I was asked by Pam Werner to deliver a one and one half day leadership skills workshop at this week long retreat for Peer Support Specialists at the MacMillian Conference Center, Higgins Lake, Michigan.
I arrived about 9:00 PM on Sunday, after a difficult day with my aging mother. I was greeted warmly by Mary Beth, who is, I believe, one of the organizers. Between the registration, being assigned my room, and emptying my car I must have met 10 people who offered to help get my bags to my room. In the first 15 minutes I was engaged in a conversation with 3 people sitting on the steps of the cabin, enjoying the evening. They were talking about their personal experience in this phenomen called Recovery Movment. They were bright, careful, excited, and encouraged. They spoke of their lives being changed dramatically by learning about themselves and trusting that they can manage their illness.
I excused myself from this group, wanting to walk around the grounds and become familiar with the conference center. At every cabin door, there were small groups chatting and enjoying the evening. Following the drive, I came across two men walking in the opposite direction. Gerald was the first person who offered to help me with my bags, and Yuself is a man I know from my work in long-term care reform. After a warm greeting they joined me in my walk to the lake.
At the end of a long boardwalk through the woods, was a campfire with more people chatting. I met Doug who carves wood and spoke of being commissioned to carve an elephant - I did not get the impression that it was life size! Ann, Mo, Heather, and Pam who I know from a leadership mini-grant we were able to offer her program. All are very friendly and engaging.
If this is an example of how the Peer Support Specialists initiative works, I am in for a very delightful week.
More tomorrow,
Carolyn
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Recovery Council, Part 3
Members of the Recovery Council received a CD that contains Peer provided materials for a Continuing Education Conference to be held at McMullen Conference Center in Michigan the week of July 23-27. Roughly 200 people will be there. The materials are many and varied. I will be pulling out pieces to give you the flavor of the materials on the CD all this week.
I believe it will be possible to make the CD more available, or, failing that, to put the individual files on a web page for download. I'll ;et readers know sometime in the next couple of weeks.
I am also going to try to find a way to get notes from the conference for inclusion in this blog. I'll let you know how that goes.
I believe it will be possible to make the CD more available, or, failing that, to put the individual files on a web page for download. I'll ;et readers know sometime in the next couple of weeks.
I am also going to try to find a way to get notes from the conference for inclusion in this blog. I'll let you know how that goes.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Recovery Council 7-20-2007
Part 2:
Great lunch!!
Before Priscilla started in the afternoon, there was a discussion about the uses of symptom based assessments.
Oh, the Kansas book is called Pathways to Recovery. See http://www.socwel.ku.edu/projects/SEG/pathways.html
It is the stories, told and shared, that will prove the concept of Recovery and show its effectiveness.
REE: The Recovery Enhancing Environment Measure. It is intended to be used interactively to develop a real view of the system response.
Priscilla went through the items, including the stages of recovery, Organizational supports for recovery, what aspects of recovery are currently important to the person. There is a page which lists 27 outcomes that mark the evolution of recovery. The markers actually map the stage of recovery.
Priscilla passed out a work-in-progress on the Elements of a Recovery Facilitating System. These items are focused on assessing systems. Priscilla will be holding "ERFS" days for doing the assessment and educating people.
England and Australia are using the REE as the basic instrument for Recovery.
But here in America, the only Federal goals are symptom reduction and utilization reduction.
Priscilla closed by saying that human growth is out of the box and isn't going back in.
Great lunch!!
Before Priscilla started in the afternoon, there was a discussion about the uses of symptom based assessments.
Oh, the Kansas book is called Pathways to Recovery. See http://www.socwel.ku.edu/projects/SEG/pathways.html
It is the stories, told and shared, that will prove the concept of Recovery and show its effectiveness.
REE: The Recovery Enhancing Environment Measure. It is intended to be used interactively to develop a real view of the system response.
Priscilla went through the items, including the stages of recovery, Organizational supports for recovery, what aspects of recovery are currently important to the person. There is a page which lists 27 outcomes that mark the evolution of recovery. The markers actually map the stage of recovery.
Priscilla passed out a work-in-progress on the Elements of a Recovery Facilitating System. These items are focused on assessing systems. Priscilla will be holding "ERFS" days for doing the assessment and educating people.
England and Australia are using the REE as the basic instrument for Recovery.
But here in America, the only Federal goals are symptom reduction and utilization reduction.
