Dance Blog

Oh, if only I had rhythm, I’d be the perfect psych patient. I take my meds religiously; I pay out the nose for therapy; I watch what I eat; I struggle perpetually to keep a regular sleep schedule; and I think a lot about getting more exercise, even though I don’t actually get it. Sadly, I’ve been a gym-goer for most of my adult life, and I definitely believe that the physical activity helped alleviate my symptoms of bipolar disorder, but my last major episode—several years ago now—crippled me so much that I nixed all workouts. I think I simply stopped enjoying exercise, and I haven’t been able to recapture the feeling that grinding away on an elliptical is fun. Go figure.

So here I am at work, sitting on my too-large-for-comfort fanny, browsing through stories we might use for the Clearinghouse’s monthly Key update e-mail newsletter, and I come across: ‘Latest Fitness Craze? Dancing,’ (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,182919,00.html). So I do a little more research and find that, yes, the headline seems to be true. And, no, this is not your mother’s ‘Sweatin’ to the Oldies,’ nor your Aunt’s Jazzercise class at the local synagogue. This is tango lessons in Billings, Montana, (http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?display=rednews/2006/01/29/build/local/30-dance.inc); this is pole-dancing class—yes, of gentlemen’s clubs fame—in the Ahwatukee Foothills of Arizona, (http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/mesa/articles/0125ar-poledanceZ11.html); and this is the state of West Virginia phasing in the video game “Dance Dance Revolution,” as part of its physical education program in all 753 of its public schools within three years (http://www.happynews.com/news/1252006/schools-get-game-to-fight-obesity.htm).

Unfortunately, I simply don’t have the courage to sign up for tango, pole-dancing, or eighth grade, so this kinder, friendlier, minimally painful and maybe even enjoyable form of exercise is beyond my reach. However, I suspect some of my peers who have mental illness—especially those whose meds have caused them to put on weight—might be happy to add a pinch of cha-cha to their lives. If that sounds appealing, I encourage you to check out your local fitness centers, YMCAs and night clubs and see if something piques your interest.

In the meantime, I’ll keep thinking about getting more exercise, and hoping all this typing has some effect on my heart rate. I can feel my rump shrinking already…

Posted by Daniele Sadres

CDS Directory - Highlighting Consumer Driven Services

The mental health consumer movement began in the late 1940s to raise awareness about the mistreatment of people who were hospitalized for mental illness. As the movement slowly succeeded against the entrenched effects of disempowerment, coercive treatment practices and human warehousing, consumers began to create their own alternatives to psychiatric hospitals. Self-help and peer support groups emerged to empower people be proactively engaged in their own mental health, and to advocate for change within the mental health system as a whole.

Most of the original programs were established and run entirely by people with psychiatric histories for mutual support and advocacy purposes and operated almost entirely, if not entirely, on a volunteer basis. Many of these organizations went on to play leading roles in the development of the consumer movement, paving the way for consumers to be accepted as valued service providers and participants in mental health policy and treatment planning.
Today mental health consumers are involved in a wide range of positions in the mental health system, including in traditional service structures like case management and respite care. Some mental health agencies have significant consumer representation on their boards and in executive positions, and some of the first consumer programs have expanded to large corporations with multi-million-dollar budgets. Consumer-driven services are service programs that include a significant contribution from mental health consumers in design, administration, executive leadership, and/or service provision. These programs vary widely in focus, size and the degree to which consumers are involved in day-to-day programming and development. The essential characteristics of CDS are universal however—any CDS program must feature active participation of consumers as a regular part of its planning process, and input from consumers must be of foremost importance in decision-making.

A wide variety of organizational settings may lend themselves to CDS programs, from large mental health service agencies to unique grassroots efforts run on a volunteer basis. Some, but not all, of these organizations have consumer involvement as a part of their charter or mission statement, as for instance a requirement for a majority of consumers on their Boards of Directors or staff. Many CDS are completely independent incorporated organizations. Others may operate under a charity umbrella framework, within a traditional provider agency, or even as part of an inpatient hospital program.

The CDS Directory highlights the vital role consumer-driven programs play in the continuum of care and allows programs to share their successful innovations with others.

Through the CDS Directory:

Mental health consumers can find local services and supports that best meet their needs.

Managers and staff of consumer-driven services can examine the practices of other programs, borrow solutions to common challenges, and network with people running similar programs.

