Giving is at the Heart of the Holiday Season

Transcription

1 VOLUME 32, NUMBER 4, Winter 2015 MANITOBA SCHIZOPHRENIA SOCIETY NEWSLETTER Giving is at the Heart of the Holiday Season By Chris Summerville, Executive Director, Manitoba Schizophrenia Society CHARLES Dickens said, No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another. No doubt schizophrenia can be a significant burden. It can be a lonely illness. Families are often frustrated by the service received from the mental health system. Too often those with an enduring mental illness die twenty to twenty-five years earlier than the rest of us. The question is what can the rest of us do to ease that burden? How do we avoid becoming useless? To answer that question I offer another quote. This one is by Winston Churchill. He said, We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. Giving back can be a blessing to others! Giving our time, patience, love, compassion and practical help, can all bring some joy and happiness. Many spiritual faiths and religious traditions emphasize giving during this time of the year. Someone has said that Christmas is a tonic for our souls. It moves us to think of others rather than of ourselves. It directs our thoughts to giving. Thomas S. Monson stated it this way: Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values. Whether Christmas or not, we at the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society (MSS) are glad recipients of many volunteer hours throughout the year, as well as the benefactor of financial gifts which enable MSS to do its work of improving the lives of those affected by schizophrenia and psychosis. While many organizations will be approaching you for a financial gift, I hope you will not forget MSS! About 10 percent of our income comes through donations. They make a valuable difference in what we can provide to others who use our services. So, please consider MSS in your giving this year. Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more (H. Jackson Brown). EDITORS Chris Summerville, Kim Heidinger Design & Layout Sangeetha Nair Inside This Issue New Study Demonstrates Hope for People with Schizophrenia... 2 Building a Culture of Recovery..3 New Walk Route a Success..4 Volunteer Leaves MSS, Will Be Missed...5 Honest, Open, Proud MSS Holiday Party Events....7 Donation Form BACK COVER

2 New Study Demonstrates Hope for People with Schizophrenia By Vinnie Rotondaro...people [with schizophrenia] are responsive to compassion and care. We should stop trying to medicate our problems away and listen to people instead." Web Image A game-changing study of treatment programs for people with early signs of schizophrenia in the United States shows that an emphasis on talk therapy and socialization can be more effective than medication alone. The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to the tune of $25 million and published in The American Journal of Psychiatry. It casts doubt on the status quo of drug-focused care for people with severe mental illness -- arguably some of society s most marginalized. In America today, more than two million people live with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, according to NIMH. Many are prescribed antipsychotic drugs, which control hallucinations but often result in undesirable, sometimes debilitating, side effects. For years, psychiatrists have focused on managing symptoms rather than seeking recovery, said Dr. Robert K. Heinssen, director of the Division of Services and Intervention Research at NIMH, who oversaw the research. "The big difference here is that we're saying: Let's focus on the early stages when the person still has the resources for growth and change and development," he told NCR. "Let's offer them a combination of treatments that not only addressees the psychiatric symptoms, but also their relationship with their family, so that it's put back on a positive trajectory. "Let's look at their academic goals if they re young. Let's look at their work goals if they're older, and let s give them active, effective treatments that help them achieve those goals." According to Heinssen, the study suggests it is possible to "maximize recovery, so that people can go on to complete school, get a job, have friendships, establish a family, and so forth -- in other words, to achieve the things that all of us aspire to as fully functioning adults and contributing members of society." The study lasted five years and was conducted by John Kane, chairman of the psychiatry department at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. It was conducted in 34 community clinics across 21 states, focusing on newly diagnosed patients with schizophrenia. Half of the patients received the "usual care," or drug-focused treatment, Heinssen said. The other half received the experimental treatment, which introduced elements of talk therapy and focused on personal ambition related to work or education, while administering lower doses of drugs. "People in the experimental group did better than people in the control group over a 24- month period," said Heinssen. Additionally, he said, the study looked at how fast first signs of schizophrenia were treated and found that "for people who received the experimental intervention, and were in the lower range of untreated psychosis, the effect size almost doubled." Such findings confirm what researchers like Yale University professor of psychiatry Larry Davidson have long professed: that focusing on the person "behind the symptom" and fostering hope is more effective -- and humane -- than merely administering drugs. The NIMH study "addresses a population that has been marginalized for 200 years," Davidson told NCR, "and [shows] that people [with schizophrenia] are responsive to compassion and care." It suggests that "we should stop trying to medicate our problems away and listen to people instead." Davidson, who directs Yale University's Program for Recovery and Community Health, said that the NIMH study replicates similar findings made in Australia, Norway and Denmark. "It's a big deal that it's been done now in the U.S. by highly respected, mainstream psychiatrists," he said. Heinssen said the findings are already affecting significant policy changes. So far, 32 states using block grant funds to implement early intervention mental health programs have "signed on and said they will be moving in this direction and starting one of these [combined treatment] programs by 2016," he said. "We're really looking at this as a way of investing in the lives of these young people who have had a very traumatic and life altering event, but one that's not life ending," he said. "There is hope, and that's what we're trying to communicate." 2