Priscilla closed by saying that human growth is out of the box and isn't going back in.
Tags:
Michigan Recovery Council Meeting
July 20, 2007 at LCC West
As usual, the RC meeting today has been celebratory and contentious. Right now, Priscilla Ridgeway if talking about the whole context of the Recovery Movement, and how much has to change for that to happen. She talks about recovery as taking responsibility for the whole of one's life and viewing the current system as an environment of potential tools.
Part 1 Notes:
She pointed to the peer focused stories of the Kansas
Many relationships and tools make recovery and transformation light.
"Sitting around campfires, creating a culture."
The tension between the unique nature of the Recovery Journey and figuring out how well we are doing is part of the culture creation.
We are in a construction zone creating the Recovery Culture. Telling our stories is creating and expanding Recovery Culture.
"Brailling the Elephant"
Lots of people have made surveys to find out more about some process of change.
Recovery has always been. Until recently, in this society, recovery knowledge has been suppressed through the ambient stigma.
We need to create ways to be together to heal each other.
Measurement="How are we doing?"
Can we talk about how we are doing clearly enough to share that knowledge?
Right now, there is a negotiation going on over the recovery focus of the OQ45, and the possibility of adding other components. She refers to staff as helpers, a different role.
Priscilla mentioned the paperwork demands of measurement. Also, everyone wants data. And it isn't clear what we do with the data. The Council and its members have some power and don't want to be manipulated.
Learn how to observe the flow of power as you participate in power relationships, discussions, reviews, and whatever else.
No real funding for recovery measurements, so we need 1000 flowers to bloom. If you have an idea, go for it.
Many problems with real uses of measurements. People lose supports because of their score. Maybe we need a Reality Show on geting and losing supports during recovery.
"What you measure matters". Money, power, position, people's lives change because of measurement.
Comments spoke to the light bulb of seeing the recovery process as including power, money, and struggle. And outcomes. And an acceptable measurement doesn't yet exist.
End of Part 1
As usual, the RC meeting today has been celebratory and contentious. Right now, Priscilla Ridgeway if talking about the whole context of the Recovery Movement, and how much has to change for that to happen. She talks about recovery as taking responsibility for the whole of one's life and viewing the current system as an environment of potential tools.
Part 1 Notes:
She pointed to the peer focused stories of the Kansas
Many relationships and tools make recovery and transformation light.
"Sitting around campfires, creating a culture."
The tension between the unique nature of the Recovery Journey and figuring out how well we are doing is part of the culture creation.
We are in a construction zone creating the Recovery Culture. Telling our stories is creating and expanding Recovery Culture.
"Brailling the Elephant"
Lots of people have made surveys to find out more about some process of change.
Recovery has always been. Until recently, in this society, recovery knowledge has been suppressed through the ambient stigma.
We need to create ways to be together to heal each other.
Measurement="How are we doing?"
Can we talk about how we are doing clearly enough to share that knowledge?
Right now, there is a negotiation going on over the recovery focus of the OQ45, and the possibility of adding other components. She refers to staff as helpers, a different role.
Priscilla mentioned the paperwork demands of measurement. Also, everyone wants data. And it isn't clear what we do with the data. The Council and its members have some power and don't want to be manipulated.
Learn how to observe the flow of power as you participate in power relationships, discussions, reviews, and whatever else.
No real funding for recovery measurements, so we need 1000 flowers to bloom. If you have an idea, go for it.
Many problems with real uses of measurements. People lose supports because of their score. Maybe we need a Reality Show on geting and losing supports during recovery.
"What you measure matters". Money, power, position, people's lives change because of measurement.
Comments spoke to the light bulb of seeing the recovery process as including power, money, and struggle. And outcomes. And an acceptable measurement doesn't yet exist.
End of Part 1
Monday, July 2, 2007
Poison into Medicine
from Gerald Butler
June 30, 2007
Poison into medicine
I am so encouraged by the optimistic responses to the last Peer 2 Peer that I am certain there is some sort of positive energy and hope flowing throughout the recovering community.
Someone who has never been in an airplane cannot command the Space Shuttle, though he may be world renowned a male cancer surgeon would be in unfamiliar territory at a ‘Breast Cancer Survivors’ support group meeting, a person who has never taken a drink or done drugs is incapable of running a NA or AA meeting. These same principals apply to us, and we must take pride in the fact that we have been where we have been and have chosen to help others. All that pain and suffering we went through was a valuable education and we paid dearly for it. Through ‘Peer Support’ we have the opportunity to turn all of that poison into medicine and help heal others who are where we used to be. As Peers, we do what we do from the heart and that makes us ‘Golden’ in the eyes of God.
