Leah Harris, M.A.

Communications and Development Coordinator

National Empowerment Center

National Recovery Day

Catonsville, MD

September 11, 2013

http://youtu.be/faJkmuzhgZg

It’s what happened to you!Factors in my emotional distress/suicidal feelings:

Unaddressed intergenerational traumaUnaddressed early childhood trauma/neglectShame and stigma around parents’ mental health

issuesIntense emotions not expressed in the familyTold by professionals I would end up like my

parentsNo mention of, or hope for, recovery of a life

That was 20 years ago…

The concept of recovery may back as far as 1830, when John Perceval, son of one of England’s prime ministers, wrote of his personal recovery from psychosis, a recovery that he obtained despite the “treatment” he received from the “lunatic” doctors who attended him. (Perceval's Narrative).

The Consumer/Survivor Movement: arose out of the civil rights movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s and the personal experiences of psychiatric abuse experienced by some ex-patients.

Key text: Judi Chamberlin's 1978 text, On Our Own: Patient Controlled Alternatives to the Mental Health System.

Recovery represents "rediscovery and reconstruction of an enduring sense of the self as an active and responsible agent.”

-- Davidson and Strauss (1992)

Peer-delivered and controlled supports and services

Meaningful peer involvement in all programs, services, and policies affecting them

Strengths-basedEmpowermentSelf-determinationRecovery is non-linear“Dignity of risk”HolisticBasically: we are people with the same wants and

needs as everyone else on the planet!

2003: President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health:

We envision a future when everyone with mental illness will recover.” (Commission Report, pg. 1).

“...care must focus on facilitating recovery and building resilience, not just on managing symptoms” (Commission Report, pg. 5).

SAMHSA:

“A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.”

“For those of us who have been diagnosed with mental illness and who have lived in the sometimes desolate wastelands of mental health programs and institutions, hope is not just a nice sounding euphemism. It is a matter of life and death.”

--Pat Deegan

“We are refusing to reduce human beings to illnesses…We share in the certainty that people labeled with mental illness are first and above all, human beings. Our lives are precious and are of infinite value.”

--Pat Deegan

20 years ago, I…

Made a decision to renounce my patient identity and the “illness” narrative

Focused on my strengths, not deficitsDidn’t talk about my past for years – learned

to avoid due to stigma!Developed key relationships with people who

believed in me and mentored me

Began to re-integrate into various communities and society

Reframed my life narrative: the “systems” that treated me and my parents were “sicker” than we ever were

Getting mad!

Became active in the mental health consumer/survivor movement - activism heals

Clearer for those who consider themselves to be in recovery from substance abuse or addiction and who follow an abstinence model (sobriety date).

“I, on the other hand, have many ups and downs.  There is no specific beginning to them (unless you count birth) and there will be no end (unless you count death).

Yet, one of the statements that most drives me up the proverbial wall is that ‘recovery is a lifelong process.’

Just when was it decided (and by whom) that what you get to call ‘life,’ I have to call ‘recovery’?”

--Sera Davidow

What we call “wellness” is really about creating a life worth living

Self-care Service to othersMeaningful workBeing a part of various supportive

communitiesCreativitySpiritualityGoing outside the comfort zone

We must move towards a values-based behavioral health system that is about the most important outcome: people creating a life worth living in the community of their choosing.“client,” “consumer,” “peer,” “recovery,”

“wellness,” “community integration,” etc…what will be the next buzzword???

In 2003, the New Freedom report envisioned a future “where everyone with mental illness can recover.”

10 years later, we have made progress, but we still have a long way to go

Continued discrimination and stigmaMany agencies only pay lip service to “recovery

values” – dressing up the old in the language of the new

We need more voluntary, community-based peer-run programs and services!

We know these innovative programs work, but are not a research priority at NIMH

Peer-run crisis respite/hospital diversion programs

Alternatives to Suicide GroupsHearing Voices Groups

Voluntary, home-like environment where people in emotional crisis can access 1:1 peer support 24/7

Stays range from 1 day – 2 weeksMinimal wait to access services/minimal

paperworkStaffed entirely by people who have lived

experience with emotional crisis and traumaSmall-scale valuations show excellent outcomes;

multi-site large scale evaluation neededOnly 13 peer-run crisis respites in the entire

country!

Due to fear and stigma surrounding suicide, people have been encouraged or have learned not to talk about it

Led entirely by people with lived experience having attempted or having thoughts of suicide

Premise is that empathic talking, coupled with alternative coping strategies, can reduce suicide

Only a handful of these in the country as well

Offers a non-pathologizing, open way of understanding and supporting people through the experience of hearing voices

Assumes that hearing voices (as well as seeing visions and other sensory experiences) can be a normal part of human experience with a variety of meanings for people

Widely available throughout the United Kingdom and many other countries - just taking hold in the United States

Encourage the development of peer run crisis alternatives in your area

Encourage the formation of an alternatives to suicide or hearing voices support group

Ensure that your organization is truly grounded in and operates from recovery values and principles

Promote the meaningful involvement of people with lived experience at all levels of your agency/organization

National Empowerment Center - Peer Run Crisis Alternatives: http://www.power2u.org/crisis-alternatives.html

Hearing Voices Network USA: http://www.hearingvoicesusa.org/

Western Massachusetts Recovery Learning Communityhttp://www.westernmassrlc.org/http://www.westernmassrlc.org/defining-

principles.html

Leah Harris Email: leahharris2@gmail.com

Tel: 1-800-power-2-uWeb: www.power2u.org