The FFCMH Mission is Accomplished by Sharing Personal Experiences

Why do I advocate for the National Federation of Families? Because the commitment of each and every staff member, board member, and even the leadership is completely and absolutely personal. All of these people are there because of the experiences they had as they have fought for their children's mental health needs and the rights of all other children to have their mental health needs met also.

Recently, the Executive Director, Sandra Spencer, and Marie Niahros, a Family Resource Specialist, were invited by the Child Mind Institute to participate in an event for their Speak Up for Kids Campaign in May. Child Mind created an on-line interactive event that featured Sandra and Marie as they told about the Federation and how each of them have worked to navigate the mental health system in order to find the best care for their children. The video is fantastic and it is an example of that real life experience motivating the real work behind the Federation mission. Click the following link to view the event titled: "Bringing Mental Illness out of the Shadows - A Parent's Perspective."

Watching the video clip renews my energy for the job that we have to do in sharing the message of children's mental health awareness. We can't say it loud enough or strong enough... Mental illness does not develop from bad parenting. Parents are not guilty of their child's mental health challenges and should not be ashamed when their child needs treatment. Shame only causes avoidance and denial -- which will never allow children to get the support they need. When I see teens suffering through substance abuse, depression, and suicidal thoughts, I see a medical disorder -- not a family problem, and not a parenting problem. Disorders don't go away if you just try harder not to have them, a diagnosis is not a disability, and treatment does not mean personal weakness.

I'm proud, not ashamed, to say that I belong to this group and use my personal experience to encourage other families. As we each have the courage to tell our story, we empower someone somewhere to do the same. That's how we end the cycle of stigma and mental health disparities. It's a mission of the heart, and obviously the mind too.

Taking care of my own mental health too...

With all of the activities going on during National Children's Mental Health Awareness Week, I always have a tendency to wear myself a little thin emotionally. It is such an important time of the year and there is such a limited amount of time to get everything in that's possible to manage. I knew that I had  reached my limit at around 3pm on Friday when I saw a friend/co-worker leaving the event for the day with her running clothes on and a huge smile on her face. At that moment I would have given anything to trade her places, as I still had another event  that evening before I could call it a week well done. Seeing her and thinking of running made me long inside to be doing the same! I realized that above all else, that is my ultimate stress reliever and I couldn't wait for the next opportunity I would have to run my little heart out!

So I started thinking about what makes running such a great stress reliever and mental health "balancer" for me. Believe me, it's not because I can win any races, cause I'm quite slow -- but I think it's the all around experience. I have a certain route that I run (and also bike) that is near our house. We are out in the country, so it's pretty quiet for the most part and a lot of my route is completely shaded by trees. There is one area that I love where I pass by a large wheat field. Since it's usually in the evening, the sun is setting and the golden cast is just beautiful. Amusingly, it always reminds me of the part in "Forrest Gump" when he is running across the country! And that's the experience that I long for -- it's soothing and calming and my mind aches for it when things are hectic.

It's important for me to remember that I have to take care of my own mental health in order to be able to take care of my family's mental health needs too. Not only do I exercise, but I take my prescribed medications everyday, and pay close attention to how different foods affect me emotionally too. An excess of sugars can make me anxious, overeating causes lethargy, too little food makes me irritable and moody. Our daily diets are not just fuel for our bodies, but our minds also. That awareness is something I try to pass on to our children too -- helping them pay attention to how they feel when they have had too much of something or not enough of others, including sleep.

Why do I advocate for children's mental health instead of adult mental health? Simply because raising a new generation to understand the importance of mental health and the medical nature of it changes all of our futures. If I can convince adults along the way, then it's a two for one bargain! Now, I'm heading out for another stroll through the country to work on me.

Canada Celebrates Awareness Week Too!

The Institute of Families for Child & Youth Mental Health is helping Canada to celebrate Children's Mental Health this week also! This organization led by Keli Anderson, their Executive Director, is helping to share information to help families navigate the mental health system while receiving support as they go. At the Federation of Families here in the US, we are proud to have the Institute of Families as a sister organization and also extremely happy they adopted the green ribbon as their symbol! We love how they have made it their own by shaping it into a heart!

The Institute of Families for Child & Youth Mental Health (IF) is a central coordinating organization that acts as the catalyst to connect families with mental health care providers, policy makers, educators, researchers, service providers and businesses across Canada. Tomorrow they will officially release their FamilySmart Initiative -- a trademark that will identify and endorse practices, research, policies, programs and services, which relate to child and youth mental health, and are meaningful and make a difference to families. 

I just can't express what a wonderful undertaking this is for children and families! I wish them all of the success possible and I look forward to seeing great things from them for years to come. Be sure to visit the new FamilySmart website when it goes live tomorrow!

