Blog Posts

AS WE BEGIN TO CRAWL OUT OF THE US' MI NIGHTMARE -- IT'S IMPORTANT TO REALIZE WE'VE GOT A LONG WAY TO GO

11/23/2016

Mental Health Advocates made a bargain with the Devil or at least the Economists & Budget Forecasters when it comes to De-institutionalization & the Costs of Community Mental Health Care.

Well, most of those ill-conceived bargains were made in good faith. People really did think the psychiatric medications were going to solve everybody's problems. It just turned out to be a lot more complicated than that.

And if people aren't living @ the Institute or the Hospital -- they still need some place to live.

And some people need a fair amount in intensive treatment such as Assertive Community Treatment(ACT) and to be in compliance with Parity laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act, & Olmstead --we need to recognize that certain people are legally entitled to ACT as "reasonably medically necessary."

This has been a long, slow painful process involving well- intentioned people on all sides. A lot of good things are being done. Let's do some more.

LET'S TRY TO END OUR MI HELL ASAP!

--------Dr. Allen Frances American psychiatrist, Professor Emeritus at Duke University, chaired the task force that produced the fourth revision of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) and became critical of the current version, DSM-5.

COINCIDENCE & REMEMBRANCE ON THIS VETERAN'S DAY

11/22/2016

[Originally posted on Veteran's Day, Nov. 11, 2016]

Val's Take
[Some of what I am about to relate seems almost unbelievable in "coincidence" AND yet this IS what has been related to me during the course of my life.]

While growing up in Oklahoma, my mother{Loretta} Joan Corzine, maiden name Eller, related to me from a pretty young age probably early teens an upsetting incident that one of her male relatives had witnessed during World War II. I believe I am not sure that was her cousin -- Mark Ray.

The incident involved American soldiers in Germany. One of the young soldiers was so battle shocked or traumatized that upon breaking into a German home in which a young woman had just given birth -- he killed both the young woman and the baby.

In Denver, many years later in conversation with my 90-something Father-in-Law Richard [Dick] Bayles, Sr. who had participated in the liberation of Dachau and was a passionate opponent of "Holocaust Deniers" --- spontaneously related a horrible incident of war, involving a young soldier who killed a young German woman and her baby.

Somewhere in Colorado, I met with a nursing home resident and he spontaneously told me that during World War II he had killed a German woman and her baby and, of course, he felt great guilt about it.

Note added 11-10-2022

What To Make of This?

it's NOT CLEAR
did I imagine this
hallucinate it -- parts of it
fabricate it
Were War Crimes by US Soldiers during WWII -- not as uncommon as we might think?
It was a "coincidence" over my lifetime that got "MY ATTENTION."
More religious people might call it a "GOD-Incidence"
But we reason by making associations --- we don't have an UNLIMITED CAPACITY to MAKE ASSOCIATIONS --- which are INFINITE.
What I'm trying say is I think you can reconcile a PRACTICAL EXPLANATION (even if someone isn't sure what it is) with a larger view that we don't get it all figured out in our lifetimes and much remains frustratingly out of our grasp.

VOTE: BECAUSE ON SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE -- YOUR BIOLOGICAL MAKE-UP,THE ENVIRONMENT YOU WERE BORN INTO,WHETHER YOU HAVE SUFFERED TRAUMA --YOU DIDN'T GET A VOTE

11/11/2016

Life is Hard. It's hard for human beings, animals, and plants.

Human beings have come to exercise an incredible amount of mastery over ourselves & environment, and compared to other animals -- great awareness.

But the very, very scary fact of the matter is -- We Don't Have Control Over Some of the Most Important Things In Our Lives. A lot of the coping mechanisms we have developed are designed to cope with that fact.

We're Getting It -- That Control. AND the optimist in me says we ARE going to get there, we are on the right track:

We understand more about ourselves than we ever have, and through medical research and neuroscience we are gaining major new insights daily plus the insights we all try to glean from observing the lives we are living as well as those who came before us ;
Major institutions such as the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, and even Colorado's own Department of Public Health & Environment recognize the importance of "Social Determinants of Health."
Great Spiritual Leaders of the World's Religions and Disciplines are lighting a path for us; and
People from around the world are doing amazing work in the fields of Government and Social Entrepreneurship, coming up with innovative mechanisms to provide sustainability for the "Social Determinants of Health" we all need.

