This post is a part of the Recovery 101 blog series. The series will explore ideas, philosophies, language, tools and questions about mental health recovery. Submit any ideas for topics in the comments section of any tagged post.
Stories of success in mental health recovery often include a moment of inspiration. An action by a friend or family member, a life event, a misfortune or a random bit of information learned may act as a catalyst to change in an individual's life. The stories I have heard often describe a change in the individual's thinking which promotes a drive or motivation to recover. They reframe their thinking. They gain hope or a positive outlook. They create a goal for themselves.
As workers or support figures we are often searching to find this source of inspiration for our clients or friends. Doubtless mental illness suffers are seeking it for themselves too.
Last week saw Bell Let's Talk day get lots of attention. I decided not to write about it at the time due to it being a corporate sponsored event, and I don't have much to say about Bell. The next day however one of my clients talked about watching a TV interview with Let's Talk spokesperson Clara Hughes along with other famous sports figures talking about their experiences with mental illness (depression and PTSD were covered as far as I remember) and how they recovered. This client himself suffers with depression. He told me that watching the show made him feel even worse. He said they each talked about how their spouse or partner helped them get through - he does not have a spouse, and when he did she was more cause for pain than support. He said they talked about how despite their various successes (Olympic medals, major trophies and awards) they still suffered. His take? If he didn't even have these type of awards, how much worse off does that make him?
Not the intended effect of the program I'm sure. What was meant to inspire in this case, really didn't help.
On the other hand I have taken clients to hear recovery stories shared by those in their community and they have reported feeling hopeful in their own lives as a result. One woman I worked with who has bipolar disorder described watching coverage of Charlie Sheen go off the rails as inspiration for her to get better because she "didn't want to end up like that guy". There are stories of people going to their doctor, support worker, family member and hearing the same message every day until finally "click!" something registered that was their moment of inspiration.
The moment of inspiration does not result in life getting fixed over night. Things may not look any different for a while. But down the road, further along the recovery journey it's the moment that someone looks back on and says "that's when everything changed for me. That's when I knew I could get better."
It's the moment that makes all the difference. Because we can be surrounded by the most well-meaning people in the world, all the praise and validation one could ask for. But if we are suffering inside, true change will not come until we are open to it. And the key to open the door may come in all kinds of strange and unpredictable forms.
Showing posts with label Recovery 101. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recovery 101. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Recovery Defined?
This post is a part of the Recovery 101 blog series. The series will explore ideas, philosophies, language, tools and questions about mental health recovery. Submit any ideas for topics in the comments section of any tagged post.
Somebody recently send me this link to an LA Times article from last month about a new definition for recovery. While not introducing any new concepts, it is newly agreed upon by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the U.S. The definition is thus:
“A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.”
I have to say I kind of like it. It’s open-ended as it doesn’t specify those who suffer from some particular ailment or circumstance, and it’s free of loaded language like “meaningful activity”. It refers to people, not clients/patients.
Here are some other definitions of recovery:
The ability to live well in the presence or absence of mental illness - or whatever the person chooses to term their experience (Mental Health Commission, NZ)
Recovery is the personal process that people with mental illness go through in gaining control, meaning and purpose in their lives... (CMHA Ontario)
The goal of recovery is to become the unique, awesome, never to be repeated human being that we are called to be (Pat Deegan)
Somebody recently send me this link to an LA Times article from last month about a new definition for recovery. While not introducing any new concepts, it is newly agreed upon by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the U.S. The definition is thus:
“A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.”
I have to say I kind of like it. It’s open-ended as it doesn’t specify those who suffer from some particular ailment or circumstance, and it’s free of loaded language like “meaningful activity”. It refers to people, not clients/patients.
Here are some other definitions of recovery:
The ability to live well in the presence or absence of mental illness - or whatever the person chooses to term their experience (Mental Health Commission, NZ)
Recovery is the personal process that people with mental illness go through in gaining control, meaning and purpose in their lives... (CMHA Ontario)
The goal of recovery is to become the unique, awesome, never to be repeated human being that we are called to be (Pat Deegan)
Monday, December 19, 2011
Language Matters: Non-compliant
This post is a part of the Recovery 101 blog series. The series will explore ideas, philosophies, language, tools, and questions about mental health recovery. Submit any ideas for topics in the comments section of any tagged post.