3 Building a Culture of Recovery A comprehensive education strategy What is Peer Support? A Key Component of Recovery is Peer Support. Peer support accepts and respects the perspective and contributions of lived experience it shifts the balance of power in subtle but significant ways. Peer support is an important and distinct component of mental health and substance abuse services. After reviewing lots of articles, material from other courses and documents about peer support, here is the definition of Peer Support that we think best covers what is important about peer support. program emerged from the Consumer/Survivor Community. A work group was developed to consider an educational program for Peers in the Mental Health System. The curriculum for Like Minds was designed by the Consumer/Survivor Community, and meant to be delivered by Peer Educators. Guiding Principles Peer support is a system of giving and receiving help founded on key principles of respect, shared responsibility, and mutual agreement of what is helpful. Peer support is not based on psychiatric models and diagnostic criteria. It is about understanding another s situation empathically through the shared experience of emotional and psychological pain. When people find affiliation with others they feel are like them, they feel a connection. This connection, or affiliation, is a deep, holistic understanding based on mutual experience where people are able to be with each other without the constraints of traditional (expert/patient) relationships. Further, as trust in the relationship builds, both people are able to respectfully challenge each other when they find themselves in conflict. This allows members of the peer community to try out new behaviours with one another and move beyond previously held self-concepts built on disability and diagnosis. The Stone Centre refers to this as mutual empowerment. (Stiver & Miller, 1998) Recently, the mainstream has begun to recognize the value of peer support; funding for Consumer-led programs and services have increased and there has been more hiring of Peer Support Workers in mainstream service teams. It is important to remember though that peer support is based on mutual equality. When people are paid to provide peer support, the relationship then involves some level of power as it becomes a service as opposed to a natural support. Yet to build a culture of recovery, mental health services need to embrace and provide empowered peer support services and employ people with lived experience to work from a recovery-is-really-possilble perspective. There are many different modes of peer support, but one thing is common having lived experience is a valuable skill that not everyone has, and that makes it even more valuable. One pillar of the Culture of Recovery education strategy is Like Minds: Peer Support Education. The idea behind the Like Minds 1. Designed and delivered by peers 2. Embedded in Recovery Wellness and hope Real and autonomous choice Anti-oppression and anti-discrimination Leadership and education Social Justice and advocacy 3. Inclusive Like Minds acknowledges the variety of peer support opportunities that exist. Participants were: Volunteers and paid employees; they were Directors of a Board; and they were concerned citizens. 4. Emphasis on Leadership, empowerment and system change Considering the philosophical differences in leadership and support consensus oriented Recognizing the risks and opportunities in leadership 5. Peer Support is distinct Program expectations: 1. Knowledge and appreciation about recovery and peer support 2. Learning about and feeling comfortable doing peer support 3. Personal preparation to do the work 4. Reflection and Knowledge integration For more detail regarding Like Minds: Peer Support Education and the program manual, contact Kate at contact@cultureofrecovery.org 3

