Empowerment model of recovery

Daniel Fisher, MD, PhD, a person who has recovered from mental illness and become a psychiatrist, believes in the empowerment model of recovery, where "full recovery" is potential in everyone.

Fisher says, "One is capable of recovering from the mental illness itself, not merely regaining functioning while remaining mentally ill." He believes that entitlement programs should become more fluid, based on the capacity of the individual at the time.

A Long Strange Trip

"Greetings everyone,

Over the past year and a half, filmmaker Tom Ludwig
and I have been working with Lesley Crowell at
Kalamazoo Community Mental Health on a feature length
documentary. The movie, A LONG STRANGE TRIP, is about
an incredible group of people who tour the community,
telling their personal stories about what it's like
living with a mental illness.

A LONG STRANGE TRIP premieres Friday, April 25th at
WMU's Little Theater. Showtimes: 7 & 9:30pm. Admission
will be Free-Will donations.

For a city that's home to the Kalamazoo Psychiatric
Hospital (formerly the State Hospital), there's
clearly a need for more awareness concerning members
of our community living with a psychiatric disability.

Please join us for this special event to honor and
celebrate the efforts of this extraordinary group of
individuals.

Hope to see you there,

Matt Clysdale
HorsePower Pictures

ps: Below is a synopsis of the film. Attached is an
electronic flyer; it takes a minute to view.
Please help spread the word by
forwarding this announcement and flyer to anyone
interested.
Thank You!

(If you would like to be removed from this mailing
list, please e-mail me back with REMOVE in the subject
line)
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A LONG STRANGE TRIP

Crazy as a loon, off your rocker, cuckoo, insane -
words and phrases we've all heard or spoken that make
light of people with mental illness. But for most,
living with a psychiatric disability is difficult and
complex.

A Long Strange Trip documents the PoWeR Group (Peers
for Wellness & Recovery), a team of mental health
clients who fight the fears and prejudices surrounding
mental illness with the power of personal testimony.
Touring southwest Michigan, the PoWeR Group hopes to
open the hearts and minds of legislators, college
students, church goers and any other audience willing
to hear their stories. Whether it's Tricia having
delusions of demons at 16 or Joe thinking satellites
are filming him in his apartment, each person opens a
window into the often misunderstood world of severe
and persistant mental illness.

But there's a fine line between telling your story and
living your story. Soon after rookie member Ian
delivers his first presentation, drug addiction
catches up with him in court. And when team members
accuse veteran member Jay of acting strange at a
presentation, a riveting struggle ensues over what it
is to be "normal".

Addressing that struggle are the Peers themselves,
working together in good times and bad. Join them on
the winding roads of recovery for a truly Long Strange
Trip..."

Paragraphein: from para- “beside” + graphein “to write”

I made it through my first week at the new job.

I love the new company. Practically the first thing the executive director said was, “People work better without bosses looking over their shoulder. You need to feel free to be creative. I find that giving people space lets their passion and creativity drive them, and they do good work that way. We figure if we’re promoting the recovery philosophy externally, then we need to practice it internally; you’re an adult, you know what you need to do your job and to stay well, so do it. We’re flexible. If you need to flex your hours a bit, fine. If you need to go somewhere, go. If you need guidance, or mentoring, or ideas, or resources, we’re all here to help… but we’re not looking over your shoulder or telling you how to do your job. You decide how you do your job.”

(And after this speech, I nearly kissed her.)

As for the work itself… I feel a bit lost. Not for lack of ideas (have tons), but because there are decisions the steering committee of the coalition needs to make, before we can proceed full steam ahead. We have a teleconference next week, so that should help.

I spent this week glued to my computer, with intervals of being glued to the phone.

There are bits of history and politics I’m still figuring out. My direct supervisor was away this week (but called every day to offer hints and help). She’ll be back Monday morning; hopefully then she can catch me up on some missing pieces.

The work itself is so meaningful. This coalition I’m coordinating will be a big piece of the puzzle in transforming the mental health system in PA. Not because of me, but because of the people who will join the coalition. Because of the collective voices of people with mental illness who will have an avenue for making their voices, their collective wisdom and insight, heard. Because it is one more way to make services recovery oriented, person-centered, and driven by the people who receive services.