2829 UNIVERSITY AVENUE SE

SUITE 400

MINNEAPOLIS MN 55414

Repairing A Late-Model Vehicle 2

Wishlist: Clients 3

Holistic Practices Consortium 4

Visual Journaling 4

Wishlist: Program and Staff 4

Mind, Body, Spirit 5

Volunteers 2005 6

Donors 2005 7

BUILDING INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY

Continued on page 2

Inside this issue

We are excited to announce that Hennepin County Behavioral Health awarded Touchstone Mental Health $210,000 of one-time funds on October 19, 2005 to create an intentional community for adults living with serious and persistent mental illness. These funds allow us to implement an agency-wide strategic plan to expand housing.

What is an intentional community? It involves a group of people who choose to live together, sharing a common purpose and working cooperatively to create a lifestyle that reflects their shared values.

They may live together on a piece of rural land, in a suburban home, or in an urban neighborhood. They may share a single residence or live in a cluster of apartments.

The media typically promotes the myth that shared living began with hippie communes in the 1960s and ended with the arrival of yuppies in the late 1970s.

The truth is quite different. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals live in intentional communities or extended families based on something other than family ties.

These communities often function as replace-ments for the extended families of people who have lost touch with their biological families or whose families, for whatever reasons, cannot offer support or regular contact. Intentional communities open the decision-making process to all members.

To create our intentional community, we will locate a cluster of one- and two-

bedroom apartments in mainstream properties in a specific neighborhood. A Resident Manager, who will be available after hours, will reside in an additional apartment.

This apartment also will serve as space to prepare a daily communal meal,

hold support groups, and plan recreational activities. Individuals also can meet there with their assigned Case Managers. Our staff will assist members in ongoing discussions about how to

create a supportive community that fosters wellness and recovery.

We plan to use the granted funds: • To lease or master-lease apartments that will

qualify for transitional subsidies and Section 8 on an ongoing basis

Kind WordsFROM TOUCHSTONE MENTAL HEALTH

VOLUME 5

ISSUE 3

WINTER 2005–2006

Board MembersKelly Robert, Chair

Jonathan Burris, J.D.

Bill Cochrane

Michaela Diercks

Sharon Toll Johnson

Merrie Kaas, Ph.D.

Liz Sjaastad

Helen Raleigh, LICSWExecutive Director

Glen Albert, LICSWDirector of Supportive Housing

Birgit Kelly, LICSWProgram Director

Margo Cohen, LICSWTreatment Director

Peggy WrightCommunications and Development Director

Gabriel BainTechnology Coordinator

Editorial StaffHelen RaleighPeggy Wright

ProgramsASSISTED LIVING APARTMENTS7376 Bass Lake RoadNew Hope, MN 55428-3861(763) 536–8134assistedliving@touchstonemh.org

CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES2829 University Avenue SE, Suite 400Minneapolis, MN 55414-3230(612) 874–6409casemanagement@touchstonemh.org

RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT2516 E. 24th StreetMinneapolis, MN 55406-1209(612) 722–1892residential@touchstonemh.org

Management Team

PAGE 2TOUCHSTONE MENTAL HEALTH

LIKE REPAIRING A LATE-MODEL VEHICLE

Continued on page 3

Revamping an established program that offers around-the-clock services is much like repairing a late-model vehicle while the motor is running.

In January 2005, our Residential Treatment program became an Intensive Residential Treatment (IRTS) program, requiring major changes. We had to accomplish these changes while the program continued to provide services to clients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We needed to revise policies and procedures, hire additional staff, train all staff in new requirements, develop new therapeutic groups, and identify ways to tie progress notes to goals established during treatment.

In 2004, state legislators revised the requirements under which Rule 36 Residential Treatment programs operate, establishing IRTS, creating new standards that programs must meet, and shifting much of the funding of services to Medical Assistance. The Adult Mental Health Division of the Minnesota Department of Human Services

(DHS) had recommended that the legislature make these significant changes.

The Rule 36 treatment system has existed since the early 1980s. This model of treatment offered safe, therapeutic settings to clients for 6 months, a year, or longer. The group homes operating under this system have provided residential treatment to thousands of people over the past 23 years.

