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An electronic circular of the Coalition's Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery
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No. 69, March 2011
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The Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery provides assistance
to the New York City mental health provider community through
expert trainings, focused technical assistance, evaluation,
information dissemination and special projects.
THE DIRECTOR’S NEW YORK MINUTE THE IMPORTANCE OF RELATIONSHIPS IN RECOVERY The Smallest Act of Caring Nets the Biggest Rewards By Courtenay M. Harding, PhD “Too often, we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” (1) All the manuals on evidence-based and promising practices, all the training, all the caveats about boundary-keeping, and the schooling, repeatedly told us that we should be helping people by doing things “to them, for them and now, finally, with them.” It turns out, that building relationships with other people with whom we are working, holds the key for everyone (administrators, clinicians, and consumers alike) to have a rich and meaningful life. In reading over the above sentence, the impediment to relationship building becomes immediately apparent. It is the use of the word “them.” The minute we use the word, there springs an ocean between people. To reduce the distance, one is reminded of Martin Buber’s (2) suggestion of the “I-Thou” relationship which infers an equality as well as a respectfulness. These ideas have been around for a very long time, centuries in fact. They should underpin everything we do and how we live. Getting to know someone, not just by their diagnosis, pathology, and behaviors, but by their hopes and dreams and lives lived, will enhance a cross mentoring process. By this route, you teach me what you know and I teach you what I know and we will both be enriched. Instead of me guiding you, we walk along a path together. One of the best inroads to a relationship is using kindness, especially when it is least expected or deserved. Kindness is such a simple approach that it has been overtaken and almost buried by the demands of the job. The sooner we begin to appreciate its power, the more we will see everyone rising to the level of hopefulness because it brings out the best in people. As Buscaglia said at the beginning of this editorial, very small things can reclaim lives. It turns out that interdependence is a higher form of functioning than is independence and much harder to achieve for everyone but a critical ingredient to be in the world. Interdependence leads to groups of people working together. Groups begin to form with a common vision; life becomes more bearable; and recovery happens. “A snowflake is one of Nature’s most fragile creations, but look what they can do when they stick together!”(3) Remember New York City in January? As anthropologist, Margaret Meade, reportedly once said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.” Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” All we need to do might be “a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring….” PROGRESS NOTES Nixing Nicotine: A Challenge for People in Mental Health Recovery By Susan Blayer Early in my career, as an OASAS Counselor in a NYC public High School, my Supervisor asked me to run a series of smoking cessation groups. I felt conflicted, as I was a smoker with a pack and a half a day addiction. Incredulously, I asked him, “Are you saying I have to give up smoking?” He looked at me blankly and stated, “No. I’m telling you, you have to run these groups.” I turned this directive into an opportunity to join the group I was there to assist. I used what I was learning about substance abuse treatment to design groups around wellness,( including identifying triggers, eliciting support from a buddy system and creating personalized lists of positive alternatives when the urge to smoke hit), all culminating in relapse prevention plans. The endeavor was considered a success, with many on my roster “leaving the pack behind.” With the help of the other participants, I was able to quit too. At least for a few years. Then I would smoke again for a few months, and quit again. This happened for a while until I was finally ready to kick the habit for good. It turns out that as hard as it was for me to quit, for people with schizophrenia, it is even harder. Considerable empirical evidence points to smoking as a way to alleviate many of the cognitive deficits of this mental illness. (1) This effect is perhaps due, in part, to other research findings linking a particular gene which carries both a major risk for schizophrenia, and also is a receptor for nicotine. Dr. Robert Freedman, who led this team of researchers, explains, “While smoking tobacco is not an effective treatment for schizophrenia, people who suffer from the illness may be smoking in an unconscious effort to stimulate the receptor and find some relief.” (2) This important data may also account for a statistic Dr. Robert Meyers, OMH Senior Deputy Commissioner and