September is almost here, and that means that Recovery Month is here again!
Every September SAMHSA promotes National Recovery Month to bring national attention to behavioral health and let people know that recovery is possible! It’s an occasion to celebrate our own recoveries, as we spread the message that people with behavioral health conditions can and do recover, and live productive, fulfilling lives in the community.
This year’s theme is “Join the Voices for Recovery: Our Families, Our Stories, Our Recovery!” SAMHSA has many materials and resources to help mental health consumer organizations participate in Recovery Month. Visit the Recovery Month website at https://www.recoverymonth.gov/. While you’re at it, you may also want to join the conversation on the National Recovery Month Facebook page, watch videos on SAMHSA’s Recovery Month Youtube channel, follow the Recovery Month Twitter feed, or download the National Recovery Month Toolkit in English or Spanish.
September also means that its’ time for Alternatives! The 30th Annual Alternatives conference is coming to San Diego on September 19-23. We hope to see you there! You can find everything you need to know about Alternatives at http://www.alternatives2016peerlinktac.org/.
And if you’re looking for another great September conference on the other side of the country, you can join The New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS) for their 34th Annual Conference on September 14-16 at the Hudson Valley Resort & Spa in Kerhonkson, NY. To learn more, visit https://rms.nyaprs.org/event/?page=CiviCRM&q=civicrm/event/info&reset=1&id=21.
Wherever you are on your recovery journey, we hope September brings you a renewed sense of wellness and possibility!
Peer Specialist Training & Certification Programs National Overview 2016
The Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health at the University of Texas School of Social Work is the preeminent source of information on how peer support specialists are trained and certified in states across the nation. In this new report, they catalog how peer specialist programs work in each state. It also includes a set of “recommendations for states to consider in an attempt to enhance and further advance training and certification programming for peer specialist programs.”
Justice Department Sues Mississippi for Discriminating Against Adults with Mental Illness
A recent DOJ suit alleges that the state “violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) by failing to provide adults with mental illness with necessary integrated, community-based mental health services.”
Share Your Experience with the Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Task Force
The US Department of Health and Human Services Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Task Force wants to hear from patients, families, consumer advocates, health care providers, insurers, and other stakeholders on their experience with mental health and substance use disorder parity requirements. Comments are due by August 31.
To participate, visit http://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/advisory-committees/parity/feedback.html
Webinar: State Solutions in Workforce: Innovations in Developing the Behavioral Health Workforce
Wed, Sep 7
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
SAMHSA, in partnership with the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, the Annapolis Coalition on the Behavioral Health Workforce, and the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska, is sponsoring part 1 of a quarterly webinar series that will highlight current innovative practices throughout the nation.
Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7892720351558839043
Webinar: Parenting in Recovery: Challenges and Opportunities
Thursday, September 15
1:00-2:30pm ET (12:00pm CT, 11:00am MT, 10:00am PT)
The purpose of the Parenting in Recovery: Challenges and Opportunities webinar is to provide insight into the experience of parenting in recovery, to offer examples of recovery-oriented approaches to supporting people their roles as parents, and to suggest strategies for increasing parenting supports for people in recovery.
Webinar participants will be able to identify challenges specific to parenting while in recovery, name three ways to support people as parents in recovery, and identify one next step on how to increase or improve supports for parents in recovery (either individually or as an agency).
Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/brss-tacs-webinar-parenting-in-recovery-challenges-and-opportunities-tickets-27197186517.
The 9th Annual World Hearing Voices Congress
August 16—18, 2017
Boston University
Boston, MA
The Hearing Voices Movement is comprised of over 30 national networks from around the world joined by shared goals and values, including a fundamental belief that hearing voices, seeing visions and related phenomena are meaningful experiences that can be understood in many ways; hearing voices is not, in itself, an indication of illness.
Their 2017 international event will be held here in the US, at Boston University.
Find out more at www.hearingvoicesusa.org.
Mental Wellness during Unemployment for Peers
Tuesday, August 30
11 AM PT/ 2 PM ET
When a peer (or anyone) finds themselves “Out of Work,” we go through a variety of feelings and experiences that can actually get in the way of getting back on your feet. This webinar will explore the both the general and unique feelings of being a peer (or supporting a peer) who finds themselves out of work. We will also look at developing a plan to reclaim and maintain your wellness during periods of unemployment. In today’s economic climate, this webinar is a necessity for both those looking for work and those supporting peers who are struggling with unemployment.
Rachelle Weiss, the Project Development Director for Doors to Wellbeing, has extensive experience being unemployed and feeling unemployable. She created a workshop and this webinar to combat the feelings and the sabotaging behaviors one goes through during those times. She has been working in the consumer/peer world for over 20 years and knows the broad spectrum of situations a peer worker and a peer employer might experience.
