Friday, July 18, 2008

Michigan Recovery Council, Part 2

Presentation on Morbidity and Mortality of People with Mental Illness

People with Serious Mental health issues ie 25 years earlier than other people. Recently, this rate has increased. Part of this is a lack of primary care for conditions like diabetes. There are also lifestyle issues like smoking.

Some evidence shows that the side-effects of meds produce some of these problems or make them more difficult to manage.

Access to primary care is a tremendous problem. Doctoprs don't talk to one another.

This needs to be priority public health issue. China raised their life expectency by 25 years in 11 years.

M&M in our community get no notice for the awful sickness and death rates. There is no outrage. We need to take the Executive Summary to every provider we meet. We all need to know more about our meds.Take notes during doc visits. Use the notes to support coordination. Peers need to be leaders in regard to modifiable life-style health factors. M&M reviews should be done for members of our community.

Drop-in centers can be leaders in wellness programs.

Michigan has taken a stand to support an entire curriculum on wellness.

Peers need to insert ourselves into the system in some public way.We owe this to our families, our friends, our children and grandchildren.

Michigan is piloting this curruculum for the nation.

What do we want to see in a health and wellness self-help group. What supports do we need? The program is 8 weeks long. The group also has a seperate activity each week. Specific goals aren't set until week six. Each seession starts out with relaxation.

The team has a packet to support change and recovery. It includes a relaxation CD, a pedometer, quotes, etc.


1 comment:

Aliman Sears said...

You said,

"We all need to know more about our meds.Take notes during doc visits. Use the notes to support coordination. Peers need to be leaders in regard to modifiable life-style health factors."

To give you some context, I'm not a peer, I am a service provider, and I believe in the Recovery Model.

The reason I like the above quote on your blog is because I feel that consumers have to fulfill their Individual Recovery Plans (IRP) (or ISP, Treatment Plans, whatever) 110% and "beat" the case manager and/or psychiatrist "at their own game." (Even though I use these words, I don't mean it in a confrontational sense.) Many consumers fight AGAINST the IRP: "I'm more capable than you think, I'm not phoning you once a week. I'm not a kid!" Then from the Treatment point of view, the consumer has failed. Remember, no matter how much consumers want service providers and state and private funders to be "enlightened" about the Recovery Model, the reality is WE ARE NOT ENLIGHTENED. Until the whole system gets to the point where the Recovery Model is standard practice, we're still forced to play this funding game with MRO requirements and other "medical model" requirements. Don't try to buck the system by refusing to adhere to the IRP, rather work from WITHIN the system and buck it from within!

HOW:
How do you "buck the system" from withing? Simple. If the IRP calls for putting in two job applications a month, but in EIGHT A WEEK! If the IRP calls for one phone contact per week, phone the CM THREE TIMES and tell them you've put in EIGHT job applications! Humor the CM and doctor! Don't refuse to phone once a week because you think you're more capable. DEMONSTRATE HOW WRONG THEY ARE BY EXCEEDING ALL THE GOALS BY 200%! Force the CM to have to work hard to hold up their end of the IRP.

WHY:
Why should consumers take this Recovery Planning "to the Nth degree?" If the consumer utterly exceeds the current IRP, and the consumer is taking meds, seeing the doctor, seeing the CM, (all the basics), then the provider will be forced to review the IRP and think more creatively about how to structure the Recovery Plan and revise it so that it is more REAL. The CM will then have to turn to the consumer (as the Recovery Model says) and take their cue from the consumer.

This is how the consumer takes control of their own services.

Aloha, Aliman.

http://alimansears.wordpress.com/alimans-professional-bio/