The new IRTS programs offer shorter-term, more intensive treatment. In addition to being stressful, the conversion to IRTS demanded a lot of time and attention from our staff while challenging them to maintain the quality of our services as they began moving individuals to the community more quickly.

Treatment for persons with serious and persistent mental illness is very expensive. The constraints of insurance and governmental funding have forced hospitals in Minnesota to focus on stabilizing

clients during very brief hospital stays. Now Residential Treatment programs must focus on preparing clients to re-enter the community in a very short time.

• To rehab apartments as needed to meet the standards required for subsidies, including accessibility

• To pay for start-up expenses, such as deposits for utilities, moving expenses, furnishings, food, and special needs

• To hire and train a Resident Manager and a Housing Development Coordinator, who will focus on expanding our efforts to create more supportive housing

This plan possesses great potential for repli-cation in other communities.

INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY, ContinuedWe will receive the funds in December 2005. We must accomplish our plans by December 31, 2006. We will choose participants from a list of persons who currently receive services from Touchstone Mental Health.

You can find more information about intentional communities at www.ic.org.

For more information about our intentional community, contact Glen Albert, Director of Supportive Housing at (763)-536-8134.

PAGE 3 TOUCHSTONE MENTAL H EALTH

Clients

• Dental floss• Dental work• Deodorant• Donations for medication copays• Gift certificates for new shoes,

clothing• Hair care • Multivitamins• Shampoo & conditioner• Toothbrushes & tooth paste• YM or YWCA or health-club

memberships

WISH LIST

• Bedroom Rugs (approx. 3x5)• Bus passes• Craft kits• Firm pillows• Gift cards or certificates to coffee

shops, McDonald’s, Target, Cub• Lamp shade for large floor lamp• Long-distance phone cards• Magazine subscriptions• Movie tickets• Portable TV with

built-in VCR/DVD• Scrabble game• Table lamps• VCR tapes/DVDs• Variety of art supplies

PERSONAL CARE ITEMS OR SERVICES

OTHER ITEMS

REPAIRING A LATE-MODEL VEHICLE, Continued

Continued on page 6

Impact on Persons Admitted Ninety days can seem a short amount of time to persons with serious and persistent mental illness. Yet it is the new initial length of stay in Intensive Residential Treatment facilities.

Upon admission to our facility, many persons are still experiencing symptoms, such as delusions, feelings of paranoia, or severe depression.

Most individuals need a few weeks to adjust to living in an intensive setting with up to 13 house mates. Adjusting prescribed medications to their most effective levels also can take some time. To be capable of living in the community, individuals also must learn to recognize their symptoms and develop new ways to cope.

Our staff can request approval for clients to stay longer than 90 days, if their situations fit the criteria for medical necessity. DHS does not consider lack of housing an appropriate reason for extending the length of stay.

Upon discharge, people move to various settings, including independent living, shared

housing, board and lodging or board and care facilities, assisted living apartments, adult foster care, family members’ residences,

and occasionally, hospitals for even more intensive treatment.

Some individuals respond well to the short-term treatment while others find it difficult and stressful to leave after such a short period of time. Some say that they feel pressured to get

well in what they see as an unrealistic time frame. Their stress is often exacerbated by the fast pace of the activity around them—other people being admitted and leaving, most of whom are worrying about where they will go upon discharge.

Effect on Touchstone The program actually became more expensive to run because we needed to add staff—a Clinical Supervisor, a fourth Mental Health Counselor, and additional Mental Health Workers. Every day and evening shift must include at least one staff member on duty who meets specific DHS criteria as a Mental Health Practitioner. If we

Staff Name Education Job TitleMargo Cohen MSW , LICSW Treatment Director

Sima Seaver M.A., Marriage and Family Therapy Clinical Supervisor

Sarah Peterson LGSW Mental Health Counselor

Carol Santana M.S., Psychology Mental Health Counselor

Elena Walker M.A. in Counseling Mental Health Counselor

Judy Hanks MA, Public Affairs Mental Health Worker Supervisor

Kate Kramschuster BA, Sociology Independent Living Skills Specialist

Kristin Asmus BA, Psychology, CNA Nurse Assistant

Ruth Solberg Registered Nurse Nurse

Michael Ronn M.L.S., Library Science Office Manager

OUR RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT TEAM

We recognize that our work and personal lives often contrast sharply with the essential energy of the Holiday season: its deep silence, stillness, and soulfulness. These qualities, so intrinsic to nature and spirit, can become obscured by social and celebratory demands.