Sometimes, we say --"Act as if . . . " or "Fake it, Till You Make It" -- because "Confidence" and a "Good Attitude" can help in many situations.

The problems is -- It Can Be Really Dangerous In Other Situations.

To a certain extent, that is what I think has happened in our society, and quite frankly most societies -- when it comes to people with cognitive and mental disabilities.

It is pretty hard to acknowledge the scary realities we are confronted with.

Further, at least in some cases -- its not an abusive parent that's causing the Trauma -- it's the Society itself, and that includes the US.

Pericles ruled during the height or Golden Age of 5th Century BCE Athenian Democracy, his relevance continues to this day.

WISE BALD GUYS, CONFLICT, & THE KEY TO LONG TERM CHANGE

11/11/2016

WHAT WERE WE THINKING WHEN WRITING THE ARTICLE BELOW? -- SWEET THOUGHTS ABOUT DAD & STATE WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO RESPOND TO US ABOUT A WAIT LIST FOR ASSERTIVE COMMUNITY TREATMENT, ETC.

Val's Take

In one of Stephen Covey's books, he relates his wife's devotion to the "Frigidaire" brand and how "illogical" he thought that was early on in their marriage.
As Covey was to learn, "Frigidaire" was closely associated with his wife's beloved father.
No doubt one of the reasons I am such a fan of Stephen Covey, Carl Reiner and Colorado's own Guardianship Guru Carl Glatstein -- in various ways they remind me of my bald, wise, funny and beloved father.
From the very beginning, Dad was always of the opinion that we could talk through and ultimately resolve any issue. That doesn't mean we didn't have disagreements -- we had plenty -- all the time -- and we "loved" debating the issues of the day -- or at least I did, I think Dad had his limits.
   Early on, Dad let me know that no matter what he would never disown me. This wasn't really percipated by anything that was going on in my life -- I was actually pretty little --- it had to do with a female cousin he was close to.
My Dad was different too -- in that he had strengths and weaknesses I don't have. A History Major and Great Lover of History, he never took notes in his college history classes -- he just closed his eyes and let the Professor's Lecture "wash over" him.
   He was the most "organized" person most people ever met in their lives, AND he loved reading but he was a slow reader.
   He invested his entire life in providing for his family, being one incredible Super-Caretaker Male -- taking grandmothers shopping and to doctors appointments, kids to dance classes and school activities.
Further, in later years, -- even co-workers [especially, those that had never had a father, regardless of race] saw him as a Father Figure. He was such a Dad Guy -- in mind, spirit -- and yes physique.
   Near the end, before he got really sick, he was helping his caretakers do their taxes. Of course during that time our mother was the Hero of the Family, but that's another story.
   One of the reasons I was drawn to the Law was that it promised a structured resolution of conflicts. The more I've seen of our system, the less it seems to be able to resolve conflicts -- AND at this time it is absolutely necessary.
Dad believed that the Key to any long term change was Education. I'm thinking the Key to Long Term Change is the Long Term Love & Devotion & yes willingness to address conflict Dad brought to his relationships.

Ray Dalio is an American businessman and founder of the investment firm Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's largest hedge funds.

In 2012, Dalio appeared on the annual Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2011 and 2012 he was listed by Bloomberg Markets as one of the 50 Most Influential people. -- Wikipedia

[Stephen Covey -- Leadership Guru & Our Guy -- During His Lifetime He Compassionately Elucidated Principles to Live By -- We Often Fall Short AND We Continue To Be Inspired by His Legacy.]

SHELTER + CARE / HOUSING FIRST CAN BE ON A COLLISION COURSE --THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING IN CALIFORNIA

10/31/2016

Skid Row Housing Trust

The Skid Row Housing Trust provides permanent supportive housing so that people who have experienced homelessness, prolonged extreme poverty, poor health, disabilities, mental illness and/or addiction can lead safe, stable lives in wellness.