In the last letter I stressed the importance of staying on a positive level, and some of you asked ‘How can I stay positive when I work around negative people? First we must clear our hearts and souls of low self esteem, animosity and/or anger, envy, insensitivity, and all the other negative emotions. Then we must put on our spiritual armor, hold our heads high, and walk proudly because through our suffering dues to humanity have been paid. Now it is time to collect our just rewards of respect, honor, truth, and dignity. Take for instance the soldier who is rescued at the last moment from what was certain death and is returned to safety. When that soldier says ‘I must go back and help save my brothers’, he/she is honored as a war hero. True ‘Peers Supporters’ do the exact same thing and that is what makes you Golden. You must appreciate yourself so that you may show others how to gain self esteem.
I have never watched an episode of Star Wars but from my understanding, Luke Skywalker had the ‘FORCE’ on his side, he just had to learn how to utilize it. Chakras, Great Spirit, The Holy Ghost, are some of the religious based concepts referring to some sort of higher power. The common theme is: one must go through ordeals to achieve a higher level of existence. You have been through your ‘Trails & Tribulations’ and as a result you view life from more of a spiritual position. . Keep your heart clean and clear of negativity, turning it over to him/her who handles that sort of thing. Walk in honor that you have garnered through suffering, and do not step down into negative situations, or let negative people pierce your armor. Do unto yourself as you do unto others. Mostly, remember you are golden.
Gerald Butler
CPSS
Connecting Tags;
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wider Sale Is Seen for Toothpaste Tainted in China
To see the full article, you will have to register (for free):
After federal health officials discovered last month that tainted Chinese toothpaste had entered the United States, they warned that it would most likely be found in discount stores.
In fact, the toothpaste has been distributed much more widely. Roughly 900,000 tubes containing a poison used in some antifreeze products have turned up in hospitals for the mentally ill, prisons, juvenile detention centers and even some hospitals serving the general population.
The toothpaste was handed out in dozens of state institutions, mostly in Georgia but also in North Carolina, according to state officials. Hospitals in South Carolina and Florida also reported receiving Chinese-made toothpaste, and a major national pharmaceutical distributor said it was recalling tainted Chinese toothpaste.
Connecting Tags;
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Mind Freedom news
Click the full text link:
MindFreedom International News - July 2007
http://www.mindfreedom.org - please forward
Mad Pride '07 is well underway!
by Krista Erickson, chair, MFI Mad Pride Chair
July is Mad Pride month! Join in! Celebrate the right to be different
and the psychiatric survivor movement.
A link to a complete, updated listing of Mad Pride 2007 events known
to us is online at:
www.mindfreedom.org/campaign/madpride
A few highlights of events include:
-- BonkersFest was celebrated in June in England with Mad Pride
events planned from now until early October. A cannon launch of
bananas kicked off Mad Pride 2007 at this popular music event! See
the photo.
-- The Great Escape Bed Push. For the third year, activists in
England will symbolically escape psychiatric institutions, dressed in
pajamas and 'hot tail' it with a psychiatric bed to a place of safety
and celebration while raising awareness about the over-use of forced
treatments in mental health services and the need for holistic choice
based services.
-- This year the Great Escape Bed Push goes international with bed
pushes scheduled in Canada and the US to celebrate Mad Pride. Next
year? How about your home town?
-- The first-ever Mad Pride parade in Belgium.
-- Another great street march and ot
MindFreedom International News - July 2007
http://www.mindfreedom.org - please forward
Mad Pride '07 is well underway!
by Krista Erickson, chair, MFI Mad Pride Chair
July is Mad Pride month! Join in! Celebrate the right to be different
and the psychiatric survivor movement.
A link to a complete, updated listing of Mad Pride 2007 events known
to us is online at:
www.mindfreedom.org/campaign
A few highlights of events include:
-- BonkersFest was celebrated in June in England with Mad Pride
events planned from now until early October. A cannon launch of
bananas kicked off Mad Pride 2007 at this popular music event! See
the photo.