We in social services know the importance of language. We know that words can hurt or empower. We know that labels may stigmatize. And yet so often our work comes from a place, system or history that promotes these very problems. As one part of the Recovery 101 series I want to explore the language and word that hurt the work we do, as well as the people we work with.
One of my greatest pet peeves is the term “non-compliant”. Direct from the medical and clinic model of treatment, it is usually used to refer to someone who stops taking their medication against medical advice. It may also refer to refusal to participate in other forms of treatment.
When I hear non-compliant I hear:
1) that medication is the sole or primary method of improvement
2) that the treating physician knows what is best
3) that the patient or person is doing something WRONG or even deviant
4) that the patient or person does not have the right to determine how they want to recover
5) the reasons the person has for not taking medications are insignificant compared to what professionals or others perceive as the benefits of the medication
6) the patient or person is sick and must be made better
What alternatives exist to these words:
1) person has decided not to take the prescribed medication
2) person does not find the medication effective, or finds the side-effects unpleasant and is seeking alternative methods
3) the person is comfortable/prefers not taking medications at this time
4) the person has difficulty taking their medications consistently and may need help in this area
How do you view or support clients or others in their decisions around taking medications? Do you use the term non-compliant or have an alternative to suggest? Have you as a patient or person dealing with mental illness felt you have agency or decision making power with regards to medical treatment?
We in social services know the importance of language. We know that words can hurt or empower. We know that labels may stigmatize. And yet so often our work comes from a place, system or history that promotes these very problems. As one part of the Recovery 101 series I want to explore the language and word that hurt the work we do, as well as the people we work with.
One of my greatest pet peeves is the term “non-compliant”. Direct from the medical and clinic model of treatment, it is usually used to refer to someone who stops taking their medication against medical advice. It may also refer to refusal to participate in other forms of treatment.
When I hear non-compliant I hear:
1) that medication is the sole or primary method of improvement
2) that the treating physician knows what is best
3) that the patient or person is doing something WRONG or even deviant
4) that the patient or person does not have the right to determine how they want to recover
5) the reasons the person has for not taking medications are insignificant compared to what professionals or others perceive as the benefits of the medication
6) the patient or person is sick and must be made better
What alternatives exist to these words:
1) person has decided not to take the prescribed medication
2) person does not find the medication effective, or finds the side-effects unpleasant and is seeking alternative methods
3) the person is comfortable/prefers not taking medications at this time
4) the person has difficulty taking their medications consistently and may need help in this area
How do you view or support clients or others in their decisions around taking medications? Do you use the term non-compliant or have an alternative to suggest? Have you as a patient or person dealing with mental illness felt you have agency or decision making power with regards to medical treatment?
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Recovery 101 - Series Kick Off
This post is a part of the Recovery 101 blog series. The series will explore ideas, philosophies, language, tools, and questions about mental health recovery. Submit any ideas for topics in the comments section of any tagged post.
I’ve mentioned that when I started working in this field, I heard the word recovery tossed around a lot, but there didn’t seem to be any substance to it. I specifically remember being asked in my job interview about “recovery” – I think I said something about “believing that it is possible to get better” from a mental illness. The exchange was pretty vague on both sides.
I now think that part of the reason for this hazy understanding of recovery was precisely because it is so hard to pin down. Mental health recovery is different for each individual. But good community/social workers have always known that each patient/client/member has different needs and strengths, so there must be more to it than that.
From what I’ve learned so far:
-recovery is about living a full life (however you define it) not just getting by, coping, or managing
-it requires an individual to take responsibility for their own wellbeing
-a healthy, supportive, and empathetic environment makes so much difference
-it requires people to make choices for themselves. Thismay will include choices which lead to both successes and failures.
-the systems currently in place - hospitals, community mental health supports, families - although often well intentioned, may hinder as well as help
-recovery always involves HOPE. This is probably the most key ingredient.
How do you define recovery? What does it take?
I’ve mentioned that when I started working in this field, I heard the word recovery tossed around a lot, but there didn’t seem to be any substance to it. I specifically remember being asked in my job interview about “recovery” – I think I said something about “believing that it is possible to get better” from a mental illness. The exchange was pretty vague on both sides.