But Not Everybody is Happy.

We think Housing First & Harm Reduction are Valuable Concepts, BUT They Are NOT for Everyone & We Know People who Don't Want to be Housed in those Kind of Situations.

AND Like So Much In Care --- We're Really Arguing for Choice & Options.

COORDINATION OF CARE: JAILS, PRISONS, MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS, & YES THE SINGLE ENTRY POINTS

10/31/2016

Val's Take

It has really been my contention for sometime that most people with "mental illness," or traumatic brain injury, or developmental disabilities who find themselves homeless or in the criminal justice system also meet the level of care under Colorado Medicaid's ULTC 100.2 for Medicaid Long Term Care.
   However, the CO Dept. Of Health Care Policy & Financing has changed its targeting for the Mental Health Waiver to limit it to only those needing assistance with activities of daily living. Hmmmm. . . .
   We really need to have a special Stakeholder Group that would look at constructing a Mental Waiver that is more relevant for people with mental illness.
With regard to some of these "invisible disabilities," we sometimes as a society and even as system providers really have "mental blocks" regarding some of these things.
     Further, even as we are trying to move away from using jails & prisons as our treatment centers of last resort, I continue to hear reports of people who are turned away from the Mental Health Centers because of concerns about their behavior and then later arrested.
I don't think I'm the only one in the Mental Health Advocacy Community that thinks the Mental Health Centers are NOT handling this appropriately.
      And for Heaven's Sakes, if you really think somebody is a danger, seek to certify them --- Don't Refuse to treat them.

SO WHAT ABOUT CIVIL COMMITMENT WORD-SMITHING

Even conservative Dr. Torrey with the Treatment Advocacy Center notes that Mental Health Centers around the Country have an unfortunate habit of dumping their most difficult clients on the Criminal Justice System [regardless of what their statutes might say];
What Colorado lacks, along with most of the Country, is Bed Space and Adequate Housing & Intensive Community Services.
Our objection to "word-smithing" the Civil Commitment Statutes (Again) is that it Lulls Us into Believing We're Really Doing Something To A System Whose Greatest, Most Crying Need is Resources

OK -- WE'RE ANGRY -- LET'S MOVE ON & FIX IT

10/31/2016

I don't think living a life pretending one never experiences anger is a very healthy life.
   On the other hand, one doesn't want to wallow in it either. From my perspective, it is really a signal that something needs to be fixed.
   Further, I'm NOT a big fan of holding people "accountable" --- because I think that usually translates into sticking it to "people we don't relate to" or "we're not on the same wavelength with" or "we don't like" or "don't look like us." [That is not to say if your safety is at risk you shouldn't do something.]
The fact is we all make mistakes, and human mistakes are very often more than forgetting to bring a pencil to class.
I don't think anybody could read my posts and not realize I'm angry with, okay furious with the State, for it's behavior. AND if you actually saw me in private with some of my odd movements --- it would really weird you out.
     Having said all that, the point is NOT to wallow in that. It's to MOVE ON.

COLORADO'S MENTAL HEALTH COMMUNITY NEEDS & DESERVES BETTER GOV'T THAN WHAT WE HAVE HAD UNDER THE HICKENLOOPER ADMINISTRATION

10/31/2016

Val's Take

In a lot of ways, Colorado has done better than other States in terms of mental health-- of course -- we're richer, -- we're in the top 10 high income States by some estimates.
But that really shouldn't totally take away from some of the State's accomplishments. AND it doesn't.
The problem is State Officials don't listen to the Mental Health Community AND this has led to some disastrous, really horrific consequences:

Grossly negligent and dangerous under-resourcing of mental health, housing, & yes--- bed-space;
An unwillingness to look @ creative financing such as Social Impact Bonds despite repeated requests;
Playing politics with Crisis Contracts;
Over 2-years of Obnoxious Refusals to Enter Into MI-Olmstead Compliance Discussions;
Refusal of over a year to respond to a question of whether the State had an objection to a Waitlist for Assertive Community Treatment;
Of Course, there are the other documented lapses in integrity noted below in the backlog of competency exams case & the retaliation case against the DOC employee for questioning DOC's account of inmates with MI in AdSeg.