-- The Great Escape Bed Push. For the third year, activists in
England will symbolically escape psychiatric institutions, dressed in
pajamas and 'hot tail' it with a psychiatric bed to a place of safety
and celebration while raising awareness about the over-use of forced
treatments in mental health services and the need for holistic choice
based services.
-- This year the Great Escape Bed Push goes international with bed
pushes scheduled in Canada and the US to celebrate Mad Pride. Next
year? How about your home town?
-- The first-ever Mad Pride parade in Belgium.
-- Another great street march and ot
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Doctors Are Prejudiced Against Patients With Mental Health Disorders
People who are ill and have psychiatric disorders are not treated as effectively by doctors compared to those who have no mental health problems.
Dr Alex Mitchell, a consultant psychiatrist, and Dr Darren Malone, a specialist registrar in psychiatry, who work at the Department of Liaison Psychiatry at Leicester General Hospital, reviewed a number of studies focussing on preventative and physical care of patients with and without mental illness.
They looked at screening for cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, HIV and cervical and breast cancer and treatment for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, HIV and cancer care.
Unveiling their findings to the annual meeting, they found that of the 14 studies which looked at health screening, 12 suggested inferior quality of care. Of the 23 studies comparing care for patients with and without mental illness 14 suggested poor quality of care when it came to recommending drug treatment, diagnostic and investigative procedures and surgical interventions.
Dr Alex Mitchell, a consultant psychiatrist, and Dr Darren Malone, a specialist registrar in psychiatry, who work at the Department of Liaison Psychiatry at Leicester General Hospital, reviewed a number of studies focussing on preventative and physical care of patients with and without mental illness.
They looked at screening for cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, HIV and cervical and breast cancer and treatment for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, HIV and cancer care.
Unveiling their findings to the annual meeting, they found that of the 14 studies which looked at health screening, 12 suggested inferior quality of care. Of the 23 studies comparing care for patients with and without mental illness 14 suggested poor quality of care when it came to recommending drug treatment, diagnostic and investigative procedures and surgical interventions.
Connecting Tags;
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Michigan's Searchable Prescription Price Web Site Expands To 150 Drugs
The Michigan Department of Community Health on Thursday announced that it will add the information on an additional 120 prescription drugs to a state-run Web site that allows consumers to search drug prices, the AP/Detroit News reports. Users can search the site -- michigandrugprices.com -- by ZIP code and pharmacy. The site previously had listed price information for 30 drugs. New features on the site will allow users to find driving directions to pharmacies and file complaints with the state when they find inaccurate information or suspect price gouging.
In May, state Attorney General Mike Cox (R) criticized the health department for excluding the 120 drugs from the site. Cox had conducted surveys that showed wide disparities in prices for the same drugs at pharmacies "just miles apart," the AP/News reports.
Health department Director Janet Olszewski said, "We believe the increased utility of the state's Web site will give citizens the access they deserve and the ability to save thousands of dollars on their prescription drugs per year." She added, "We want citizens to have the ability to report possible prescription drug pricing inaccuracies as soon as possible, since prescription drug prices can vary daily" (AP/Detroit News, 6/14).
In May, state Attorney General Mike Cox (R) criticized the health department for excluding the 120 drugs from the site. Cox had conducted surveys that showed wide disparities in prices for the same drugs at pharmacies "just miles apart," the AP/News reports.
Health department Director Janet Olszewski said, "We believe the increased utility of the state's Web site will give citizens the access they deserve and the ability to save thousands of dollars on their prescription drugs per year." She added, "We want citizens to have the ability to report possible prescription drug pricing inaccuracies as soon as possible, since prescription drug prices can vary daily" (AP/Detroit News, 6/14).
Connecting Tags;
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Disabled entrapped by ID rules
A week after his first birthday, Bobby Hartwell's parents dropped him off at the Colorado State Home and Training School for Mental Defectives northwest of Denver.
He never saw them again.
For the next 30 years, Hartwell, who has cerebral palsy and mental retardation, lived at the school and at a nursing home. In 1980, Wade Blank, a preacher and activist for the disabled, got Hartwell out, helped him get public assistance and a home, and taught him to live on his own.
Now, at 57, Hartwell may lose it all, starting with his apartment - because he can't prove he's a U.S. citizen.
Hartwell's dilemma is the result of new rules - a 2006 Colorado law, federal requirements in the 2006 Deficit Reduction Act, and 2004 homeland security legislation - aimed at thwarting terrorists and barring public benefits for undocumented residents.
Connecting Tags;
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