We are aware that many providers experience much stress at this time of year as personal and clinical demands increase. Often we notice that the holiday mood is at odds with the suffering and discomfort we witness in our work with our clients.

Their stories frequently go unacknowledged, stay underground, and enter our bones. Undigested stories of hardship may result in burnout or a sense of becoming bone-tired.

We want to create a deep space for relaxation, reflection, and renewal at the consortium, making sure that we all feel balanced and rested enough to participate fully in the healing process for our clients.

Kathie Bailey, LICSW , will act as a Guest Facilitator. She

PAGE 4TOUCHSTONE MENTAL HEALTH

HOLISTIC PRACTICES CONSORTIUM:

Programs and Staff• Black pens• Cordless mouse (1 or more)• Flat-panel monitors• Furniture dolly• Garbage bags (40 gal & 12 gal)• IBM blank diskettes• Laundry soap, dryer sheets• Services from a print shop• Snow Removal for Residential Sites• White copier paper

WISH LIST

VISUAL JOURNALING

Visual journaling is not necessarily about creating art, although artists can find it helpful. It’s a way to process our experiences, to investigate our feelings and emotional reactions to events, and to obtain access to a deep knowledge of ourselves through our inherent visual imagery.

Words are a secondary form of communication that humans invented to relate to each other. Controlled by the left side of the brain, words offer interpretations of our feelings based on our system of beliefs. They allow us to analyze, evaluate, and judge every experience.

The Stories in our Bones: Healing for HealersREFLECTION … DEEP LISTENING… RENEWAL…

Images are our first and deepest emotional language. Creating images subverts the rational, logical, and conscious mind, reaching a source of deeper wisdom that we all possess.

In her Journaling groups, Kathie Bailey, the Guest Coordinator at our Consortium, teaches a step-by-step method of generating inner images. Then participants express them with simple art materials and explore the messages they reveal. Guided inner journeying, body awareness, and facilitated group sharing focus the process.

Go deeper than words to give voice to your soul

is a psychotherapist in private practice with over 20 years of experience in therapy, body awareness, and the expressive arts. She currently is facilitating a visual journaling group and will talk about her work journaling and visioning with her clients. She will guide us all in an experience of these techniques.

Her practices are models for creating something fresh and new that can help clients with serious and persistent mental illness.

This meeting is open to all practitioners who work with people, including those in social services, the healing arts, and conventional and alternative medical settings.

Bring a friend. Networking and sharing resources are aspects

of our mission.

We will hold the consortium on November

18th, a Friday morning, from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. If

you plan to come, please contact Kara Vangen or Birgit Kelly at (612)-874-6409.

PAGE 5 TOUCHSTONE MENTAL H EALTH

Using techniques that reduce stress can help decrease our cortisol levels and improve the functioning of our immune systems. Relaxation supports the natural defenses and self-repair systems of our bodies.

Regular practice of such techniques also can improve our emotional well-being and help us to cope with stressful events. Many techniques exist to help us relax, and teaching them is the most important tool of Mind-Body-Spirit medicine.

Whether you are seeking relief from stress, prevention of disease, or creation of maximum wellness, Mind-Body-Spirit skills can help anyone who suffers from various life-threatening or chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, and fibromyalgia.

Specifically, learning techniques that allow us to relax can:• Enhance our immune system and help the

body to fight illness• Reduce the physical symptoms of

illness, decreasing pain and fatigue and increasing energy

• Help us to manage pain, anxiety, and stress• Decrease depression and anxiety• Improve our sense of well-being and increase

our involvement in life• Provide us with greater insight into and a

positive perception of the world around us

Barb and Kara plan to start teaching Mind-Body-Spirit skills to the staff of Touchstone Mental Health in January 2006. They hope eventually to offer this training to the persons we serve.