We Can't Put Up With This For Another 2 Years -- Even With the State's Acknowledged "Accomplishments."

THE HILL

MENTAL HEALTH IN AMERICA — WHY THERE IS NO REAL TREATMENT

But I am reluctant to use the terms “mental health system” because there really isn’t one. For decades, resources have been diverted away from inpatient and outpatient services for people with serious mental illness. It is time to reverse that trend.

--------Dr. Rebecca Parker, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians and a practicing emergency physician in Park Ridge, Illinois.

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/healthcare/301781-mental-health-in-america-why-there-is-no-real-treatment

IN THE WORDS OF MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE AMY SMITH, COLORADO'S MENTAL HEALTH POLICY IS DRIVEN BY BLOOD

10/31/2016

Colorado like most states decimated their already ill-funded mental health programs during the recessions of the 2000s.

The Associated Press in the video below estimates that Colorado lost $100 million dollars during that time.

Other than being put on a starvation diet, and then being trotted out to be grateful for whatever scraps the State decides to throw the Mental Health Community's Way while the State obnoxiously is NOT complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act or Olmstead ---

   What really ticked the Community off was that the State violated it's own bidding procedures and yanked the Crisis Contracts away from nationally renowned Crisis Access, LLC, a partnership between Recovery Innovations, ProtoCall Services and Behavioral Health Link.
   http://www.denverpost.com/2013/12/18/bidder-files-suit-over-revoked-colorado-mental-health-contracts/

   Just another day in glorious Colorado, Sky High Suicide Rates, & a Corrupt &/or Inept Gov't when it comes to Mental Health & the Mental Health Community.

“Mental health is a critical issue all over our country and certainly in the state,” Bicha said. “I will never forget the day (when) Gov. Hickenlooper called me in the wake of the Aurora Theater shooting and said, ‘We simply have to do more for folks who are struggling with mental health issues.’”

Bicha said as a result of the shooting, the state invested about $20 million in crisis services, a 24/7 hotline and crisis mobile units across Colorado.

“We put in some $20 million in new investments in crisis services, a new hotline that’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, crisis mobile units available in every corner of Colorado… but we have to find ways we can engage in folks.”

WE DON'T COME HERE TO PRAISE PSYCHOLOGY & PSYCHIATRY -- BUT WE DON'T COME HERE TO BURY THEM EITHER

10/21/2016

Val's Take
For anyone who regularly reads our website, you know that we are pretty critical of the current state of psychology and psychiatry.
   Mainly, we are so critical because we believe so much is riding on highly competent, scientifically grounded, highly compassionate and well resourced mental health professions and professionals.
We are NOT there -- you can't be relying on the DSM and expect to be taken seriously. The National Institute of Mental Health's RDoC (Research Domain Criteria initiative) is going to go a long way to get the mental health professions on sounder footing.
Additionally, mental health professionals have been co-opted by the Criminal Justice System. By "co-copted," we mean that mental health professionals and the still limited existing mental health knowledge base have been employed for the Criminal Justice System's own convoluted statutory purposes, especially when it comes to Competency to Stand Trial and Insanity.
   [We actually are proposing more of that with our proposal to have Medicaid mental health professionals develop community living plans for jail inmates with mental illness -- that can be used by the court system for their decision-making purposes].
   We are going to make some intellectual and moral distinctions here:
There's a difference between coming up with a "Community Living Plan" with all its caveats and the Law relying on mental health professionals for determinations involving our very imperfect, out-dated, all or nothing determinations of "Competency" or "Insanity" in which "Punishment" is still front and center and not necessarily Public Safety or Long Term/Root Cause Re-Dress of the Problems.
   Now, in fairness, many mental health professionals get involved in the Criminal Justice System at the request/begging of defense attorneys.
We believe we have come to a point in which we are presenting ourselves with a "false dichotomy": that is to say, there are other choices beyond choosing between a Highly Punitive Criminal Justice System and a Highly Punitive Criminal Justice System, Slightly Moderated by Mental Health Professionals asked to testify on things they are not always, let's say often, not competent to testify on.
    The "Reality" is if we move away from the incredibly punitive society we currently have -- one takes a lot of the Stress out of the Society.
Well, how would one do that? Well, focusing on:

Building on Strengths, and compensating for weaknesses to help people achieve their goals.

