOPE Harold C. Schott Eating Disorders Program

Lindner Center of HOPE is pleased to announce that Heather Dlugosz has joined the Center in the role of Medical Director for the Harold C. Schott Eating Disorders Program. Dr. Dlugosz is an adult, child and adolescent psychiatrist specializing in the treatment of patients with eating disorders and their psychiatric co-morbidities including mood and anxiety disorders.

Dr. Dlugosz received her bachelor’s degree from Albion College.  She earned her M.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, completed her adult psychiatric residency at University Hospital in Cincinnati, now the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and her child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center where she served as Chief Resident. She is board certified in Adult and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS).

Dr. Dlugosz returns to Lindner Center of HOPE after previously working as a staff psychiatrist and then associate medical director at Eating Recovery Center in Cincinnati, OH and as a contract psychiatrist at VERY-Virtual Eating Recovery for You which provides virtual comprehensive services for patients with eating disorders. She currently holds an academic position as Associate Professor of Clinical-GEO at University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience where she helps to educate medical students and resident physicians in the treatment of eating disorders.

Dr. Dlugosz embraces a collaborative approach to the assessment and treatment of patients and her broad experience in a variety of settings is a solid foundation for providing the highest quality and compassionate care to patients at all levels of care.

The Center is excited about Dr. Dlugosz’s return and the leadership and expertise she will provide to the eating disorders treatment services.

Proceeds from the event will go towards Lindner Center of HOPE’s “Transforming HOPE” Capital Campaign

Lindner Center of HOPE hosted its signature fundraiser, Touchdown for HOPE on Sunday, February 11, 2024 in The Bally Sports Club at The Great American Ballpark. The event drew record sponsorship support and the largest attendance post pandemic. Sponsorships, donations, and ticket sales reached $225,000 and attendance was close to 240 people.

Employees, board members, and community supporters enjoyed the tailgate and watch party surrounded by big screen TVs, an unlimited Touchdown buffet, featuring Cincinnati food favorites, and other tasty treats.

Honorary Co-host John Jackson, a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League and a Cincinnati Bengal from 2000 to 2001, welcomed the group just before kick-off, and thanked the sponsors and fans for supporting the Center. Dr. Paul Crosby also addressed attendees, sharing his appreciation of the Touchdown committee, Mary Alexander, Brock Anderson, Chrissey Barrett Haslam, Greg Harmeyer, Graham Mercurio, Gary Mitchell, Terry Ohnmeis, Jennifer Pierson, Ryan Rybolt, Carl Satterwhite, Joel Stone, John Winch and David Wyler.

Special thanks to 2024 Team Captains, Scott Robertson, John Ryan and David Tasner.

Proceeds from Touchdown for HOPE will be applied to Lindner Center of HOPE’s “Transforming HOPE” Capital Campaign, enabling the Center to add more treatment units, expand wellness facilities and add clinical staff.

A generous list of sponsors made this event possible. Sponsors included:  Bonbright Distributors, Amy and Gary Mitchell, Jeff Wyler Automotive Family, John Winch Family Foundation, American Financial Group, Inc., RCF Group, US Private Wealth Management – U.S. Bank, Ellen & Jon Zipperstein, Joseph Auto Group, The Kate and Ted Emmerich Family Foundation, Myriad Genetics, PNC, Ryan Generational Capital Advisors, Sydney Warm and David Tasner, Tier 1 Performance Solutions, Chrissey Barrett Haslam, Cintech Construction, Millbridge Metals, Warm Construction, and Wagner & Bloch, LLC.

John Jackson, honorary co-host and former Cincinnati Bengal, welcomed the crowd at Touchdown for HOPE.
Touchdown for HOPE 2024 committee members: (l-r) Carl Satterwhite, Suzy Killin, Mary Alexander, Dr. Paul Crosby, John Ryan, Terry Ohnmeis, Scott Robertson, David Tasner and Graham Mercurio.
Tier 1 Performance attendees.
(l-r) Dr. Paul Crosby, Craig Lindner and Dr. Paul Keck
Dawn and Carl Satterwhite enjoying having a 360 degree photo taken.
Almost 240 attendees enjoyed the Touchdown for HOPE watch party.

Lindner Center of HOPE in Mason is a comprehensive mental health center providing excellent, patient-centered, scientifically-advanced care for individuals suffering with mental illness. A state-of-the-science, mental health center and charter member of the National Network of Depression Centers, the Center provides psychiatric hospitalization and partial hospitalization for individuals age 12-years-old and older, outpatient services for all ages, diagnostic and short-term residential services for adults, and research. The Center is enhanced by its partnership with UC Health as its clinicians are ranked among the best providers locally, nationally and internationally. Together Lindner Center of HOPE and UC Health offer a true system of mental health care in the Greater Cincinnati area and across the country. The Center is also affiliated with the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine.

