Cenpatico Blog

TEMPE, ARIZONA (June 30, 2009) — Academic Behavioral Alternatives (ABA Schools), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cenpatico Behavioral Health, LLC, announced today it was awarded contracts with the Chandler Unified, Coolidge Unified and Dysart Unified School Districts in Arizona. Effective July 2009, ABA Schools will provide cost-effective, quality Special Education Private Day Programming to students with special needs in these school districts.

For the past several years, ABA Schools has provided services to junior high and high school students with emotional disorders in the Chandler and Dysart Unified School Districts. The new contracts will allow ABA Schools to continue offering students the services they need to receive quality education in the least restrictive environment. In addition, the new contract with Dysart Unified will expand to encompass Kindergarten through 5th grade as well as an onsite classroom at Dysart High School to help students transition back into the district’s least restrictive environment.

“We are pleased to continue to serve and enhance our programs with the Chandler and Dysart Unified School Districts,” said Erik Ryan, Vice President of Educational Services for ABA Schools. “We remain committed to ensuring that every student, regardless of age or resources, has access to the supports they need to be successful in school.”

ABA Schools has also entered into a new partnership with the Coolidge Unified School District to serve junior high and high school students in Pinal County with autism or multiple disabilities. ABA Schools’ sister company, Cenpatico of Arizona, currently facilitates the delivery of mental health and substance abuse services for members in Pinal County.

“We are pleased to expand our reach into Pinal County, which is one of Cenpatico of Arizona’s key regions,” said Ryan. “This is an excellent opportunity to collaborate with regional behavioral health providers that we already have a relationship with to increase the value of services received by the Coolidge Unified School District, its students, and families.”

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Welcome to our new column “Take Two.”

“Take Two” will remind you to “Take a two minute break” from whatever you are doing to read and learn about emerging issues, new research, and personal stories from experts and leaders in the recovery and resilience movement. The weekly column will be written by written by Recovery and Resiliency Advisor Tom Kelly.

This week’s topic – Empowerment

Greetings Fellow Friends, Advocates and Colleagues,

In this week’s “TAKE TWO” I would like continue exploring the ten fundamental components or principles of recovery as described in the National Consensus Statement on Mental Health. In past TAKE TWO messages we have explored “Hope”, “Peer Support”, “Responsibility”, “Strengths-Based” and “Self-Direction”. Last week we looked at the component focusing on “Respect”. This week I would like to take a look at the component of “Empowerment”.

Empowerment: Consumers have the authority to choose from a range of options and to participate in all decisions—including the allocation of resources—that will affect their lives, and are educated and supported in so doing. They have the ability to join with other consumers to collectively and effectively speak for themselves about their needs, wants, desires, and aspirations. Through empowerment, an individual gains control of his or her own destiny and influences the organizational and societal structures in his or her life.(1)

“When you face your fear, most of the time you will discover that it was not really such a big threat after all. We all need some form of deeply rooted, powerful motivation — it empowers us to overcome obstacles so we can live our dreams.” – Les Brown

“The principles of empowerment and recovery require a clear and concise understanding and commitment to those principles if we are to be effective helpers. We also need to be aware of our attitudes and beliefs about mental illness and the people affected by these disorders. Our attitudes and beliefs will define how we respond to persons with mental health difficulties.

“Providing services in mental health, as in any helping field, means we have chosen to serve people with mental and emotional health challenges. Serving others effectively demands that we put our personal agendas, attitudes, biases and fears aside and let ourselves be directed by the people we have chosen to serve.

“For those of us that have landed in the mental health system by circumstance rather than by choice, it is essential that we also perform a thorough examination of our beliefs and values.

“While nominally applying a “strengths approach” to their service provision, some mental health services seem to focus on illness management, on controlling the person’s deficits and disabilities, rather than building a real life of pursuing hopes, dreams, goals, challenges, achievements and overcoming setbacks.” (2)

“The rehabilitation view of recovery is that people can regain some social functioning, despite having symptoms, limitations, medication, and remaining mentally ill … To say that the person’s mental illness is a permanent condition is to forever ostracize the person from society and say that they will never be able to regain a major social role.” (3)

“Many of us who have been psychiatrically labeled have received powerful messages from professionals who in effect tell us by virtue of our diagnosis our futures are already sealed.” (4)

“Power is not something that we can bestow on another person. It is something he or she already has within and will struggle to retain. Empowerment means that we acknowledge the personal power each person has to make positive decisions and to take responsibility for them, a simple exercise in treating others with dignity and respect.” – Gail Pursell Elliott

Empowerment is an important principle that we must focus upon. It is through empowerment that individuals gain control of their destiny!

