By LYNNETTE HINTZE The Daily Inter Lake

Professional counselors in the Flathead Valley are on the front line of helping people cope with the recession, and these days it's a tough job.

"I'm seeing all kinds of fallout," said Jerri Swenson, a Whitefish licensed clinical professional counselor. "People are in dire straits."

Swenson said one client is getting divorced because of recession-induced financial problems and another is in treatment for alcohol abuse. One client was hospitalized on suicide watch after an unscrupulous mortgage firm refinanced the family home, leaving them with an exorbitantly high interest rate.

"They're financially devastated," Swenson said. "It's getting really grim. There seems to be an escalation in everyone's stress level. It's the uncertainty of what's going to happen in our country."

Many of Swenson's clients have cut back on sessions because they can't afford counseling any more. When people lose jobs, they lose benefits such as health insurance that covers counseling and psychotherapy.

Joanne Barrie of Cross Life Counseling Services in Kalispell said she has a number of clients who have lost their jobs recently.

"They're in survival mode," she said.

This time of year, when gray skies are the norm and holiday pressures abound, Barrie typically sees an upswing in depression. But depression can have more than one layer, she said, and the recession adds to other layers.

Courtney Rudbach, a clinical supervisor at Pathways Treatment Center in Kalispell, said unplanned stays in the treatment facility " those prompted by suicide attempts " have increased.

"Definitely the economy has played into an increasing census here at Pathways," Rudbach said.

Many people are feeling the financial squeeze because their "escape routes are being cut off," she said, using the cash-strapped owner of a sport-utility vehicle as an example. Normally, that person would be able to sell the vehicle for money, but now no one wants to buy SUVs because they're not as fuel-efficient.

Or perhaps a family counted on selling a house to regroup financially, but can't because of the downturn in real estate sales.

"People in the housing [construction] market are reporting not being able to find work for the first time in 30 years," Rudbach said. "For the past couple years you could always find a job and now you can't."

Sylvia Held, an addictions counselor with Bridge Center for Psychotherapy, said she has put together emergency kits for clients struggling with any number of addictions, including alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling, shopping and even working too much.

"It's pretty tense out there," she said. "People have a lot of pressures normally," and a poor economy worsens their situations.

"One of my major things is helping people not relapse and slide back into old behavior," Held said.

Her emergency kits include phone numbers of people her clients can trust and suggestions for a variety of stress-reduction techniques such as meditation, prayer, talking to others and so on.

"I do a lot of education with clients about what are the triggers" that affect their behavior, she said.

People in distress often turn to vices such as alcohol or gambling to escape reality, but this recession "the worst since the Great Depression " could have a somewhat opposite effect, said Gene Huntington, administrator of the Gambling Control Division of the state Department of Justice.

"It's been generally true in the past, that gambling is up during a recession," he said. "Casino stocks are viewed as a refuge in a recession."

But this time, casinos in Las Vegas "are really suffering," Huntington said, and gambling in the Flathead already may be feeling the effects of the recession.

For the first quarter of this fiscal year " July through September " video gambling machine tax collections were down 2.4 percent in Kalispell, though Whitefish saw a modest 4.6 percent increase.

"What we know is that there was a decline in gambling in the third quarter of 2008 (January through March) and that's when gas prices went up," he said. "The summer quarter wasn't as high as previous summers, but gambling 'revenue] has been holding up. What happens this quarter will be telling."

Donna Johnson, executive director of the Montana Council on Problem Gambling, said she, too, believes people may be cutting back on gambling.

"It could be that people that don't have gambling addictions have cut back," she said. "They're belt-tightening."

But for those with addictions, "it's probably getting worse for them."

The nonprofit council pools money from a number of gaming-related business associations and individual businesses, such as the Montana Lottery, Montana Tavern Association, Montana Coin Operators, Town Pump and the Gaming Industry Association, to fund free outpatient compulsive gambler treatment throughout the state. A 24-hour help line is staffed by trained counselors.

The full effect of the recession wasn't felt as quickly in the Flathead, and that may be why the Flathead Valley Chemical Dependency Clinic hasn't seen a significant upswing in its workload, Director Mike Cummins said.

"What we've seen is a steady increase, starting six to 10 months back, but that could be reflective of the growth in the valley,"Cummins observed. "I think we'll see it [an increase in referrals], if it comes, in February, March and April. Things didn't hit here as quickly."

There are many coping mechanisms people can use to get through tough times.

Swenson said those suffering from depression may benefit from staying busy and focusing on a structured life. Getting outside in the daylight or lighting candles for soothing indoor light also may be helpful.

Cummins suggested purposely scheduling something to get out of the house, and establishing rituals or re-establishing old customs that bring back good memories.

"Socializing is another way to cope," Swenson said. "Don't isolate yourself; get together with friends. Keeping our relationships strong, ultimately that's our greatest resource."

It also helps to think of others in a giving capacity, Swenson said.

Cummins agreed, reiterating that it's important to do something for someone other than yourself, even if it's donating a couple of cans of food to the Food Bank.

Barrie said she helps clients focus on getting a plan if they've lost their jobs and are having trouble coping.

"It might include getting support people or writing a resume," she said. "It's all about networking, connecting and bonding, and not isolating ourselves.

Nutrition and exercise are important in staying healthy mentally and physically during tough times. And don't be afraid to ask for help, many counselors suggested. Give yourself permission to ask for help, even if you've never had to before.

"And from a Christian perspective, we need to look up" to God for help, she added.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com