Director, shared with the PROS Learning Collaborative last month: 50% of NY State smokers are persons with mental illnesses. A disproportionate amount of our consumers have other co-occurring disorders. In this group, it has been shown that those entering addiction treatment are 3-4 times more likely to be tobacco dependant than the general population (3). Combined, this data illuminates the high probability that mental health clinics of all kinds will be filled with smokers. Many of us know that consumers are dying at an alarmingly faster rate, (on average, 25 years earlier!), than those without mental health challenges. Smoking is among the modifiable risk factors for the treatable medical conditions which contribute to this disturbing reality. As providers, friends, loved ones, we have a responsibility to try to encourage and support all efforts towards smoking cessation in our communities. I am not alone in this sentiment. In November, 2010, The New York Leadership Academy for Wellness and Smoking Cessation brought together addiction professionals, mental health providers, state agencies, consumers, and tobacco prevention experts to formulate an action plan for lowering the smoking prevalence rate among people with behavioral health disorders in New York State. Additionally, several PROS programs are training staff in evidence-based Integrated Dual Diagnosis Treatment (IDDT) so that they may help consumers stop smoking. If resources and guidance are needed, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene offers a Smoking Cessation Action kit : http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/csi/csi-cessation.shtml. In it, a letter from the former Health Commissioner, Dr.Thomas Frieden, outlines three key components to helping:
I would add another important thing you can do: if you smoke, make every effort to get the support you need to quit. As I witnessed during my Smoking-Cessation Campaign years ago, there are few things more powerful than setting a positive example. 1) Kumari, V., Postma, P. (2005) Nicotine use in schizophrenia: The self medication hypothesis. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Review, 29, 1021 –34. Have you visited our Peer Job Board yet?
New Center Training Schedule Now Available on Website Now you can plan ahead to attend upcoming Center trainings. Our calendar is now available for you to view and print from our website. Please go to: http://www.coalitionny.org/the_center/training/ and click on link to the right entitled, “Winter/Spring Schedule, 2011” to see what we have to offer. Note: If you are typing the URL in your browser, the space between “the” and “center” is in reality an underscore symbol “_”. Introduction to Benefits Management FREE half day training offered in various locations across the city designed for clinicians and other staff interested in learning the nuts and bolts of benefits management. The latest changes in SSA guidelines will also be discussed. Date/Time: Three dates left – see Center website for details. Recovering Together: Introduction to Group Work This full-day training is designed for mental health practitioners who seek to harness the power of groups to support individuals in their recovery. The training may be of particular interest to providers of Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS) since group work is the main service modality in PROS programs. Participants will be introduced to theoretical concepts and fundamental skills essential for leading various types of groups, including knowledge-based, skills-based and therapy groups. The focus will be on developing group dynamics that engage and empower group members, motivate them to achieve personal goals and help the group as a whole recover. Through didactic and experiential learning, participants will acquire the skills they need to plan and lead groups that are meaningful and alive. Facilitator: Aaron Vieira, LMSW LIFELINES: Ways to Engage People into PROS In this workshop Dr. Harding will focus on engaging or re-engaging consumers into PROS services. Workshop participants will receive hands on practice with this process which is fun to do no matter who one interviews be it your own grandmother or even a date. Consumers like it because it done in a collaborative manner head to head with the clinician and they get to take a copy home for themselves. Date/Time: March 24, 2011 Comprehensive Benefits Management – 3-day Training: SAVE THE DATE! This three day intensive training is designed for direct service staff whose positions require expertise in benefits counseling, such as providers working in PROS programs. Participants will learn how to utilize the Social Security Administration’s work incentive provisions to help consumers achieve their employment goals. Our expert trainer will discuss how recent legislative changes may affect consumers. Participants will have an opportunity to apply newly acquired systems knowledge through in-depth case studies. Facilitator: Ed Lopez-Soto, Esq. Note: If you are typing the URL in your browser, the space between “the” and “center” is in reality an underscore symbol “_”.