Lindner Center of HOPE congratulates Tracy Suzanne Cummings, MD, as a 2023 Cincy Best Doc in the Child & Adolescent Psychiatry category.

This is the premier medical award for all practitioners in the Greater Cincinnati region. Nominations were open to the community and allowed for nominations across many different categories, and the best in each category were chosen. Being named as a Cincy Best Docs physician is an exceptional honor.

LCOH-UC study: Spinal cord stimulation a potential new way to treat depression

Lindner Center of HOPE, UC researcher publishes pilot study showing feasibility of method

A pilot clinical trial led by Lindner Center of HOPE Research Institute and University of Cincinnati researchers at the Lindner Center of HOPE found electrical stimulation of the spinal cord is feasible, well-tolerated, and shows therapeutic potential to treat depression.

The results of the trial were published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry on Dec. 20. View link at https://rdcu.be/dt41x

Research background

Principal investigator Francisco Romo-Nava, MD, PhD, said his research focuses on how brain-body communication is involved in psychiatric disorders.

“We think that the connection between the brain and the body is essential for psychiatric disorders,” said Romo-Nava, Associate Chief Research Officer for the Research Institute at the Lindner Center of HOPE, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at UC, and a UC Health physician scientist. “Many of the symptoms of mood disorders or eating disorders or anxiety disorders have to do with what one could interpret as dysregulation in this brain-body interaction.”

Romo-Nava said pathways of neurons located in the spinal cord convey information from the body to regions of the brain that are involved in the emotional experience we know as mood. When functioning properly, the brain uses this information to constantly make adjustments to help regulate a person’s mood.

While major depressive disorder can have many different causes, one contributor could be this pathway being overloaded with information.

“For example, chronic stress could lead to a hyperactive brain-body circuit that eventually burns the system out and prevents it from adjusting itself in an effective and optimal way,” Romo-Nava said.

The research team looked at different ways to modulate this interaction between the brain and body and developed a novel approach through non-invasive spinal cord stimulation. Romo-Nava received a patent for the device obtained a patent in 2020 for the stimulation method used after working with UC’s Office of Innovation.

The spinal cord stimulation is designed to decrease the flow of information in the brain-body circuit so that the brain is better able to readjust and regulate itself.

“Spinal cord stimulation is thought to help the brain modulate itself as it should by decreasing the noise or decreasing the hyperactive signaling that may be in place during a depressive syndrome,” Romo-Nava said.

The investigational device that was used is no larger than a shoe box, with the active electrode placed on the patient’s back and the return electrode placed on their right shoulder.

Trial details

With funding through a Brain & Behavior Research Foundation NARSAD Young Investigator Award, Romo-Nava designed the pilot study to test the feasibility and tolerability of spinal cord stimulation for patients with major depressive disorder.

A total of 20 patients were enrolled in the trial, with half randomized to receive the active version of the spinal cord stimulation and half receiving a different version of current that was not expected to have much of an effect.

Patients went to the Lindner Center of HOPE for three 20-minute sessions a week for eight weeks, for a total of 24 spinal stimulation sessions.

Trial results

Romo-Nava said like with most pilot studies, the primary focus of the study was the feasibility and safety of the intervention and how well patients tolerated the stimulation. The study was designed so that the dose of stimulation could be decreased if needed, but Romo-Nava said all patients tolerated the initially prescribed dose well.

“We used a current that is so small that it’s about 10 times smaller than the one known to induce tissue damage, so that’s also pretty encouraging because there’s a lot to explore in terms of what is the optimal dose and session frequency,” he said.

Side effects of the treatment were mild, including skin redness at the site of stimulation and brief non-painful itching or burning sensations that only lasted during the treatment sessions. The skin redness typically did not last more than 20 minutes after a session, Romo-Nava said.

A virtual reconstruction of how the current from the device moves through the body showed the current reaches spinal gray matter in the spinal cord, but does not reach the brain itself.

“That supports our hypothesis that it is the modulation of these pathways of information that then may induce an effect on the mood-relevant areas in the brain,” he said. “So it is not the current that reaches the brain, it is the change in the signal that then has an effect. This study is not sufficient to prove all of these components of the hypothesis, but we think it’s a great start.”

Patients that received the active stimulation had a greater decrease in the severity of their depressive symptoms compared to the control group, but Romo-Nava cautioned the study was limited by its small sample size. These results will need to be replicated in much larger studies to be confirmed.

