 | | Rebecca O. Wettemann, Director of Nursing (far left), with other Trauma-Informed Care leaders at CMHC: Aqil Hashim, Debra Bloom and Jenny Noia. |
CMHC Embraces Trauma-Informed Care
90%: That's how many clients in public mental health settings are estimated to be trauma survivors. At CMHC, the the Trauma-Informed Care initiative takes off. Learn more
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Howard V. Zonana, MD,
Director, Law and Psychiatry Division and Deputy Medical Director of CMHC
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In Law and Psychiatry, No Easy Answers
The Law and Psychiatry Division reaches far and wide into city, state, and federal systems of justice and mental health care. Its longtime leader Howard Zonana, MD talks about the ins and outs of forensic psychiatry. Read the story
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 The Farmers' Market Returns! Purchase your fresh, locally grown tomatoes, corn, greens, cut flowers and more at the Hill Farmers' Market in the CMHC parking lot on Fridays, 11:30 AM-3:30 PM now through October 26th! The Market is run by CitySeed in collaboration with the CMHC Foundation.
This year, the Double SNAP enables people with SNAP (food stamps) to receive up to $10 extra in market money per visit! Read the NH Register Article
Food for Your Health!
Claire Criscuolo, New Haven's favorite vegetarian chef and once a nurse at CMHC, offers this easy recipe from her book Welcome to Claire's. See how many ingredients you can find at the Hill Farmers' Market...
 Carrot Salad
1 small head red cabbage, shredded
1 cup blueberries
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
� cup raspberry vinegar
� cup low-fat plain yogurt
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Combine the ingredients in a bowl. Use your hands or two spoons, toss well to combine. Taste for seasonings. Enjoy!
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"Portrait of Sister" by Marissa Falanga hangs in the acupuncture room at SATU
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Art at SATU
The Serenity Project brings original student artwork to the walls of the Substance Abuse Treatment Unit (SATU). It's fostering a healing environment. Read the story
 | | Glen Paskiewicz in a SATU hallway with his painting "Berries" |
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A new water dispenser at CMHC.
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Best of All Things
"Water is the best of all things," wrote the ancient Greek poet Pindar 2,500 years ago. It's also first on the CMHC Health & Wellness agenda this summer.
Fresh water dispensers offering free, filtered water are now available on every floor. Twelve dispensers were installed in July with more to come. The water is filtered using carbon and UV light. It's very cold and will keep you hydrated on hot summer days. With zero calories and zero sugar, water is your most healthful, economical, environmentally sustainable beverage option, so help yourself! Click here for tips on keeping your stainless steel or glass-lined water bottle clean.
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The new staff shower
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For those who walk/cycle to work or exercise during lunch, a private unisex shower is now available for staff use. The shower, beautifully designed and installed by Rob Ingraham, Steve DeAngelo, and Joe Andreucci of Plant Operations, is located in the basement. Work begins soon on a second shower, across the hall from the first. Enjoy!
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 Flying Pig Review Now Accepting Submissions The Flying Pig Review is the new online literary magazine of the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health. It focuses on "issues of health in the community and personal journeys through life." The first issue, published in the Fall of 2012, will feature fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and visual artwork by contributors from New Haven and around the world. For more information, including how to submit, click here. |
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The Summer Leadership Institute combines dance, music, and other arts with dialogue, debate, and learning.
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Why Are People Poor?
In July, a team from CMHC traveled to New Orleans to attend the Urban Bush Women Summer Leadership Institute. The theme of this year's 10-day Institute is "Why Are People Poor?" CMHC is developing a residency with Urban Bush Women, a professional dance company from Brooklyn, New York, and its partner The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond, an organization dedicated to undoing racism. The residency will explore community health and barriers to it. Stay tuned for updates! If you have questions or want to get involved, please contact Lucile Bruce, CMHC Communications Specialist, at (203) 974-7717.
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WRAP at CMHC
WRAP is a self-help recovery system developed by people with mental health challenges who have been successful at incorporating wellness tools and strategies into their lives.
WRAP is designed to:
- Help you move forward
- Help you create a plan for maintaining wellness every day
- Increase personal empowerment
- Help you achieve your hopes and dreams
New WRAP groups will be starting in the fall! Watch for dates and times in September.
No referral necessary. This is an open group. Clients may attend sessions as they wish.
Interpretation for the deaf available upon request.
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 CMHC Recycles! CMHC is now piloting a recycling program. A short-term committee was formed to implement this exciting new initiative. The committee has placed recycling bins in the elevator lobbies, basement, and on the first and second floors. Discard your glass bottles, plastic, cans, paper and other recyclables in the bins. For more information, refer to the "Single Stream Recycling" flyers posted above the bins.