REFERENCES:
(1). National Consensus Statement on Mental Health Recovery. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. www.samhsa.gov

(2). Peters, H., Empowerment and Recovery in Mental Health. Partnership for Consumer Empowerment. 2003. Retrieved from: http://www.manitoba.cmha.ca/data/1/rec_docs/753_pce_workbook.pdf June 5, 2009.

(3). Fisher, D. (1999). A new vision of recovery: The empowerment vision. National Empowerment Center. Retrieved June 9, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://www.power2u.org/vision.html

(4). Deegan, P.E. (1995). Recovery as a journey of the heart. In L. Spaniol, C. Gagne, M. Koehler, (Ed.), Psychological and Social Aspects of Psychiatric Disability. (pp. 74-83). Boston University: Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Boston. Massachusetts.

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Cenpatico Behavioral Health of Arizona participated in the 8th Annual Melon Festival and Health Fair.

The theme of this year’s fair was “Health For All,” a philosophy embraced by the veteran Cenpatico staff working throughout Yuma County. During the event, Cenpatico had experts on hand to talk with attendees about mental health and substance abuse issues.

“As a long-time member of the Yuma community, Cenpatico is proud to provide resources that change lives,” said Terry Stevens, CEO of Cenpatico Behavioral Health of Arizona.  “The fair was another great opportunity to showcase the many choices available to our participants.”

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Cenpatico and Managed Health Services (MHS) are pleased to present a one day conference titled “In the Weeds: Barriers and Solutions to Realize Behavioral and Physical Healthcare Integration in Indiana.” The keynote speaker at the conference will be CEO of Cherokee Healthcare Systems of Tennessee, Dr. Dennis Freeman.

The conference, held on June 17th is co-sponsored by the Division of Mental Health and Addictions, Mental Health America of Indiana, the Indiana Primary Health Care Association and the Indiana Council of Community Mental Health Centers.

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-By Cyndi Campbell, Manager, Clinical Research and Development

Last month we shared some statistics about mental health and substance abuse that highlight the impact of behavioral health on our overall wellness and the importance of considering this as we discuss healthcare reform.  The statistics from SAMHSA remind us that behavioral healthcare does not just impact one individual; it affects children and communities for generations.

Recently the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released the results of research on the high rate of occurrence and the impact of children living with substance using or abusing parents.
“The research increasingly shows that children growing up in homes with alcohol- and drug-abusing parents suffer…The chronic emotional stress in such an environment can damage their social and emotional development and permanently impede healthy brain development, often resulting in mental and physical health problems across the lifespan. This underlines the importance of preventive interventions at the earliest possible age.” – SAMHSA Acting Administrator Eric Broderick, D.D.S., M.P.H.

SAMHSA reports:
•    Almost 7.3 million children lived with a parent who was dependent on or abused alcohol
•    About 2.1 million children lived with a parent who was dependent on or abused illicit drugs
•    5.4 million children lived with a father who met the criteria for past year substance dependence or abuse, and 3.4 million lived with a mother who met these criteria.

Often when a parent’s alcohol or substance abuse is out of control, the child is identified as having a problem first.  Maybe a teacher or school nurse has noticed sleepy eyes or school work below the child’s ability.  Some children begin to take on more responsibility at home as they have gotten used to taking care of their parents and sometimes siblings too.

According to The Center on Addiction and the Family (COAF), the definition of a child of an alcohol or substance abuser “is any child whose parent (or parental caregiver) uses alcohol or other drugs in such a way that it causes problems in the child’s life.”

When parents or caregivers are using or abusing alcohol or other drugs family life can be unpredictable and chaotic.  Frequently communication, rules, or expectations are unclear or inconsistently enforced.  Parents may display wild swings in behavior from loving, to withdrawn, to out of control.  This can be confusing to children leading to feelings of worry, insecurity, anger, and self-blame.

These confusing feelings can become disruptive behaviors for children.  On the surface it may look like, or be expressed as, other commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorders for children such as attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, and depression.  Children who display these symptoms should be referred to a mental health professional for assessment.

There are many ways even occasional substance use can impact their children.  Substance use for adults can lead to broken marriages, loss of jobs and economic stability in the household.  These types of challenges may seem to the parent to be theirs to deal with, but children feel the effects of the stress as well.  Stress is well known to lead to health problems in adults, but children too can develop physical health problems due to stress such as headaches or asthma.

The encouraging news is only 1 out of every 4 children of alcohol abusers will become an alcoholic themselves, 75% will not (COAF).  Many children with substance using or abusing parents and caregivers are able to find ways to succeed in life. Identifying with positive role models and learning to tap into their own positive coping skills helps children to be resilient and successful.

More resources on this topic can be found at:
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration  http://www.samhsa.gov/
Center on Addiction and the Family:  http://www.coaf.org

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