Meet Karla Wiedel, Mental Health Practitioner
For the past five years, Karla Wiedel, a Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner and a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, has been providing behavioral health services at Lincoln Medical Education Partnership. Her career working in a non-profit community behavioral health setting spans 18 years. Her interest in the brain and human behavior, eventually led her into the field of counseling.
Karla enjoys working with a wide variety of people across the lifespan (ages 4 and up) and from all backgrounds who struggle with mental health, trauma, and/or substance use issues. The most common behavioral health issues Karla sees patients for include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, ADHD and/or substance use.
“With substance use, it could be that someone is starting to have problems and wants to talk to a professional, or it could be a situation where a person has been in recovery and slipped back into using substances,” Karla says. “One in three people will experience a mental health issue in their lifetime. We are able to provide them with the understanding and help they need to feel better.”
At Lincoln Family Medicine Center, behavioral health professionals collaborate with primary care providers through an integrated model of care. Oftentimes, patients are referred by their in-house physician but outside referrals are welcome too. A nice feature of belonging to a patient-centered medical home is that the physician and therapist can collaborate easily and quickly to best meet patient needs, which is extremely important during crisis situations. According to recent research, suicide rates have gone up 30% since 2000, and Karla feels that it is unfortunate that more people do not seek therapy services. She’s committed to changing the perception of behavioral health issues so that people look at it the same way as going to their provider for any other health issue.
The greatest reward for Karla is to see people make progress which positively impacts all areas of their lives. She recognizes that there are challenges that individuals with mental health issues face, particularly the cost of services. Whether it’s a matter of co-pay, insurance coverage, or private pay, Karla feels it is one of the main barriers for why people don’t seek mental health services.
Karla grew up in Nebraska. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and went on to obtain a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She has additional training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), The Matrix Model, and has a special interest in the field of Neuropsychology. Karla enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, going to amusement parks, and spinning. Her favorite amusement park is Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, the second oldest operating amusement park in the U.S.
“I know that it takes strength for a person to admit there is an issue and that they may not be able to handle it on their own,” Karla notes. “It may not be long-term counseling that is needed. Whatever is most helpful for the patient is what is most important to us.”
To schedule an appointment at Lincoln Family Medicine Center, call 402-483-4571.