Charting a New Direction

There has been a great deal of discussion in Clark County, across Washington State and the nation about recovery-based or recovery-oriented services. There is a strong and growing desire to empower a person moving through clinically based services toward community based activities.

There is general agreement that recovery and the services that support recovery can mean different things to different people. It has been acknowledged that providing recovery-oriented services presents challenges when implemented in time honored, traditional mental health centers with services driven by funding sources; we think these challenges are not insurmountable.

We recognize that we must work together to reshape the concepts, discussion, language and actions surrounding mental illness, health and services; it our belief that this discussion must include recovery as part of holistic wellness.

It has been generally accepted that recovery-oriented services, among other things, value: self-determination; full partnership; people first; and growth potential. So, how can we develop a mental health system that the practice of working together is realized?

We start by learning a new vocabulary of mutuality and act in a way that shares risk and expertise. We set aside our pre-conceived notions about recovery and explore the reality of choice, partnership and collaboration. We develop new roles around who gets to define and decide what has been traditionally referred to as a treatment plan as we map a new path to wellness.

CVAB Evaluation

I know this blog has a limited following but I want encourage all of you who are asked to participate in the CVAB evaluation project. This will help us determine our effectiveness and how we might make improvements.

To all of you who have participated, thanks! To all that will, thanks!

The Diagnosis Game

This is a Kessler Kolumn extra (you won't find this in The Voice where Nick's Kolumns appear monthly).

I really don’t like how even the most benign facets of the mental health system work sometimes. Although I have not been exposed to the problem I am about to explain in quite a while, I can see how any consumer can be lead into the following scenario, and it is very self-destructive. Sometimes the only defense we can honestly come up with for our behavior is our diagnoses themselves. Yet this does not often seem to satisfy the providers much at all. It’s hard for us to articulate these “relapses” because they can often lead to false interpretations when we try. Sometimes we are too afraid to try at all. What can we as consumers do when we reach this point? I can only think of a few things, sadly. One is simply ask the therapist or case manager: “What are ALL of my options”

The second is to use an advance directive. I hope that CVAB and other organizations continue to hold classes on these (I’m in need of one myself). Finally, come to CVAB and try to engage in-depth with others about similar problems they’ve been through. It’s amazing how easy it is to get a nudge in the right direction at this place.

Good luck,
Nick

CVAB Post Employment Opportunity

You can see the most recent notice of CVAB hiring at cvabonline.com under the News tab.