Silencing the Bell of Suffering

By: Peggy Cunningham, MA, NCC,LPC

I am familiar with a mental health organization that has a bell that it rings at an annual event.  The bell is made of chains that were from old psychiatric state hospitals, or “Asylums”, where a lack of understanding of mental illness and often ineffective methods of treatment had us treat these individuals in inhumane ways.  When this bell rang you could almost hear the voices and the cries of those who were chained and suffering from mental illness. It was a very eerie.  We have made progress from those days but still have much progress that needs to be made.

I have long believed that people fear that which we don’t understand and mental illness is one of those areas many people fear.  Mental illness is an impairment that can affect how one thinks, feels, socializes, and behaves.  The precise causes are not always clear.  Those who suffer from mental illness are our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends and neighbors. Their behavior is often unpredictable and bizarre.  One is embarrassed, baffled and afraid by how mental illness plays out in the here and now. Those who are mentally ill suffer from a disease of the brain.  Mental illness is treatable with medication and various forms of therapy.  One would never be embarrassed by someone who suffers from diabetes, heart disease or diabetes and would never hesitate to seek medical assistance.  Yet when it comes to mental illness we hesitate to recognize it or seek help. 

Those who suffer from mental illness are not predestined to a life misery, criminal behavior or disability.  Those who suffer from depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety or any other mental illness are not predestined to become mass murderers.  These individuals have thoughts, feeling, love, hurt, cry, and work.  It is the responsibility of each one of us as individuals and as a society to embrace and support those who suffer from mental illness and to offer encouragement and assistance to their families.

Investigation, Not Accusation!

By: Jason Ulanet, MSCP

Mnemonic devices can be handy when there is something new to learn. They reorient us as we get overwhelmed by the difficult task of learning and applying new concepts. Anyone who’s had to learn to read music has probably used the Every-Good-Boy-Deserves-Fudge schema, which tells you which notes go on which lines of sheet music. Countless spelling errors have been avoided simply by repeating this familiar rhyme: “I before ‘e’, except after ‘c’”. Acronyms frequently are relied upon to remember sets of rules, concepts, or just long, clumsy names for laws (see: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act = HIPAA).

When I work with couples or families who are trying to learn how to improve their communication patterns, I use this rhyme as a mnemonic device: Investigation, Not Accusation!

“Summertime and the Living is Easy”

By: Sherry Montgomery, LSCSW, LCSW

Summertime and the living is easy, right?  According to Kelly Sanders, an expert contributor to “Child and Adolescent Issues”, not for the more than 66% of women who work full time jobs and are still responsible for making sure their children are cared for, safe and provided with summer activities to enjoy.

Historically, women have been and continue to be the primary caretakers of their children.  During summer the stressors increase, kids out of school, daycare problems, heat, and a tendency to feel overwhelmed.

Bringing Your Best Game

By Sherry Montgomery, LSCSW, LCSW

A couple of months ago a patient arrived for a scheduled assessment to participate in our Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient Program.  He was a young man who had a history of more than 1 DUI and was living in a detention facility.  Clearly he was not interested in treatment.  He reported being in three previous treatment programs and needed to meet requirements to get probation.