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December 2010 Newsletter
From the Director
The opportunities for our voices to be heard are more significant than ever. We
need you to become more involved in health care reform in 2011. We are working
with organizations and groups to ensure that learning and engagement
opportunities are accessible for you. There will be hundreds of new federal
regulations but most change will be at the state level. In 2011 we will begin to
see much more integration of mental health and addiction services with the
physical health care system; we need to build much closer ties with the
substance abuse/addiction community throughout this process.
As for NC news – voting on our national policy priorities will close Jan 31,
2011. See your membership organization for more information. Emotional CPR (eCPR)
continues to expand and we are gearing up for train the trainers in 2011 which
opens up entrepreneurial opportunities. In early 2011 we will begin a national
process of voting for the NC’s transitional Board of Directors. Comments on the
draft voting process are found on our home page, and are due Feb.1.
If you have not joined the NC or not yet paid your annual membership dues please
do so. We need you, we need your financial contribution – at whatever level you
can donate. We deeply appreciate your support of our work.
When, from the depth of our heart, our vision and values are clear, we shine as
lights, beacons of hope, inspiration and guidance. The world needs us well
rested, well nourished, and well supported. My wish for ‘us’ as a movement in
2011 is that we step forward boldly, lovingly, close in collaboration, and
thinking and leading decisively.
THIS IS OUR TIME!
In collaboration,
Lauren Spiro
Director
Help support our work to promote a mental health system that meets our real needs.
News
Action Alert: Speak out at ECT reclassification meeting or submit written
comments!
Neurological Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee Meeting
Announcement
January 27 and 28, 2011, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Gaithersburg, MD
The committee will discuss and make recommendations regarding the possible
reclassification of devices indicated for use in electroconvulsive therapy.
Click here for complete instructions on how to submit a comment online, or to
sign up to provide an in-person statement at the meeting. The deadline to submit
the request to speak is January 6, 2011.
Apply to Present at NYC Peer Specialist Conference
New York City’s Fifth Annual Peer Specialist Conference will be held at New York
University on Tuesday, June 21, 2011. This conference provides an opportunity
for working peers to tap into their creativity, enhance unique skills, develop
innovative programming, and stimulate critical dialogue about career
development. The audience for this conference will be New York City working
peers, i.e., Peer Specialists, Peer Wellness Coaches, Peer Bridgers, and more!!
Click here for the call for proposals.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Friday, January 20,
2011
Psych Out 2011 Seeks Proposals
The conference will take place June 20 & 21, 2011
Graduate Center, City University of New York, 34 Street & 5th Avenue, NYC
The due date for submissions is January 15, 2011.
We are seeking proposals that focus on building coalitions, alternatives to the
psychiatric industry, User and Survivor-run alternatives, trauma informed
practices, support-decision making strategies, and learning from marginalized
groups such as women, Users and Survivors of color and indigenous people with
disabilities, youth, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered people, people who are
homeless and others living in poverty, and how they resist psychiatric
oppression in different ways within a human rights framework aimed at
challenging the power of institutional psychiatry.
Click here for more
information.
NPR Series on Olmstead v. LC
The Americans with Disabilities Act — ADA — is a 20-year-old law that bans
discrimination on the basis of disability. Eleven years ago, the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled in Olmstead v. L.C. that people who live in institutions like state
hospitals and nursing homes but could live successfully on their own have a
civil right, under the ADA, to get their care at home. But federal law requires
states to pay for nursing homes, while community-based care programs are
optional. So as states face record budget gaps, they only slowly add, or even
cut, programs designed to help elderly and disabled people live at home.
Click
here to listen to the series.
Social Security Administration Updates Website
The Social Security Administration (SSA) announces its newly designed --
www.socialsecurity.gov
-- Website. According to the SSA, the new Website is easier to navigate, more
attractive and more accessible to all visitors, including people with visual or
other physical disabilities. One of the most popular Internet services offered
by SSA is the online benefits application, where visitors can apply for
retirement, spouse’s and disability benefits via the Internet. This service --
found at
www.socialsecurity.gov/applyforbenefits -- allows people to
conduct business with SSA at a time that is convenient to them and from the
comfort of their own home.
New Episode of Madness Radio Online
Click here to listen to the show.
Can therapy reach people in extreme states of "psychosis" – without using
medications? Do we need to give a diagnosis to help someone? Why are counselors
afraid to listen to their "mad" clients? New York psychotherapist and filmmaker
Daniel Mackler discusses how be defied social work training in his work with
people labeled with schizophrenia and bipolar, and what he learned from recent
visits to successful treatment alternatives in Northern Europe. Daniel is the
filmmaker of Take These Broken Wings and co-author with Matthew Morrissey of A
Way Out of Madness. www.iraresoul.com.
Upcoming Events
Register for Intentional Peer Support Training!
Intentional Peer Support 5 Day Training Jan 24-28th, 2011, Middletown, CT
There are still openings but registration closes January 3, 2011. Come join us
for a week of learning and fun! Call Shery Mead at 603-469-3577 for more
information or visit
www.mentalhealthpeers.com for more information.
Peter Breggin. M.D. to Interview Grace Karen Sweet
The Peter Breggin Hour, National Public Radio, Live on the Internet
Monday, January 24, 2011, 5 p.m. EST
Click here to listen to the show or visit show archives.
Dr. Breggin, a noted psychiatrist, will interview Grace about her work with
laughter in mental health. Grace Karen Sweet is a Certified Laughter Yoga
Teacher, and has presented workshops and trainings nationally. Two training
tracks of The Average Miracles Foundation Curriculum are currently being
presented. The most popular is Laughter Yoga, used as therapeutic intervention
for Mental Health, and Moving Beyond the Grip of Trauma, which addresses
recovering from trauma using self-directed care techniques. http://www.averagemiracle.org.
The purpose of the NCN is to share information that is consistent with our
mission and values and that is significant for our constituency. The information
above does not constitute an endorsement of any particular organization.
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