Accumulating evidence suggests that our thoughts and feelings alter the status of our health in two significant ways:• Through our behavior, such as by choosing

to smoke, exercising regularly, or getting enough sleep

• Through the natural processes of our bodies, such as through the release of hormones like cortisol

Cortisol is a hormone that our bodies release in response to stress. High levels of cortisol generally appear together with lower counts of, and suppressed activity in, natural killer cells that protect our other cells from disease.

The Mind-Body-Spirit approach to medicine bases its practices on this evidence.

In September 2004, Barbara Sobocinski, R.N., and Kara Vangen, Case Manager, received scholarships through the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, D.C. The Otto Bremer Foundation funds these scholarships.

These monies enabled them to participate in professional training in Mind-Body Medicine in October 2004 and in advanced professional training in 2005.

This training educates and prepares professionals to lead Mind-Body Skills groups. Participants in the training receive extensive information on scientific and other research and learn techniques of relaxation, meditation, biofeedback, breathing, and movement.

They examine the roles of emotion, spirituality, family history, and art in their own personal journeys toward wholeness and wellness. In the advanced training, they practice being presenters of these techniques to small groups.

MIND, BODY, SPIRIT

From Childe HaroldTHERE is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more, From these our interviews, in which I steal From all I may be, or have been before, To mingle with the Universe, and feel What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.

George Gordon, Lord Byron

ThoughtsWhen all thoughts Are exhaustedI slip into the woodsAnd gatherA pile of shepherd’s purse.

Like the little streamMaking its wayThrough the mossy crevicesI, too, quietlyTurn clear and transparent.

Zen Master Ryokan

PAGE 6TOUCHSTONE MENTAL HEALTH

VOLUNTEERS 2005LenaAngela Adams Gabe BainKimberly BeedleIngrid Bloom Karena BoenigkCheryl Butz Naomi Campbell Margo Cohen Virgina CollinsChristy Downing Esther Folayan Vanessa Foley Muriel Gill

Kathy Glynn Heather Gnotke Deb Gruel Judy Hanks Chandra Hawkins Deb Hesli Roberta HolmesBirgit Kelly Kate Kramschuster Tina LeeJennie Leskela, Douglas

Choate, and AidanRebecca MadsenBob Marion

Sukhvender Kaur Nijjer and Family

Dorene ObiHelen Raleigh Connie and Bill RiggsJulie Roles Michael RonnBrook Rutten Clarence S. David SagulaDiana SchansbergAnn Schendel Karla Schmitt Sima Seaver

Kari Skinner Cathy Smith Mo Smith Barb Sobocinski Ruth SolbergSue StewartSuzanne SularzRenee SvobodaJeff TietjeMari Vangen Claire Wright Peggy Wright Katherine Wurpts

REPAIRING A LATE-MODEL VEHICLE, Continued

have a census of nine or more clients in the program, two staff must be on duty and awake on overnight shifts.

The shorter length of stay has increased the intensity and workload for staff. The new tasks include:• Performing a greater number of

intake interviews• Providing more groups and more frequent

individual counseling sessions• Ensuring that progress notes are written daily• Completing functional assessments and

treatment plans within 10 days after admission, then reviewing and updating them every 30 days thereafter

• Submitting written requests for DHS approval of extensions beyond the initial 90 days

• Working more intensely with community case managers by starting to plan for discharge at the time of admission

The new rules also required our program to implement three Evidence Based Practices using approved guidelines. These practices provide information and teach skills that move people towards greater stability and independent living. These practices have demonstrated positive outcomes in

multiple research studies for people with mental illness. They include:• Illness Management and Recovery• Dual Disorders Treatment for persons with

co-occurring substance abuse problems• Psychosocial Education for families of clientsThe rules also require staff to complete 24 hours of training annually. Mental Health Workers must complete 30 hours of training prior to working directly with clients.

To inquire about openings or schedule an intake appointment, please call Sima or Margo at (612)-722-1892.

Wonder...People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea,at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean,at the circular motion of the stars;And they pass by themselves without wondering.

