Angelo Sandoval, Clinical Director at Porch Light Health New Mexico, joined KDCE Newsradio to discuss PTSD and veteran mental health ahead of Veterans Day. The conversation covered how trauma affects veterans, the importance of medication-assisted treatment and behavioral health services, and how Porch Light Health’s holistic approach—including peer support and community partnerships—helps individuals achieve stability and recovery in Española and throughout New Mexico.
KDCE Newsradio
All right. Let’s welcome to our studio, Angelo Sandoval. He is the Clinical Director at Porch Light Health, New Mexico. Tell us a little bit about Porch Light Health for those people that don’t know what it is. It’s a local clinic here.
Angelo Sandoval
Yes, sir. Porch Light Health is a medication-assisted treatment clinic where we focus on helping people with getting off their substance abuse, utilizing medications. We also offer behavioral health services, which is the therapy side as well. We offer peer support, which is another way of… It’s like a third layer of support for clients.
KDCE Newsradio
It’s not only here in Española, right? You have several locations in New Mexico.
Angelo Sandoval
Initially, they came right before COVID started in 2020 in Farmington. But we’ve been in Española since March of 2024, and we’ve slowly expanded to the other three places, Taos, Albuquerque and Las Cruces.
KDCE Newsradio
Where is it located? Aquí in Española.
Angelo Sandoval
Aquí en Española, we’re right next to Lotaburger. It’s literally right next to Lotaburger. So you can come and see us and then have a burger.
KDCE Newsradio
Or go have—I’ll take the burger first and then go see you.
Angelo Sandoval
Yeah, as you wait.
KDCE Newsradio
Tomorrow is Veterans Day. I know that a lot of veterans face issues, mental health issues, especially because of their service or that they were in a war and PTSD. Can you describe some of these… I know that PTSD is one of them, but are there other illnesses that the veterans suffer from?
Angelo Sandoval
Most definitely. PTSD is one of the most common ones, especially those who were in war or were experiencing any… Even during basic training or even during training and stuff, if something bad happens, you carry that with you. But associated also with PTSD, we also have depression and anxiety. Of course, if they were deployed or lost a friend, a fellow service member, of course, they have the grief and loss. Of course, they also carry grief and loss. If anything happened at home while they were gone. Let’s say a good friend died or a family member died that was close to them and they didn’t get to come and participate in the services, of course, they carry that as well. There’s many layers of different things that they could be struggling with.
KDCE Newsradio
So PTSD is short for posttraumatic stress disorder, right? Yes, sir. What is it? Explain it to us.
Angelo Sandoval
The best way it was described to me when I was learning this stuff, the best way it was described to me is like, you’re going through this experience and your brain takes a screenshot, isolates this particular moment. If you look at your life like a movie, your movie is playing, this event enters and exits, enters and exits. And what happens is there are triggers, things around you, within you that pull this image back into your reality. So we’re looking at things like sounds, smells, things that you see. So all your senses can trigger a PTSD moment.
KDCE Newsradio
All right. And it actually affects your life, right?
Angelo Sandoval
Oh, most definitely. I mean, it can be… And the thing is, is like, PTSD isn’t… These things aren’t solid. Like, oh, this is no. It’s a spectrum, right? So it can be light and it can be heavy. And different triggers affect the heaviness of the symptomology, what symptoms and how severe the symptoms are. We can take Fourth of July, for an example. Fireworks. Fireworks, exactly. If you have a veteran who was in combat and they were part of the unit that was dealing with a lot of heavy bombing, a lot of heavy noise. Fireworks are going to trigger that, and he’s going to react, and his brain is going to tell him, we need to protect ourselves. We need to hide. This is where you see these servicemen who are like, they become very anxious. They hide. They can’t function is because basically what happens is the brain goes into protective mode. We need to be safe. We need to survive this. What’s going on is that those sounds really carry into how their brain is trying to protect them, basically. But it’s an unhealthy habit that is difficult to break.
KDCE Newsradio
Like you said, it occurs at any moment. There are triggers, sounds like. It depends on what you served in. They’re not announced or predetermined, right? It can happen at any time.
Angelo Sandoval
And that’s the thing, though, is that with triggers, there are some that are obvious that we can pinpoint, obviously. But then there are others that are so subtle or they’re not so frequent. Sometimes we just don’t recognize that as a trigger because it doesn’t make sense that it would be a trigger. So that’s the problem with triggers is that you can’t always isolate every single trigger. One thing that we can do, though, is we can learn to read our body. Our body will start manifesting symptoms with the slightest trigger. So one of the things that I do in my therapy is I really try and teach people how to recognize their body, how to read their body, how to start noticing the subtle shifts in their breathing pattern, how they’re just doing things. And I try and teach clients also how to teach their family members, how to help them read their shift in body language. And normally, that’s a good way to start learning what triggers are around you that are not so obvious all the time.
KDCE Newsradio
When this happens, the good news is that there is treatment available, right?