4 MSS and the road less traveled... New Walk Route a Success Hon. Sharon Blady joins emcee Ace Burpee on stage to welcome the walkers ON September 19, 2015, 143 people participated in the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society s 24 th annual Journey of Hope Walk. This year, there was a difference in the walk that the MSS presented. We decided to make this a little longer walk and a more public event all around, said Katrina Tinman, Special Events Administrator for the MSS. This year s walk was from the Forks Canopy Plaza to the Manitoba Legislature and back again, which added up to a full three kilometer trek for our walkers. We did stop for a brief rest at the Legislature, where our emcee was able to deliver a message of hope to the group. Participants in the walk should really congratulate themselves on such a journey and statement of their solidarity toward mental health and recovery. It was a great experience from the start to the finish, said Aya El-Alawi, MSS volunteer and Walk Marshal for the Journey of Hope Walk. Our signs and voices echoed throughout the streets in a powerful way. We were like a parade symbolizing hope for those living with Schizophrenia and their family members. The Journey of Hope Walk encourages not just family members but also the general public, that there is the hope for recovery from the illness, said Tita Mabee, MSS volunteer and Journey of Hope Walk Marshal. The walk this year was well organized and thought out with a lot of volunteers and more walkers this time that have ever been and I really liked how we walked from the Forks to the 4 Manitoba Legislature and back again. It was awesome, said Elizabeth Britany Vagi, one of the participants of the Journey of Hope Walk. I haven t been to the walk in quite some time and it was all good, everything from the food to the face painting to the weather to even the police coordination. Everyone was so friendly and that was my favorite part, as the people who took part were from all walks of life. Seeing everyone walking with all the signs really touched me to the point of tears, said Helen Chang, Journey of Hope Walk participant and volunteer. Carrying that banner throughout our trek with Katrina (Tinman) was like carrying a torch with flames that danced to the footsteps of supporters. Holding up signs that represent hope, strength, ending stigma, having a voice and believing that recovery is possible were the sprinkles on the cake that coloured our way, said El-Alawi. People from all walks of life marching behind us with each step we took, I felt we made a difference; a difference that I hope will resonate throughout the city, through the hearts of people to change the way we talk about mental illness. It was great, said Eric Fraser, MSS Outreach Worker and Journey of Hope Walk participant. It was good exposure and it was good that we went to the Manitoba Legislature. As we walked, with the police stopping cars and guiding our trek from the Forks to the Manitoba Legislature, many onlookers in cars, nearby buildings and even on the street took out their phones and started snapping away photos of the grand event, said El-Alawi. We were quite the spectacle. With the walk being three kilometers, canvassers more than delivered on their promise to walk the walk on behalf of their supporters. We did have prizes for our top three fundraisers, Tinman said. Because of the donations we received, we were able to deliver prizes such as a one night stay at the Fairmont Hotel along with tickets to the Manitoba Opera s presentation of Mice and Men for the top fundraiser prize; a one night s stay at the Radisson Hotel Winnipeg Downtown and gift certificates to Pony Corral for the second prize and a one night stay in a Canad Inns room along with complimentary rise and shine buffets at Aaltos for the third prize. Shirley Heather won the top canvasser prize, Bill Wattis won the second prize and Joanne Chapman won the third prize. There was also a silent auction and entertainment in the form of the Southglen Fiddlers. Ace Burpee was emcee of the event and called the event the best one ever. It was one of the best walks I ve been to in three years, said Mabee. A lot of input to me says the same and that people want to do this same walk again next year. I felt that the event holds more importance when we leave a mark on our community through our actions, said El-Alawi. It will hopefully continue to fulfill its purpose, spreading awareness, reducing stigma and lifting the candle of hope to light the way for all to see. The plan at this point is to do this same Journey of Hope Walk in 2016 on September 24 th, said Tinman. We ve received nothing but positive feedback about this year s walk, even on some video that was taken by our photographer, and want to replicate that experience for our 25 th anniversary in To do the same thing in 2016 (that we did this year) would be cool, said Fraser. As soon as I took the bus home from the walk, all I was thinking about was the walk in 2016 and how pumped I was to be a part of this great event and the possibility to be involved again, said El-Alawi. As long as I have the ability to participate, I will step forward and contribute in any way possible.

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6 Volunteer Leaves MSS, Will Be Missed IT was 2011 when Virgincita Tita Mabee joined the ranks of the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society (MSS) volunteers. Now, it s time for her departure. Mabee has two sons and will be joining the older son in British Columbia. The MSS is like my family, said Tita Mabee, MSS volunteer, when discussing her planned departure and how difficult it will be to leave. Mabee started volunteering for the MSS in 2011 and was first involved with the Family Support Group. She then moved onto the Eight Stages of Healing and Strengthening Families Together and then for Jane Burpee s Hearing Voices workshop. I always like to volunteer as I like to give back to the community where I live, said Mabee. I feel that helping people that are less fortunate puts a smile on my soul. Mabee also volunteered for three years with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority Mental Health Advisory Council. Mabee said her younger son lives with Schizophrenia and this played a role in her first encounter with the MSS. I don t think I could have survived my son s illness if not for the MSS, said Mabee. Mabee said she learned to live with the mistakes she made with her son and gained acceptance of the fact that he has an illness and it s not her fault or caused by herself. The Manitoba Schizophrenia Society invites you to attend our Holiday Party St. Mary s United Church 613 St. Mary s Road Monday, Dec 14, :30am 1:00pm Free for MSS members, but $5 for each non-member. Seating is Limited. Please RSVP by December 7th info@mss.mb.ca or

