Filling a need for mental health services here

Seeing a need for mental health counselors in the Columbia Falls area, Wakefield Troy recently opened up his Northstar Counseling Service office in the Cosley Building on Nucleus Avenue.

Troy is also on the staff of The Newman Center, an outpatient mental health clinic affiliated with Kalispell Regional Healthcare.

A licensed clinical social worker, he takes a holistic, client-centered approach to problem solving and enhancing motivation with his clients to ensure positive outcomes.

Northstar shares office space — and philosophy — with Rejuvenate Massage & Acupuncture. Troy worked for about five years for Pathways Treatment Center and other mental health centers.

“I just moved into my new office, and business is trickling in,” he said.

Troy grew up on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle, and worked for a time in Alaska. He came to Montana in 1990 to attend college, completing a bachelor’s in English literature at the University of Montana. He received a master’s in clinical social work in 2010 from a Walla Walla University satellite campus in Missoula.

While at UM, Troy met his future wife, Lynn. She’s now a naturopathic physician specializing in oncology and family medicine. They moved to the Flathead in 2004 and have two young children at Ruder Elementary School. Troy coaches youth soccer and enjoys outdoor recreation, including biking once or twice a year up the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.

Troy says he enjoys working with adults and children in both individual and family settings. He notes that he’s now the only male mental health counselor in the Columbia Falls area.

“Figures show that more women suffer from depression, but that could be because men are thought to be irritable or angry when they’re actually depressed,” he said.

Oftentimes a disconnect exists between a person’s own values and their behavior. Medication alone is not the answer — most people need therapy to restructure their lives.

“We’re in a fast-paced society, and there’s a lot of anxiety,” he said.

Children need at least one good adult in their lives, Troy said, and sometimes that isn’t a parent — it’s a coach or a teacher. And people need to have meaning in their lives, whether it’s a hobby, sport or volunteering to help others, he said.

In addition to problems with alcohol, drugs, gambling and other addictive behaviors, Montana stands out for its high suicide rate — the state has been ranked in the top five for the past 30 years, he said.

One explanation for the high suicide rate is the rural nature of Montana — the stigma attached to mental health issues, the lack of access to mental health services and easy access to guns. Pastors and family doctors are on the front line for mental health problems, Troy said, with family doctors prescribing about 70 percent of the medication used to treat mental disorders.

But medication is not enough. Building a rapport with clients is the No. 1 key to success in mental health counseling, Troy said.

“I like to listen to people and help people help themselves,” he said. “I like to build on strengths and look for the positive in people.”

To contact Northstar Counseling Services, call 406-871-3725 or e-mail wakefieldtroy.lcsw@gmail.com.