Category: Psychosocial Education
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Choices, Choices
Okay, so maybe this isn’t the proper forum to be weighing pros and cons of volunteer opportunities. So far I’ve shadowed two MHA (Mental Health Association of Orange County) Hearing Advocates to three different hospitals over two Fridays. Last Friday I was sick, and the Hearing Advocate I had hoped to shadow never called.…
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NAMI Week Ten
This was the last week of NAMI Peer-to-Peer Recovery Education Program ©. Last class agenda: Revisit BRIDGES Consumer Stages of Recovery. BRIDGES, Building Recovery of Individual Dreams and Goals through Education and Support, is a NAMI Tennessee copyrighted program that provides education and support to persons diagnosed with a mental illness. Here are the BRIDGES Consumer Stages of Recovery…
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NAMI Week Nine
Wednesday afternoon I attended the ninth week of NAMI Peer-to-Peer Recovery Education Program ©. The class covered the following topics: Guest Speaker – Family Member – Steve Pitman Four Good Things about Hospitalization: To avoid the upheaval of a hospital stay, with the help of your support system,youcanrecreatethefour good things about hospitalization at home when you need it.…
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NAMI Week Eight
Wednesday I attended class eight of the NAMI Peer-to-Peer Recovery Education Program 2014 ©. The topics we covered are: What to do when you, or someone you know,may be contemplating suicide WARNING SIGNS FOR SUICIDE Threatening to hurt or kill oneself or talking about wanting to hurt or kill oneself Looking for ways to kill…
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NAMI Target Exercise
Target Exercise: Relapse Prevention Planning © NAMI Peer-to-Peer Recovery Education Course Week Seven Class Handouts (Rev. 2006) included the Target Exercise shown above, the text of which I’ve summarized below. In the bull’s-eye, we put what we MUST do, or MUST not do, to live well with mental illness. I MUST take my medicine, sleep, and not…
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NAMI Week Seven
This afternoon I attended week seven of NAMI Peer-to-Peer psychoeducational classes. In class seven we covered: Understanding Emotions Complete Relapse Prevention Grid Focusing on Experiences of Joy Spirituality Physical Health and Mental Health Mindfulness The class was helpful and supportive, as always. Our material that covered understanding emotions was based on the work of Marsha…
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NAMI Week Six ~ Dual Diagnosis
Twice today peers, both recovering addicts, have suggested that although I do not drink much, I may be an alcoholic because of my relationship with alcohol (and marijuana, for that matter). The statements ring true. Within me lives an alcoholic over whom I must exert tremendous control. I sense a strong genetic and biological predisposition to alcoholism…
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NAMI Week Five
At the end of week five of NAMI’s Peer-to-Peer training, we learned the concept behind Dialectical Behavior Therapy or DBT. To begin seeing the world in less black and white terms and to learn to hold and accept uncomfortable and opposing feelings, we made dialectical statements describing two roses in opposing terms. My two roses here are both…
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NAMI Week Three
Yesterday afternoon I attended NAMI‘s third week Peer-to-Peer class. The curriculum we covered was: Mental illnesses are no-blame disorders Brain biology and research about mental illness Challenges and benefits of medications Relapse prevention Creative visualization Mindfulness I feel I need to learn far more about relapse prevention. No doubt we will continue to cover that topic. As someone…
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NAMI Peer-to-Peer Week Two
As I attended my second week of NAMI Peer-to-Peer, my 14-year-old son and nephew painted our family room wall a beautiful shade of light green sage. Thank you, boys! Job well done. The room is already more restful with the new color on a wall. NAMI Peer-to-Peer is a peer-led course in which those of…