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6682977180743518722
Webinar: SDM Dialogues: Engaging Individuals and Families in Decision Making
August 30
1-2 p.m. EDT
This webinar will draw from examples at two different service settings—a peer-run recovery center and a program that serves young adults experiencing psychosis—and to illustrate ways to help individuals and families make the most of healthcare conversations. The presenters will highlight how they follow use the framework of shared decision making to guide services delivery and engage people using their services to become active in all aspects of their healthcare.
Event link: https://ahpnet.adobeconnect.com/e3wrc5y25og/event/event_info.html
An Assessment Of Innovative Models Of Peer Support Services In Behavioral Health To Reduce Preventable Acute Hospitalization And Readmissions
This study from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services examines the ability of peer support specialists to promote recovery, improve outcomes and reduce health care costs, with a specific focus on “reducing unnecessary psychiatric hospital admissions, readmissions, and avoidable ED utilization.” It examines efforts in multiple states, including New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Washington and Arizona.
https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/205411/PeerSupServ.pdf
Grieving Father Openly Discusses Mental Health and Suicide in Daughter’s Obituary
This article discusses a remarkable obituary, in which the father of a young woman with bipolar disorder talks about the importance of distinguishing people from their diagnoses, and the way communities react very differently to mental health than they do to other health concerns.
Mental Health Courts Aim To Connect Instead Of Criminalize
This story out of Indiana presents another example of ongoing efforts to connect justice system involved people with mental health needs with support and a path to recovery.
http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/mental-health-courts-aim-connect-criminalize-103571/
Equity and Inclusion in Leadership: A National Networking Call for People of Color
October 14
Our friends at the STAR Center are hosting monthly calls for people of color who are interested in increasing the number of people in mental health organizational leadership roles who are African-American, Native American/American Indian/Alaskan Native, Latino/Hispanic or Asian/Pacific Islanders. If you are interested in being part of the planning and facilitation of these calls, please contact Tanya at tryder@nami.org
The next call is set for October 14. Visit http://consumerstar.org/site/index.php for more info.
Significant Racial Disparities Seen In Mental Health Treatment Among Youth, Study Finds
Minority children and young adults are far less likely to get mental health treatment than their white counterparts, a new study shows.
Greentree: Creating a Place For Behavioral Health Patients To Help
This article highlights the Greentree Peer Center in Winston-Salem, NC, and its efforts to provide a space for recovery and empowerment.
Webinar: What Peer Recovery Coaches Need to Know about Medication-Assisted Recovery for People with Opioid Use Disorders
Friday, September 9
2:00 – 3:30 PM ET (1:00 PM CT, 12:00 PM MT, 11:00 AM PT)
This webinar will include a 60-minute presentation focusing on the knowledge and skills that can help peer recovery coaches support people using medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders. Participants will learn about common misconceptions and biases, the medications used to treat opioid use disorders, and recovery support strategies used by peer recovery coaches. The remaining time will allow for questions and discussion.
Webinar: Outcomes from the Clackamas County Peer Support Service System – With Ally Linfoot
September 13
11a.m.-12 p.m. PT and 2-3 p.m. ET
Over the last 6 years Clackamas County has integrated peer support services with mental health and addiction treatment services, corrections, child welfare, and other systems providing services to individuals, youth and young adults, and families. We have collected outcome data all along the way. In 2015 we served more than 5000 individuals in Peer Support Services, nearly a 1000 more individuals than were served in mental health and addiction treatment services. Our data includes the numbers and experience of services for adults, youth/young adults, and families with children involved in systems.
To Register see http://www.peerlinktac.org/webinars-and-publications/
The Need for Human Connection in Digital Mental Health Care
This article asks the crucial question, what intangible benefits of human-to-human connection are we losing as the world embraces digital mental health care?
U.S. Olympic Swimmer Allison Schmitt Speaks Out About Her Depression
With the Olympics in the spotlight this month, one athlete is using the attention to talk openly about mental health.
http://www.teenvogue.com/story/allison-schmitt-olympic-swimmer-depression
Critical Mental Health Issues Plaguing Student Athletes
Speaking of athletes, a recent survey of NCAA athletes found an alarming rate of untreated mental health conditions.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/health/Mental-Health-Issues-Plague-Student-Athletes-389566801.html
Transitions RTC Seeking Young Adults to Participate in the Transition Age Youth Psychotherapy Experiences (TYPE) Study
The Transition-age Youth Psychotherapy Experiences (TYPE) study is designed to gain a better understanding of the experiences, including the good, bad, and everything in-between, of Transition Age Youth (TAY) receiving outpatient psychotherapy treatment. Results of the study will be used to improve therapy so that it fits better with what young adults want or need.
Transitions RTC is seeking both provider and young adult input. Learn more at http://www.umassmed.edu/TransitionsRTC/about-us/whats-happening/2016/July/the-type-study-is-recruiting-young-adults/
Stability through Punk
One veteran of the punk rock scene is combining his lived experience and understanding of punk rock values to help others.