What do we really need, more than anything, for that [NOT problem-solving courts]:
Highly competent, scientifically grounded, highly compassionate and well resourced mental health professions and professionals

PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

NIMH WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FOR DSM-5 -- THE LATEST IS A HUMILIATING BLOW TO THE APA.

(MAY 2013)

In a humiliating blow to the American Psychiatric Association, Thomas R. Insel, M.D., Director of the NIMH, made clear the agency would no longer fund research projects that rely exclusively on DSM criteria. Henceforth, the NIMH, which had thrown its weight and funding behind earlier editions of the manual, would be “re-orienting its research away from DSM categories.”

"The weakness” of the manual, he explained in a sharply worded statement, “is its lack of validity.” “Unlike our definitions of ischemic heart disease, lymphoma, or AIDS, the DSM diagnoses are based on a consensus about clusters of clinical symptoms, not any objective laboratory measure."

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/side-effects/201305/the-nimh-withdraws-support-dsm-5?#_=_

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Val's Blog

AS WE BEGIN TO CRAWL OUT OF THE US' MI NIGHTMARE -- IT'S IMPORTANT TO REALIZE WE'VE GOT A LONG WAY TO GO

LET'S TRY TO END OUR MI HELL ASAP!

COINCIDENCE & REMEMBRANCE ON THIS VETERAN'S DAY

VOTE: BECAUSE ON SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE -- YOUR BIOLOGICAL MAKE-UP,THE ENVIRONMENT YOU WERE BORN INTO,WHETHER YOU HAVE SUFFERED TRAUMA --YOU DIDN'T GET A VOTE

WISE BALD GUYS, CONFLICT, & THE KEY TO LONG TERM CHANGE

SHELTER + CARE / HOUSING FIRST CAN BE ON A COLLISION COURSE --THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING IN CALIFORNIA

COORDINATION OF CARE: JAILS, PRISONS, MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS, & YES THE SINGLE ENTRY POINTS

SO WHAT ABOUT CIVIL COMMITMENT WORD-SMITHING

OK -- WE'RE ANGRY -- LET'S MOVE ON & FIX IT

COLORADO'S MENTAL HEALTH COMMUNITY NEEDS & DESERVES BETTER GOV'T THAN WHAT WE HAVE HAD UNDER THE HICKENLOOPER ADMINISTRATION

THE HILL

MENTAL HEALTH IN AMERICA — WHY THERE IS NO REAL TREATMENT

IN THE WORDS OF MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE AMY SMITH, COLORADO'S MENTAL HEALTH POLICY IS DRIVEN BY BLOOD

WE DON'T COME HERE TO PRAISE PSYCHOLOGY & PSYCHIATRY -- BUT WE DON'T COME HERE TO BURY THEM EITHER

PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

NIMH WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FOR DSM-5 -- THE LATEST IS A HUMILIATING BLOW TO THE APA.

(MAY 2013)

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LET'S TRY TO END OUR MI HELL ASAP!

SO WHAT ABOUT CIVIL COMMITMENT WORD-SMITHING

THE HILLMENTAL HEALTH IN AMERICA — WHY THERE IS NO REAL TREATMENT

PSYCHOLOGY TODAY ​NIMH WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FOR DSM-5 -- THE LATEST IS A HUMILIATING BLOW TO THE APA. (MAY 2013)

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Archives

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THE HILL

MENTAL HEALTH IN AMERICA — WHY THERE IS NO REAL TREATMENT

PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

NIMH WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FOR DSM-5 -- THE LATEST IS A HUMILIATING BLOW TO THE APA.

(MAY 2013)