Why Recycle? Businesses produce nearly two-thirds of a city's waste. CMHC is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and making a difference in the City of New Haven. Please join this important effort to save energy, conserve natural resources, and make CMHC a greener place to work.
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 Client? Patient? Consumer? What's in a word? A lot! Different people use different words to describe people receiving different services at CMHC. Which word(s) do you use, and why? Should CMHC adopt a usage standard for its newsletter and other publications? If so, what should that standard be? Please send your thoughts to the Editor at lucile.bruce@yale.edu. Check the Fall 2012 issue for results of this informal poll. Thank you! |
 Editor's Desk: A Girl I Knew Imagine a girl. She has coarse black hair, a few freckles, and a loud belly laugh. She's bursting with life. Smart, a bit of a schemer, she knows how to have fun. She sees things other kids don't see. She grows up, marries, has two sons. In a few years her marriage collapses and her husband gets custody of the children. She is diagnosed with mental illness--bipolar disorder, personality disorder. She abuses drugs. She gets involved a string of sexual relationships, gains a lot of weight. She struggles with financial problems and exploits her relatives. She burns bridges. Some members of her family shun her. She dies at age 44. This girl is my cousin. Attending the trauma-informed care trainings at CMHC, I've learned to reframe her story. She was a victim of childhood sexual abuse. I've known this for years, but I haven't begun to understand it until now. Looking at her life through the lens of trauma, everything makes sense--the failure to form meaningful relationships, the history of mental illness and substance abuse, the weight gain, the revenge exacted on family members who didn't do enough to save her, and her early death. I wish she had found the trauma-informed care she needed. Perhaps she would be here today to tell her story, enabling others to learn from it. The work to create a truly trauma-informed CMHC honors my cousin and thousands like her, trauma's victims and its survivors. The effort is compassionate, preventative, and necessary. I'm honored to be part of it. Until next time, Lucile Bruce, Editor lucile.bruce@yale.edu |
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CMHC & SATU Honored by NADA
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Katurah Bryant, RN
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At its 23rd annual conference in June, The National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) honored CMHC and SATU for "Visionary Leadership and Support of the Spirit of NADA." Katurah Bryant, RN, founder and director of SATU's acupuncture program, accepted the award. Read about the program here.
Brian Lenoci Retires
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Brian Lenoci, PA-C
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CMHC's Physician's Assistant Brian Lenoci retires in July after 40 years of service. Please come to a farewell reception on Thursday, July 26th, 2-3 PM in the CMHC Cafeteria to bid farewell to the man who has provided compassionate primary care for so many people over the years. Brian, you will be missed!
Bernie Siegel, MD at CMHC
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Bernie Siegel, MD
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Bernie Siegel, well-known doctor and author, has inspired nearly 100 clients and staff during two visits to CMHC this year. "The lack of love is the biggest public health issue on the planet," Siegel told the crowd in the auditorium on July 18th. "The opposite of love is indifference."
For more information about the Bereavement & Loss Group, sponsor of Dr. Siegel's visits, please contact Mary Dansinghani, Director of Spiritual Services, at (203) 974-7860, mary.dansinghani@yale.edu.
Get a professional bicycle tune-up at the Hill Farmers' Market! Tune-ups are free for CMHC clients and staff (parts not included). For all others, the cost is $50. For more information, please contact Dawn Stewart in the Director's office, Room 168, dawn.stewart@yale.edu, (203) 974-7145.
Phoebe Visits Inpatient Unit
 | | Phoebe with Elise Mordente (left), Rehabilitation Therapist, and her owner Claire Wiseman, PhD |
Phoebe, a Black Lab and licensed therapy dog, made her first visit to the CMHC Inpatient Unit this spring. She's already winning rave reviews from patients and staff. Therapy dogs are increasingly being used in clinics like CMHC to promote trauma-informed healing.
(See Trauma-Informed Care story, this issue.)
The CMHC Health Fair was held on May 17, 2012 in the Cafeteria. This successful event drew over 200 clients and staff who found answers to their questions and discovered new health and wellness resources.
Christine Orris, RN (right) organized the fair with the help of staff, community partners, and interns like Katrina Scianna (left)
CMHC pharmacist Danny Kazienko (left) answers a client's question. Shown with Elizabeth Nguyen, pharmacy student
Gaynl Pringle, Health Educator, Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center
Laurie Edwards, PhD
teaching chair yoga
Come enjoy the garden and walk the Labyrinth on Mondays and Wednesdays,
11:00 AM-12:15 PM.
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Yale Department of Psychiatry monthly e-newsletter |
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