Angelo Sandoval
Oh, definitely. That’s where Porch Light really comes into play because we’re not doing just one thing. We’re looking at the whole person. We’re looking at not only the psychiatry part of the brain or the brain itself, the physical organ of the brain, but then we’re looking at the behavioral health side of the brain. And then we’re looking at the peer support, which is that added support where there’s another person available to vent, to learn new skills, to incorporate what we’re doing in the medical and behavioral side. Peer support helps us then reinforce those interventions, those strategies.
KDCE Newsradio
So when should veterans actually seek help if they’re having these or might be going through PTSD?
Angelo Sandoval
I think that it’s good to start right away. I think if a service person has been in war or whatever, I think they should at least get evaluated, at least get a foundation of where they’re at so that if they do start manifesting more symptoms or whatever, we have a baseline, and then we can go from there. But the sooner the better because an ounce of prevention is a lot better than a pound of treatment, because if we can start the process early, then hopefully, the hope is that then we can deviate away from substance abuse or negative results from the mental health that then can lead to other problems. Proactive is always the best, but in Porch Light, we can definitely help. Even if things go ahead, we can help you and help you get you stable again.
KDCE Newsradio
All right, then. How do you get them stable again? What does treatment look like? I’m sure depending on the person, there could be very light, just maybe anxiety or depression to full-fledged episodes that occur.
Angelo Sandoval
Basically, we’ll do an evaluation, see where their symptoms are at, see what the severity level is. And normally what we do first is if it’s really severe, is we medicate them first. So what we’re trying to do is help their brain slow down, help their brain get out of the fight or flight and be in a more relaxed state. Then once we get them stabilized mentally and medically, then we jump in with the behavioral health because they have to be able to focus and be able to process before they can… So really the medication is the first thing so we can stabilize them, calm them down, get them to be more focused, get them to help them really learn to slow their brain down, get their brain out of anxiety mode, out of self-protective mode, self-preservation mode.
KDCE Newsradio
What medications are those that you’re talking about?
Angelo Sandoval
We’re looking at stuff like benzodiazepines, which is Valium, Xanax, things like those. Those help calm the body down. Antidepressants, Seroquel. It’s just a range of medications that we use. The thing with medications is we have to be careful. So not every medication doesn’t help everybody. So it’s some trial and error. So we do have to work around. So we start slow, we build up, we try this. If it doesn’t work, then we move to the next one. But it’s a patient process. You have to be patient. You have to have perseverance, if you will.
KDCE Newsradio
Once you’ve been medicated, then what does the rest of the treatment look like? I guess, therapy sessions.
Angelo Sandoval
Yeah. Then once we get them stabilized, then they’ll come see me. We’ll do a full-blown assessment, a psychosocial assessment. With a psychosocial assessment, we’re looking at the whole person from medical history to trauma history, substance abuse history, family history, service history, the whole history of who the person is. Then once we get an idea, then we diagnose, and then we start developing a treatment plan.
KDCE Newsradio
Initially, who do they see if they don’t see you immediately?
Angelo Sandoval
No, they’ll start with our medication assisted treatment person first, that provider. Who is that in Española? In Española, we have Kathleen Cripe. I hope I’m pronouncing her last name correctly. But then we also have other providers that are in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, that we do telehealth with. Then we also utilize our team up in Colorado. There’s someone that are licensed in New Mexico to help us.
KDCE Newsradio
They would see them first, and then after you do that full-blown evaluation analysis, it depends on the patient, I guess, as to how many sessions. Is it just sessions you’re talking to them, or there are other treatments besides that?
Angelo Sandoval
We’ll do individual therapy. We’ll do group sessions. We’ll also refer out to, let’s say they have a lot of grief and loss. Then we’ll try and find them a support group for grief and loss. AA, we’ll refer them to AA as extra support. We look at our clients as a whole person, and we deal with what’s in our realm, and then we partner. We’ll do a… The way I approach things, I’ll even partner with the religious leaders. If they’re Catholic, a priest, if they’re not Catholic, then their minister, if they’re native, the medicine man or the elders from the kiva. We really try and really approach that as an individual, first and foremost, in a holistic approach. That even includes getting the doctor involved if we really needed to.
KDCE Newsradio
All right. Alcohol and drugs play a major role, right? Yeah, definitely. Could you explain that?
Angelo Sandoval
Well, it goes back to feeling safe. It goes back to feeling… Trying to find a sense of normalcy, right? So what do drugs do? Well, the illicit drugs do what prescription drugs do, where they slow the brain down or they give the body a sense of numbness, where you’re not feeling that pain, you’re not feeling the anxiety, right? So the substance abuse is a way of dealing with. It’s an unhealthy way of coping. What we’re trying to do is put them on medications that we can track, we can measure, we can adjust appropriately, and they’re safer because we have more control over what’s going on. Versus street drugs, you don’t know what you’re getting. I mean, alcohol is just a dangerous drug overall. I mean, alcohol impacts so much of your body at so many different levels, at so many different areas that you don’t have to drink heavily. You just have to be consistent. Even consistent drinking can cause problems. What we’re trying to do is get them on medications that we can monitor, we know what’s going on, we can adjust the doses accordingly.