St. Augustine

Beyond The

ChangeAppeared

And left behindWhat we had fearedAnd in this quietness

There is a cloudlessnessThat lets us see

BeyondOur years

Silent Lotus

DONORS 2005IndividualsRoxanne AbbasAlice AdamsonElene Aiken Marcie AllenRose AllenAnonymous (8)Marie and Dick BarronDeanna BeldenBrian and Paula BergsJudy BernierJoan BilinkoffIngrid BloomLarry and Susan BourgerieJonathan BurrisCheryl ButzCasey and Mishele CunninghamJulie DappenMichaela DiercksMarilyn EhlineJane GarvinLyn and Michael GerdisJudi GordonKen HepburnDeb HesliElfriede HesselberthLorrie and Marlyn JohnsonSharon Toll JohnsonDr. Barclay JonesBarbara KoropchakRobert KoskiSusan LePicartJames LockridgeCindy LorahSandy ManningMary MartinJoe and Wanda MayhewBarbara McAfeeColleen McCannJohn MitchellLeslie NeeserAllen NelsonSukhvender Kaur NijjerMary Ann PapkePaul PereaPat PetersonHelen RaleighConnie and Bill RiggsKelly and Rafael RobertMichael RonnMargaret and Carl RoserDavid SagulaAnn SchendelJudy SchleichKarla SchmittKari SchmitzRick SchweikertCharlotte Sebastian

PAGE 7 TOUCHSTONE MENTAL H EALTH

Liz and John SjaastadBarb SobocinskiPaul SobocinskiDevona and Harley SwiggumMaryann SyersBev and Earl ThompsonKate TilneyKara VangenPeggy WrightMilton WrightSharon Yungbauer

In Honor of Anonymous in honor of

Robin K. SmithAnonymous in honor of

Brook RuttenBrian and Paula Bergs in

honor of Helen RaleighDon and Betty Cashin in

honor of Kathy CashinHolly and Tim Cashin in

honor of Kathy CashinTom Cashin in honor of

Kathy CashinMary and Ken Sutherland in

honor of Kathy CashinCharlotte Wieweck in

honor of Allen and Christine Nelson

In Memory of Jane Garvin in memory of

Hal GarvinConnie and Bill Riggs in

memory of Cynthia RiggsDavid Sagula in memory of

Cynthia RiggsJennie Leskela, Douglas

Choate, and Aidan in memory of Cynthia Riggs

Businesses and OrganizationsCaminar SoftwareCentral Minneapolis Chapter

of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

The Healthfund of Minnesota

Healing Touch International Foundation, Inc.

Merwin Long Term CareNoah’s Remodeling, LLCOsseo Lions Club

In Kind DonationsIndividualsGlen AlbertMarcie AllenRoger Anderson Gabe BainKathleen BakkeLola Behling Coni BellEmily BensonJudy BernierMary Blegen and others

at U. S. BankKarena BoenigkLillian Bondhus Sarah Brew Jean Carlson Margo Cohen Chris CzysconJulie Davis Carlton DeclercqMichaela DiercksMichelle DucayetBrian EagerLinda EijadiJudy Enerson Karen Evans Terry FarlandDonna FarrEsther FolayanCarol FreebergBrian GeurtsMuriel Gill Deb GruelGary GunstromJohn HofmannLorrie JohnsonBirgit Kelly Roanne KleinDr. Arthur LebowDr. Tripti MeysmanJune McKinneyChristine NelsonPatricia NelsonDorene ObiBarbara RadkeHelen RaleighRosemary RauschJulie Roles Richard and Ardelle RonnJulie RyanDavid StaehlinDiana SchansbergDolores Seal Blanche Sevenson Kari Skinner

Hope is the thing... Hope is the thing with feathersThat perches in the soul,And sings the tune without the words,And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;And sore must be the stormThat could abash the little birdThat kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,And on the strangest sea;Yet, never, in extremity,It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson

Cathy Smith Mo Smith Lois Strickland Suzanne SularzRenee Svoboda Tami Swiggum Jim Trombley Ron VillejoClaire WrightPeggy and Milton WrightMary Yerks

Businesses and OrganizationsBreadsmithBroadway PizzaElim Lutheran ChurchJ. Roles DesignsMinnesota Twins Baseball

ClubNonin Medical, Inc.Pilgrim Cleaners and

LaunderersSeward Co-opSimon Delivers

2829 UNIVERSITY AVENUE SE

SUITE 400

MINNEAPOLIS MN 55414