7 Honest, Open, Proud To Erase the Stigma of Mental Illness If you are a person of lived experience of mental illness, you can join us for a this new, three session program about disclosure of mental illness. This program focuses the participant on the concept of disclosing their mental illness and all the facets of that decision and its process. We will walk you through the pros and cons of disclosure, who to disclose to, and teach you how to tell your story if you do decide to disclose. To register or for more info call or info@mss.mb.ca *Class dates are yet to be announced and will depend on class sizes and room availability EVENTS Iris Gala : May 7, 2016 at The Gates on Roblin This year marks the 20 th anniversary of the Iris Gala Golf Tournament : June 13, 2016 at The Southwood Golf and Country Club This year marks the 25 th anniversary of the Golf for Schizophrenia Tournament Journey of Hope Walk : September 24, 2016 at The Forks Canopy Plaza This year marks the 25 th anniversary of the Journey of Hope Walk Please feel free to contact Katrina Tinman, Special Events Administrator, for details of each of these events as the dates draw closer. 7

8 We Provide Services Around the Province Manitoba Schizophrenia Society Fort Street Winnipeg, MB R3C 1C4 Phone: 1(204) Fax: 1(204) Toll Free: Website: Regional Services Burntwood 43 Fox Bay Thompson, MB R8N 1E9 Phone: (204) Fax: (204) Norman Box 3864 The Pas, MB R9A 1S4 Tel/Fax: (204) Eastman & East Central 21 Loewen Blvd. Steinbach, MB R5G 0L4 Phone: (204) Fax: (204) Brandon & Assiniboine th St., Brandon, MB R7A 4K9 Phone: (204) Interlake Box #101 Selkirk, MB R1A 2B1 Phone: (204) Fax: (204) Parklands Box 117 Pine River, MB R0L 1M0 Phone: (204) Brandon & West Central Box 413 Souris, MB R0K 2C0 Phone: SMHC 825 Manitoba Ave. Box 9600 Selkirk, MB R1A 2B5 Phone: (204) ext 416 Fax: (204) Manitoba Schizophrenia Society is a consumer focused, family sensitive mental health self help organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for those affected by schizophrenia, psychosis and co-occurring disorders, through education and peer support. Reasons for Hope is the official newsletter for the Society. It is published quarterly. Submissions are invited. Opinions set forth in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Society or its members. Reprinting of articles is permitted with the proviso the Society is given appropriate credit. MANITOBA SCHIZOPHRENIA SOCIETY Board of Directors Winnipeg Office Staff Outreach Workers Wilma Schroeder, President Doug Tiltman, Vice-President Tracy Stople, Treasurer Directors: Amy Butcher Barb Madden Heather Carr Louise Chernetz Sean Miller Tammy Lambert Peter Ostryzniuk Christine Lafond Chris Summerville Rey Schellenberg Katrina Tinman Livia Lobo Jane Burpee Karen Kaplen Eric Fraser Verne McComas Executive Director Accountant Special Events Administrator Administrative Assistant Public Education Coordinator Peer Program Support Worker Peer Support Worker Lifelinks Program Kim Heidinger Tim Shewchuk Nancy Shewchuk Bev King Rhonda Heskin Teresa Roberts Leanne Marceniuk Eastman & East Central Region Brandon & Assiniboine Region Brandon & West Central Region Interlake Region Burntwood Region Norman Region Parklands Region Donate to MSS monthly! - For more information on how you can become a monthly partner with MSS call MSS is a registered non-profit organization. Charitable donation # RR 0001 Single, $15 Family, $25 Corporate, $50 Donation $ I/We would like to give a monthly donation of $ Visa / MC: Expiry Date (For a pre-authorized payment from your chequing account, please enclose a cheque marked VOID) Name: Phone: Address: City: Province: Postal / Zip Code: I am: Mother Father Sibling Consumer Service Provider Other I am renewing my membership Members receive the MSS newsletter Reasons for Hope and the Schizophrenia Society of Canada (SSC) Bulletin. Please make cheques payable to: MSS Fort Street Winnipeg, MB R3C 1C4 Signature: Date: 8