I now think that part of the reason for this hazy understanding of recovery was precisely because it is so hard to pin down. Mental health recovery is different for each individual. But good community/social workers have always known that each patient/client/member has different needs and strengths, so there must be more to it than that.
From what I’ve learned so far:
-recovery is about living a full life (however you define it) not just getting by, coping, or managing
-it requires an individual to take responsibility for their own wellbeing
-a healthy, supportive, and empathetic environment makes so much difference
-it requires people to make choices for themselves. This
-the systems currently in place - hospitals, community mental health supports, families - although often well intentioned, may hinder as well as help
-recovery always involves HOPE. This is probably the most key ingredient.
How do you define recovery? What does it take?
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
What makes a Social Worker?
I have a confession to make: I am not a social worker.
That is, I don’t have a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) or a Masters of Social Work (MSW). I’m not even a registered Social Service Worker, which is a two year diploma.
This does not stop my clients, or even friends and family from referring to me as a social worker.
I did go to school. One year of a Bachelor of Fine Arts (dropped out) and a diploma in Assaulted Women and Children’s Counselling and Advocacy (AWCCA). It’s an awkwardly titled and unique program, but I learned more there than in any other school I’ve attended my whole life. And it is in the Community Services department.
I believe in a recovery model of mental health work. Recovery is a word I’ve heard kicked around in mental health departments for a long time, but a lot of the time it seemed to be more of vague notion of an ideal rather than an actual working philosophy or model. It’s only been in the past year or so that I have really learned how the concept of recovery can be used to help clients and improve the work that I do.
I took to the recovery model very quickly, because it jives well with my feminist and anti-oppression perspective. These are things I learned in the good ol’ AWCCA, as well as my life experiences.
Most of the time, I feel pretty well prepared to handle the work I do. I attribute this to my training, but also to my ‘lived experience’ - the things you don’t get out of a book. The recovery model values this highly. It emphasizes the importance of lived experience and in particular peer-support in doing mental health work.
Meanwhile, the social work sector seems to be headed for increased professionalization. I don’t really have numbers to back this up, but I have certainly noticed it from my constant perusing of job postings. More and more jobs are requiring BSW’s and even MSW’s for community work that has often been done by people like me. While I strongly believe that further education is a good thing, I do question whether this trend can be congruent with the recovery model.
I also would never want to disrespect or devalue the years of effort and hard work that others have put into their professional designations. Goodness knows I was proud when I graduated my program (with honours thankyouverymuch) but is completing a two or four or five year degree the only way to be a Social Worker?
More to come in a new blog series I am going to call Recovery 101.
That is, I don’t have a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) or a Masters of Social Work (MSW). I’m not even a registered Social Service Worker, which is a two year diploma.
This does not stop my clients, or even friends and family from referring to me as a social worker.
I did go to school. One year of a Bachelor of Fine Arts (dropped out) and a diploma in Assaulted Women and Children’s Counselling and Advocacy (AWCCA). It’s an awkwardly titled and unique program, but I learned more there than in any other school I’ve attended my whole life. And it is in the Community Services department.
I believe in a recovery model of mental health work. Recovery is a word I’ve heard kicked around in mental health departments for a long time, but a lot of the time it seemed to be more of vague notion of an ideal rather than an actual working philosophy or model. It’s only been in the past year or so that I have really learned how the concept of recovery can be used to help clients and improve the work that I do.
I took to the recovery model very quickly, because it jives well with my feminist and anti-oppression perspective. These are things I learned in the good ol’ AWCCA, as well as my life experiences.
Most of the time, I feel pretty well prepared to handle the work I do. I attribute this to my training, but also to my ‘lived experience’ - the things you don’t get out of a book. The recovery model values this highly. It emphasizes the importance of lived experience and in particular peer-support in doing mental health work.
Meanwhile, the social work sector seems to be headed for increased professionalization. I don’t really have numbers to back this up, but I have certainly noticed it from my constant perusing of job postings. More and more jobs are requiring BSW’s and even MSW’s for community work that has often been done by people like me. While I strongly believe that further education is a good thing, I do question whether this trend can be congruent with the recovery model.
I also would never want to disrespect or devalue the years of effort and hard work that others have put into their professional designations. Goodness knows I was proud when I graduated my program (with honours thankyouverymuch) but is completing a two or four or five year degree the only way to be a Social Worker?
More to come in a new blog series I am going to call Recovery 101.
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