Sammy Teusch’s sister Scarlett, his dad Sam and brothers Xander and Oliver (front row), presented an EMDR therapy device to Hancock Counseling and Psychiatric Services on Friday through the Sammy’s Tree Foundation. Not pictured is Sammy’s mother Nichole, who also attended.
Shelley Swift | Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD – It’s been six months since 10-year-old Sammy Teusch took his own life on May 5, during his final weeks of fourth grade.
Since then, the Greenfield boy’s family has become staunch advocates for mental health.
On Friday, Sammy’s parents and siblings presented the therapists at Hancock Counseling and Psychiatric Services with a device designed to help patients release and recover from trauma.
With funds raised through Sammy’s Tree Foundation they purchased a light bar used in EMDR therapy – or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy – which treats mental health issues resulting from traumatic events.
Sammy’s father, Sam Teusch, told the therapists he hoped the light bar can help countless patients cope with trauma and achieve enhanced mental health.
Teusch said he was at first skeptical of EMDR light bar therapy when he tried it in the aftermath of Sammy’s death, but that after his second session, he was convinced it works.
“I sat down in front of it twice, and the first time I was like this don’t work, but after the second time I was able to make it through full two days without crying, which was the first two full days I had made it that long,” he told the staff gathered at the Hancock Counseling practice in Greenfield.
Melissa Jack, one of the counselors on staff trained in EMDR therapy, said she’s seen remarkable results in clients using the light bar, which features a digital dot that moves across a screen from one side to the other, as the client moves their eyes from left to right to follow the light.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, doing so can enable them to unlock trauma which can often be hidden within the inner recesses of the brain, so that they can begin to process and eventually heal from it.
“It’s amazing how being able to open up those thoughts that we keep repressed and pushed down brings up a lot of emotions that a lot of times you don’t even know are there,” said Jack, who was also skeptical until trying the light bar herself.
“A lot of people try it and after one or two times see the difference and are amazed with the results. The problem isn’t gone – (the trauma) still happened – but they can actually deal with it and get through a day or two,” she said.
Jack said EMDR therapy was initially used mostly for veterans with post traumatic stress disorder, but is now used to address all sorts of issues.
“There’s trauma everywhere, so I think more and more people will get trained on it the more it’s going to be used,” she said.
Teusch hopes that’s the case.
He said that since his son died, he’s learned more about the widespread mental health crisis in America, and that suicide is the second leading cause of death in kids.
He commended the staff at Hancock Counseling for all they do to help patients in addressing their mental health.
“I fix buildings for a living and it’s pretty cool and I love my job, but you guys fix people,” he said. “We appreciate everything you guys do. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”
Teusch said he and his family will continue to advocate for mental health through the foundation they started in Sammy’s name, and that he’d like to encourage more young people to consider careers in supporting mental health.
“There aren’t enough of y’all, and that’s not your fault,” he said to the counselors. “You guys are doing everything you can and you know what it’s like being spread thin.”
Amanda Everidge, executive director of the Behavioral Health Service Line for Hancock Health, thanked the Teusch family for their desire to turn heartbreak into hope.
“I speak for myself and our team when I say we share our deepest condolences for what you’ve been through, and we don’t want that to happen again,” Everidge told them, choking back tears.
“We are very grateful for your advocacy and for your support, for being able to turn a tragedy into a purpose, and to bring awareness where it needs to be – on our commitment to our kids and our grandkids and for generations that we haven’t even thought about yet,” she said.
For more information about Sammy’s Tree Foundation, visit SammysTree.org.
