For a decade, Beth Ritter lived with daily anxiety. Her son, Blake, was struggling with addiction and Beth feared the day she’d receive a call that her son had died of suicide or an overdose.
“It all started when he had a shoulder injury and needed pain medication,” explains Beth, a patient account billing specialist at Rogers. “Once he was no longer being prescribed those medications, he went to heavier drugs and was homeless for a while. I could no longer have him at my house for the safety of the other members of my family.”
As her son’s addiction grew, so did Beth’s anxiety. While she worked to get him into intensive treatment programs, she became more consumed. Though she knew she was struggling, a prior conversation with an acquaintance kept her from seeking help for herself.
“Basically, they told me that therapy was no good and that I shouldn’t even bother,” she says. “There was a huge stigma against seeking help that had been ingrained in my head, so I veered away from going to therapy, even as I was seeking out treatment programs for my son.”
Sadly, following numerous other overdoses and treatment programs throughout the country, Blake passed away from a fentanyl overdose in March 2021.
As Beth took time away from work to grieve, she also tried group therapy sessions to deal with her depression and anxiety but found that the group setting wasn’t the right fit for her.
Then, Rogers announced a partnership with Lyra, a platform that connects individuals with virtual or in-person mental and emotional healthcare and resources.
“The very day the program was rolled out – I still remember, it was November 1! – I went on the Lyra website and enrolled,” Beth says.
After following the steps to join Lyra’s services, which includes a questionnaire to gauge individual needs, Beth was able to find a provider and schedule her first virtual appointment for later that same week. The easy-to-use platform, ability to choose a provider with evening and weekend hours, and monthly assessments to track progress make the process effective and simple to use, according to Beth.
Now more than two months into her experience with Lyra, and with her depression and anxiety no longer classified as severe, Beth is thankful she didn’t wait any longer to seek help. When asked what her advice would be to fellow Rogers employees who may be considering trying Lyra, Beth’s advice is simple: just do it.
“It’s nothing to be afraid of or ashamed of. The only thing that can come out of trying it is something positive,” she explains. "I hadn’t been myself for 10 years, but now I’m becoming myself again.”
How to get started with Lyra
All employees, spouses and domestic partners, and dependents age 2 to 26 are eligible to receive 12 coaching or therapy sessions, per person per year, at no cost. To enroll, visit rogersbh.lyrahealth.com and follow the prompts. Additional information on Lyra is also available on Rogers Connect.
