Northwest Peer Connect Meets This Wednesday - Posted 6.9

June 11th from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
On Our Own of Charlottesville
123 4th Street

"Spring into Occupational Wellness" Webinar (Training Teleconference) - Posted 6.9

Thursday, June 12, at 3:00 p.m.

To register 

To promote recovery and social inclusion in communities, SAMHSA's Wellness Initiative supports embracing the Eight Dimensions of Wellness. These dimensions include the emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual aspects of an individual's life.

This year, the Wellness Initiative is focusing on the occupational dimension of wellness, as a natural follow-up to last year's focus on financial wellness. Approximately 60 to 80 percent of individuals with mental illness are unemployed. For individuals with severe mental illness, this number can rise to approximately 90 percent. Along with the advantages of a steady income, employment can also positively impact an individual's recovery through social and emotional benefits.    

This Webinar will inform and inspire individuals, families, organizations, and communities to take action toward improving overall wellness and occupational wellness. It will also increase awareness of the latest and most effective wellness and occupational wellness tools, programs, initiatives, and services specifically designed for peers and persons in recovery and those working in behavioral health settings.

The Copeland Center Presents Intentional Peer Support Webinar - Posted 6.9 

Tuesday, July 1st at 1:00 p.m.

This webinar provides an overview of Intentional Peer Support.  IPS is a way of thinking about and inviting powerfully transformative relationships among people.  By focusing on the tasks and principles of mutual support, practitioners learn to use relationships to see things from new angles, develop greater awareness of personal and relational patterns, and support and challenge each other in trying new things.  

Many people involved with WRAP have found IPS an invaluable tool for both their work and personal life. Learn more about this important and timely practice. Seasoned trainers from Intentional Peer Support team will be presenting this webinar.   

Register here

New Code Expected to Boost Peer Support Profession - Posted 6.9

A major step was recently taken to incorporate peer specialists as integral parts of the healthcare industry: The National Uniform Coding Committee (NUCC) - comprising major health care providers and insurance industry members, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - approved coding of peer specialist services, effective Oct. 1, 2014. This coding, specific to peer specialists, will enable state and federal agencies to bill peer support services more effectively and facilitate better tracking of such services. The coding is especially important for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the largest single employer of peer specialists, as it will allow that department to more efficiently bill and track peer specialists' work. "This classification puts peer specialists on par with other mental health professionals," said Daniel O'Brien-Mazza, director of peer support services for the department. "It is a measure of respect and recognition of the important and valuable services peer specialists provide." (Note: This piece has been excerpted from an article that ran on page 8 of the April 2014 edition of the iNAPS newsletter.)

Source: 

Two Resource Books Are Designed to Help People Find and Keep Competitive Employment - Posted 6.9

Two resource books on the topic of employment are available for free download to help individuals with mental health conditions who are thinking of going back to work or who already have a job and want to keep it. The Employment Resource Book - published by the Center for Practice Innovations at Columbia Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, and available at this link - "is based on the principles and practices of effective employment services that help people seek work independently. This resource book does not recommend lengthy pre-work activities, because they have not been shown to help people find competitive employment.  Instead, this is an action-oriented book, meaning that it encourages you to make thoughtful choices and then consider taking steps toward finding and keeping a job that's right for you."

The second guide, entitled A Practical Guide for People with Mental Health Conditions Who Want to Work and available at this link, was published by the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion. "The Guide offers encouragement and vital information on the importance of work, the availability of rehabilitation programs, the ins and outs of the Social Security Administration's work incentives, the challenges of starting a new job and grappling with disclosure, and strategies for long-term success at work - and more."

A Facilitator's Manual is available at the following link.

VOCAL is preparing to offer WRAP facilitator training July 7 through July 11.

The trainer will be Bonnie Neighbour . The location is yet to be determined.

Peers who have a WRAP plan and an intention to offer WRAP groups in their communities are invited to apply to receive the training.

Cost for the training, lodging, meals, and training manual is $1500.00

The application is available on the VOCAL web page at:

http://www.vocalsafelink.org/wrap_form.php 

To register:

 http://www.esi-bethesda.com/wellnessteleconference/ 

Thursday, June 12th at 7:30 p.m.

George Washington University Hospital Auditorium (lower level of hospital) 

900 23rd Street, NW (next to Foggy Bottom Metro Station)

Parking garage: I Street between 21st and 22nd

Light refreshments served

DBHDS Commissioner's Statewide Cultural and Linguistic Competence Steering Committee and the Office of Cultural and Linguistic Competence are getting ready for

the 4th annual media contest.  This contest is a mechanism to help us think collectively about additional ways improve behavioral health equity among socially and culturally marginalized individuals seeking services in our system. 

"Despite continual emphasis on the need to increase cultural competence among clinicians and increased awareness of the importance of prevention and early detection of mental health concerns, culturally diverse adults continue to experience disproportionate rates of depression, anxiety, substance abuse and traumatic stress. And children and adolescents are disproportionately identified as having behavior and emotional disorders", says Cirecie West-Olatunji, President of the National Counseling Association.

As a result, individuals and organizations around the country have joined the National Association of Mental Illness in celebrating the Month and using the time to increase awareness and engage communities and organizations in conversations about ways to address persistent disparities for populations in their areas.

Join in a Webinar on July 2nd at 11:00 a.m.  

Register here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8BQDKN5

July 21-July 23 at Mountain Lake Lodge

Application deadline July 7th

For further information, go to: 

http://mhav.org/conference/apply-now/

Beginning Monday, June 2nd and meeting each Monday from 2-3:30 p.m. for 12 weeks.  

Rye Curtis and Patrick Bruckart will facilitate.  To ensure a place in the course, register with Rye Curtis at rye@friends4recovery.org.  

Friends 4 Recovery is located at 7420 Whitepine Rd, North Chesterfield.  Call (804) 308-1366 with questions."

540-362-0061