KDCE Newsradio
I guess peer support or people that are close to veterans and might be experiencing this, how can they help? I guess being supportive, being there for them?
Angelo Sandoval
Yeah. What peer support does is help them with skills building. Let’s say I talk about, let’s learn about breathing exercises. Let’s learn about grounding techniques. Then the peer support jumps in to support me in teaching them these techniques and practicing the techniques, or maybe sometimes they just need to vent. Family members are awesome at supporting our family, our people who are ill, but sometimes we cross the line and we want to give advice, and sometimes they don’t need advice. Where I come into play, where the peer support comes into play, is we listen and we listen. Then we don’t sit there and give our two cents to what we think is… Even me as a therapist, I don’t always give advice, if you will. I give options, and I help the client because most people have the answer. They just don’t know how to find the answer. My job is to guide them into finding the answer.
KDCE Newsradio
All right, then. So the most important thing, I guess, for family members would be to listen, right?
Angelo Sandoval
Listen, listen, listen. It’s not always about fixing the problem because sometimes it’s just about listening. And a good question to ask is, do you need me to help you or do you just need me to listen? I think asking that question is, is this a vent session or do we need to problem solve session? And most of the time it’s a vent session. Most of the time people just need to air out the stuff they’ve been through.
KDCE Newsradio
All right. Where do they go to help or how do they get help? They call, you have a number, or you have… Actually, your clinic is a walk-in clinic, right?
Angelo Sandoval
Our Farmington, Española, Albuquerque, Las Cruces, is walk-in clinic all the time. Tuesday to Friday, 8:30 to… We close at 4:00, so 3:30 would be probably the last one to make sure that we can get you serviced 100%. Walk-ins, we take walk-ins. Taos for right now, we’re only open on Mondays and Fridays, but it’s still the same thing. You can walk in. You can also call in. Our number is 1-866-MAT-STAT, and you can also go online to porchlighthealth.com, and you can do an online registration.
KDCE Newsradio
A lot of people prefer to make a phone call or do it online first, right?
Angelo Sandoval
Yeah. But we take walk-ins, so don’t ever be afraid. Just walk in, and we’ll fit you in that day. If not, we’ll fit you in the next day. But we’ll definitely try and get you in as soon as possible.
KDCE Newsradio
I record some of your commercials for Porch Light, and I know that one of the things that you add in your commercial is that people should not worry about paying for… How do you pay for the program? There are several things that you accept, all the insurances, and Medicaid, Medicare, I’m sure. Yes. But this should never be a…
Angelo Sandoval
No. We take all major insurances, Medicaid, Medicare, and all commercial insurances. But if you can’t pay, come by. We’ll figure out a way to help you. We’re not going to put you out. We’re going to find a way to help you pay. We’ll look out for programs, whatever the case may be, but we’ll definitely work to help you.
KDCE Newsradio
With Veterans Day being tomorrow, are you currently treating—ballpark? I hear a lot of veterans with PTSD or any other disorders right now here in Española?
Angelo Sandoval
I don’t have any personally on my caseload that I can think of off the top of my head. But I know we are on the MAT side. I do get a lot of clients, so sometimes it’s hard to keep everybody in track without looking at their names and stuff. I’m pretty sure I do have at least one or two. None that I can think off top of my head. But yeah, we service. I know we have some in the MAT for sure.
KDCE Newsradio
Anything you want to add, Angelo, before I let you go?
Angelo Sandoval
No, just know that we’re here to support you here at Porch Light. I want to thank you for inviting us, for allowing us this time to really educate our community and learning about substance abuse and treatment and helping people understand that treatment is a great thing for our community. It’s just like a cardiologist, that’s like a bone doctor. Our focus is the brain. Just like if you have a sick heart, you go to a cardiologist, you have a sick brain, sick mind, you come see us. Same thing.
KDCE Newsradio
All right. So on our Veterans Day tomorrow, and then we have the holidays, Thanksgiving coming up and Christmas. That is a time when many people are going through depression, right?
Angelo Sandoval
Yes. If you guys are struggling, come see us. Definitely, this is high, high risk for relapse, high, high risk for symptoms getting worse. A lot is going on the next few weeks. So definitely, if you guys are having any symptoms, come see us. Even if you want to just be proactive and just come and talk to us.
KDCE Newsradio
All right. So once again, the phone number is—1-866-MAT-STAT. And porchlighthealth.com.
Angelo Sandoval
Yes, sir.
KDCE Newsradio
Thank you, Angelo, for being here. Muchísimas gracias. We’ll be talking to you sometime again soon.
Angelo Sandoval
Yes, sir. Maybe for the holidays. Yeah, hopefully. A ver. Okay. That’s it. Well, take care. Bye, bye.