Brooklyn Community Services Economic Empowerment Expo The BCS East New York Clubhouse will be hosting an Economic Empowerment Expo. An SSA representative will be on site to help consumers learn how to work while maintaining more of their benefit checks. There will also be free tax preparation services and information about opening bank accounts. Free breakfast and lunch will be served. You may want to post the flyer provided below to promote this special event. Date: March 9, 2011 Scholarships for Young Adults with Disabled Parents Through the Looking Glass and its National Center for Parents with Disabilities and their Families are pleased to announce new scholarships specifically for high school seniors or college students who have parents with disabilities. Please go to: http://www.lookingglass.org for more information, including the application form, complete application directions and an FAQ page that answers many common questions as well as offers helpful suggestions. BU Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Offers Certificate Program The Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation has extended its deadline for the certificate program in Psychiatric Vocational Rehabilitation. The training is being offered as a part-time, continuing education option for working service providers, offering intensive, in-person training plus distance-based, supported practice in your own workplace. Location: Boston, MA: http://www.bu.edu/cpr/training/vocrehab/ Geriatric Mental Health Alliance Webinars The Geriatric Mental Health Alliance is offering a webinar this month entitled, “Addressing Complex Issues With APS Clients Using a Collaborative Approach.” This lecture will explore how Adult Protective Services addresses the cases of older adults who are referred with complex mental health needs. Participants will learn about the role of APS in the lives of adults with mental health issues, and they will also learn how clinical assessments are made in the field. This lecture is free; Continuing Education credits are available for $25. Date: March 18, 2011 RTP Resource Center 2011 Webinar Series This webinar, entitled, Step 2 in the Recovery-Oriented Care Continuum: Person-Centered Care Planning, Date: March 31, 2011 safetyNetworking Event—Deadline for Registration Approaching safetyNetworking is sponsored by the Region II Interagency Federal Partners Council and Columbia University Medical Center. This event is designed for NYC-based healthcare, social service, and community-based organizations to inform providers about many programs and Federal resources available to their consumers. Date: March 10, 2011 Save the Date: US Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association 36th Annual Conference The theme for the US Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association’s 36th Annual Conference in Boston is “It Began with a Vision…A new world of possibilities.” Boston is recognized as a city where the vision of psychiatric rehabilitation came to life. Here you will expand your knowledge and skills to implement psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery-oriented services at 70+ learning sessions, through networking, and world-renowned keynote speakers (including Patrick Kennedy, Patricia Deegan PhD, Robert Drake, MD, PhD, and Gary Bond, PhD). Dates: June 13-16, 2011 Announce Your Upcoming Event in RECOVEReWorks! Pathways to Housing Manual for the Mentally Ill Homeless Published “Housing First: The Pathways Model to End Homelessness for People with Mental Illness and Addiction” is a manual for providers. This manual and accompanying DVD detail philosophy, day-to-day operations and administration: staffing structure and operations for clinical and housing services; property management services and working with community landlords; the use of ACT and ICM teams as support services; the home visit; how to develop person-centered comprehensive service plans; and the incorporation of other evidence-based practices. Housing First also lays out what we have learned along the way, highlighting the research evidence for the program's remarkable effectiveness and cost savings that have won the program SAMHSA's recognition as an evidence-based model. To purchase the manual, go to www.hazelden.org/housingfirst, or call (800)-328-9000. To learn more about program implementation and training resources visit the Pathways to Housing website at www.pathwaystohousing.org/content/training_and_consulting Two Mental Health Organizations Make Their Archive “Consumers as Partners” Webinar Available The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare and Mental Health America have made available a recording of their webinar entitled, “Consumers as Partners in Improving Health.” It facilitated by Charles Willis of the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network and Kathy Bianco from CarePlus NJ, a SAMHSA Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration grantee. Mr. Willis discussed the role of Peer Support Specialists in wellness initiatives education and support while Ms. Bianco shared strategies for engaging and collaborating with consumers toward the integration of behavioral and primary care health. To listen to the Webinar, please go to: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/918002083 NAMI NYC Metro: Connection - Free Recovery Support Groups The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) in NY offers free recovery support group for those living with mental illnesses. Within a relaxed atmosphere, participants will have the opportunity to share experiences, coping strategies, encouragement and support. These Connection Support Groups meet weekly for 90 minutes, and do not use a curriculum or endorse medical therapies or medication. For more information or to learn about other NAMI NYC-Metro groups visit: http://www.naminycmetro.org/Support/GroupsforIndividualswithMentalIllness18plus/tabid/69/Default.aspx |
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