Organizations operating consumer-driven services have a forum to promote their programs' accomplishments.

Systems administrators and peer specialists exploring the creation of new programs can compare the merits of existing programs and identify useful resources.

Researchers studying consumer-driven services can locate and contact programs they wish to study (e.g., multiple programs matching a particular service model) and will be able to review existing research.

All consumer-driven programs are invited to apply for inclusion in the Consumer-Driven Services Directory via the Web site http://www.cdsdirectory.org/database/cds.php. To receive application materials by mail, write to info@cdsdirectory.org or NMHCSH Clearinghouse, 1211 Chestnut St., Suite 1207, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

Posted by Joseph Rogers

Medicare Part D - the D is for Disaster

The Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania's consumer advocate, Fran Hazam, writes about her experience trying to help people in PA with Medicare Part D:

"It took me from Thursday until Tuesday to get one person straightened out. The pharmacists do not have the input information in a lot of cases. They don’t know how to enter the codes. They don’t know where to find the codes. They don’t know which codes to use.

We have a lot of people who had only Medicare Part A; that’s causing problems because caseworkers told them to opt out. They opted out of the auto enrollment and the new enrollment didn’t go through. Either they didn’t enroll in anything or, when they did enroll, it’s not showing up in the system.

One of our volunteers had a card from his new Part D plan and needed a refill. When he went to Rite-Aid, they could not refill his prescription. I called Rite-Aid corporate Friday and got a call back at 9 pm Friday night from somebody in the PR Department who said, 'We’ve trained everyone; they all know how to do it.'

On Saturday he went back to that Rite Aid and a different pharmacist told him he could only fill a new script; no refills written under his old plan. He then gave him 20 syringes he needed for insulin injections. Per the Health Law Project, the syringes are covered by Part D Medicare but the lancets and strips he also needs are covered by Part B Medicare.

Not one consumer I’ve talked to when things didn’t go through the computer was offered to be enrolled in Wellpoint/Anthem. The problem is that if pharmacists don’t enroll them in Wellpoint and they can’t get them to bill their new plan, consumers are getting enrolled in plans that don’t start until February 1 and pharmacists tell them they have to pay full costs until February 1.

Consumers, pharmacists and caseworkers don’t know which medications are not covered by Access cards: Barbiturates class, Benzodiazapam class and Diabetic supplies. People are being denied them when they should have just been asked for their Access card and have it covered.

So there are miscommunications of all kinds, and if people are not showing up with the letter that they got for enrollment or a confirmation number -- if they don’t bring all their information, including their Access cards -- they’re being denied.

This is really difficult for people. We’re lucky the weather is good; if the weather were bad, just getting out to the store multiple times would be a real problem for folks. It is a problem for consumers who have a distance to go and no transportation. Also, many need to get new scripts from their doctors and this slows down the process, depending on how busy the offices are."

This—the plan our government told us would be a boon for the elderly. What crap."

Posted by Christine Simiriglia.

I am chair of the National Mental Health Association’s Adult Services and Prevention Committee and I am trying to figure out a consumer/recovery-informed approach to the issue of prevention.

One issue for me is what can be done to prevent someone who is in mental health care from repeatedly cycling through the system.

What I have noticed is that many folks mostly get help when they are in a crisis, and receive little in the way of follow-up and support. In other words, I think many of us have found that the only way we get help is to show up at an emergency room pretty much ready to jump out a window or something. My hope is that systems of care would fund more programs such as warm lines, which allow us to seek and get support earlier on so that we don’t end up in the hospital or worse.

I would love to hear what other folks think.

Joseph Rogers

Welcome to the Clearinghouse's Brand New Blog!

We, at The Clearinghouse, are proud to welcome you to our new blog. We'll be posting here casually, providing updates on Clearinghouse work as well as discussing current events related to self-help, peer support, consumer-driven services and any other issues relevant to mental health. We're looking forward to reading comments and sharing our thoughts with you in this new format. Blogs can be a great way for people interested in similar topics to help each other find the best information and get the latest news in the field.

While we also have The Clearinghouse Website which features a news page and our monthly newsletter The Key Update we thought it would be a good idea to offer a blog as well. It will be updated by all members of The Clearinghouse staff whenever we have something to share. If there's something you'd like us to address, send us an email.