“We need to be cautious when we interpret these results because of the pilot nature and the small sample size of the study,” he said. “While the primary outcome was positive and it shows therapeutic potential, we should acknowledge all the limitations of the study.”

Data showed participants’ resting blood pressure did not change over the course of the eight weeks, but their diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number of a blood pressure reading) decreased for a short time after each session in a cumulative way during the study.

“That may mean that we may be actually inducing a form of plastic effect on the brain-body interaction circuit that is also involved in autonomic functions like blood pressure and heart rate,” Romo-Nava said. “This is very preliminary, but it is also another signal that is in the right direction.”

Moving forward, Romo-Nava said the research team is seeking additional funding to put together an expanded trial and develop a portable version of the spinal cord stimulation device. If further studies confirm the stimulation is safe and effective to treat psychiatric disorders, future work will also be needed to find the optimal dose, frequency and conditions it can be used for.

 

Lindner Center of HOPE  provides excellent, patient-centered, scientifically advanced care for individuals suffering with mental illness. A state-of-the-science mental-health center and charter member of the National Network of Depression Centers, the center provides psychiatric hospitalization and partial hospitalization for adults, outpatient services for all ages, diagnostic and short-term residential services for adults, intensive outpatient program for substance abuse and co-occurring disorders for adults and research. The center is enhanced by its partnership with UC Health as its clinicians are ranked among the best providers locally, nationally and internationally. Together Lindner Center of HOPE and UC Health offer a true system of mental health care in the Greater Cincinnati area and across the country. The center is also affiliated with the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine.

 

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The program, part of the Child/Family Center at Lindner Center of HOPE, will meet adolescent individual needs through day treatment.

Lindner Center of HOPE opened an Adolescent Partial Hospitalization program as part of its Child/Family Center on January 8, 2024.  . The center has dedicated space on its campus for this offering as a less intensive intervention than inpatient hospitalization, for stable adolescents struggling with mental health concerns.

Adolescence is a stage of development full of transitions and wayfinding. Adolescence is also one of the most common time frames for initial onset of mental health concerns. Given these factors, a teen may struggle to manage home, school, and social activities without additional therapeutic support. The Child/Family Center at Lindner Center of HOPE offers a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) for adolescents (who do not meet the criteria for more intensive intervention of inpatient hospitalization) to receive day treatment, while living out their learned skills in the evenings and weekends at home.

The program is designed to help meet the individual needs of each participant through:

  • Psychoeducation
  • Individualized treatment planning
  • Intentional goal setting
  • Evidence-based psychotherapeutic experiences in a group setting
  • Personalized consultative evaluations and intervention potential
  • A psychiatric evaluation with optional medication management
  • Educational support
  • Progress reports for families and referrers
  • Aftercare assistance

Appropriate patients for the Adolescent PHP will be 12 to 18 (if still in high school) years of age with primary mental health concerns. Co-occurring presentations will be reviewed for appropriate fit. The standard length of the program is 10 business days with possible extension determined by the team based on individual needs and goals. Program hours are from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.

The entire treatment team will work with the adolescents and their families to provide tangible insights and skills to apply to daily life.

Coping skills can address:

  • A variety of mental health diagnoses
  • School concerns
  • Emotion regulation
  • Interpersonal interactions

For more information on the program contact:  513-536-0KID (0543).

Lindner Center of HOPE  provides excellent, patient-centered, scientifically advanced care for individuals suffering with mental illness. A state-of-the-science mental-health center and charter member of the National Network of Depression Centers, the center provides psychiatric hospitalization and partial hospitalization for adults, outpatient services for all ages, diagnostic and short-term residential services for adults, intensive outpatient program for substance abuse and co-occurring disorders for adults and research. The center is enhanced by its partnership with UC Health as its clinicians are ranked among the best providers locally, nationally and internationally. Together Lindner Center of HOPE and UC Health offer a true system of mental health care in the Greater Cincinnati area and across the country. The center is also affiliated with the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine.

 

Lina Hidalgo shares her decision to seek treatment for depression with the media to reduce stigma and help others start to access care.

 

 

Mark your calendars for the Kroger Wellness Fest, taking place on September 22-23 at @The Banks Cincy! Dr. Paul Crosby, President and CEO of Lindner Center of HOPE, is excited to join a crucial discussion on youth mental health and the collaborative efforts needed to shape a brighter future.

Joining Dr. Crosby are Brandon Saho, the host of the Mental Game Podcast and a proud Lindner Center of HOPE patient, Stephanie Brittingham, Health/PE teacher at Mason Middle School, and Dr. Angela Scott, Staff Psychologist at Cincinnati Children’s.

For the full schedule and details, visit https://www.kroger.com/f/wellness-festival/schedule