A Flash from the Past that Continues to be a Part of My CMH Advocacy

Several years ago, I created a healthy relationship curriculum for high school students that was called SMART Education (Saving Marriages And Relationships Together). In the therapy setting, I found that I was teaching the same concepts time and time again regarding relationship skills. It was apparent that there was a lack of relationship education that could be solved quite easily, and so I set out to change that! With the help of a Federal Grant in our area called Safe Schools/Healthy Students, I was able to teach the curriculum to 7 different school districts for several years. However, when funding disappears, dishearteningly so does the opportunity for education. The curriculum is still available from the Illinois Baptist Children's Home and can be implemented very effectively by anyone ready to make a difference for our youth.
So for several years, I have drifted away from relationship education to a more broad sense of mental health with my children's mental health advocacy. But today, I got a chance to unite the two of them and it was a powerful combination in helping our youth with mental health and relationship issues. I had the opportunity to "teach" during the Eldorado Friend of MHINDS meeting today (during the students' lunch time) and I was able to share some of those concepts that stirred the creation of the curriculum many years ago.
Ever heard of a genogram? That was the focus of our discussion today. It's a tool that helps you create a visual representation of the family patterns and dynamics that have been present for years. It's one thing to kind of know in your mind what has developed in family relationships over the years, but it's a completely different thing when you put it down on paper. Seeing the diagram of your history provides insight as to the underlying ideas about relationships that your family has passed down. If you are aware of the good and bad, you are much better equipped to continue making better choices for yourself. But the key to using a genogram is that you must understand that you are still in control no matter what. Just because a negative pattern exists it doesn't mean destiny for you -- unless you try to ignore it completely! High school students love this activity because it really is ALL about THEM. It's exciting to see them embrace the concept and use it for their continual mental health growth!
Seeing the two of these advocacy areas come together as one was an uplifting experience for me today! It prompts me to begin thinking again about how to get this curriculum out there to our youth who need this information. Let me know if you have any thoughts about accomplishing this... We all have to work together to make changes!

Hands Around the Courthouse

Thanks to CASA of Saline County there was an opportunity to stand up and show community support for child abuse prevention this month. For the last few years, they have organized and event called Hands Around the Courthouse, bringing together those who continue to be advocates for children. In 2010 & 2011, I was proud to be a part of the Saline County CASA Board and I love to continue supporting their great work. Pictured below is the newspaper photo of those present and an action photo of Judge Todd Lambert who was the featured speaker at the event. His words were in appreciation of the commitment that so many have to the well-being of our community youth. Judge Lambert is very active in the Saline County area and even serves on the Project Connect Coordinating Council. I feel lucky to be able to work closely with such great people in our community, including Judge Lambert, the employees of Egyptian Health Department, Saline County CASA, and all of the other community organizations that are represented in the photo.

Never Underestimate Your Influence

Social media provides the opportunity for people to express themselves and observe the expressions of others. Because of this, we should never underestimate the power of even a single word! Sharing a photo becomes powerful, seeing a "like" or a "follow" causes interest and curiousity, and a sentence or two opens windows to the soul -- all for everyone else to observe.
Even though I strive to focus my social media messages on gathering support for children's mental health, the month of April brings another opportunity to focus on the health and wellness of children. April is Prevent Child Abuse Month, and so supporters of the cause showcase the color blue as much as possible.

Paint your nails blue day!

The Coalition to Prevent Child Abuse in Southeastern Illinois created opportunities and activities for everyone this April that were extremely easy to do. One of those was "Paint Your Nails Blue" Day. Not a color you'll see on my fingers and toes, it definitely presents a conversation starter. If even one person notices and makes a comment, then there's a chance to share the message. Post a photo with a caption on Facebook, and now you double or triple the exposure and possible influence.

I don't have a popularity status that moves mountains, but even if I move one pebble at a time, I'm helping to make a difference. If you like being in photos (it's obvious I do!), or you just like posting on Facebook or Twitter, how about making a few posts about Child Abuse Prevention before the month of April is gone? Never, ever, ever underestimate who you might reach!

Continuing Bullying Prevention Training...

This past week, I had the privilege of training yet another school in our area to use the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. Gallatin County Jr. High School in Southeastern Illinois has made the commitment to put an end to bullying in their school! They had a great group of committed staff that made the training days a pleasure and a guarantee for a successful implementation of the program.
Because it has been a little over a year since I last trained a school, the amazing qualities of this program had been put in memory storage, away from my everyday recall. Sharing the information once again, ignited that  original passion for how great this program really is.
I think the biggest key to its success is that it empowers teachers to feel like they really can intervene when a bullying situation arises. That may not sound like such a big thing, but it really helps to eliminate the emotional guessing game about what happened and who's responsible. There's a clear determination about what the teacher saw and how to act accordingly. It even includes a script, so that all teachers and staff are intervening in exactly the same way! And that's only the tip of the iceberg as far as this program is concerned. There is so much more!
As a past middle school teacher and high school counselor, I know how packed and overwhelming a teacher's schedule can be. It almost seems impossible to add one more "program" to your daily duties. But, the highly organized, thoroughly supported, and scripted nature of the content make this program feel like it's not a "program" at all. It becomes an overall school climate change that makes everyone feel safer without feeling a burden of another thing to do.
Bullying prevention is everyone's responsibility. It's in everything we do, every minute of the day. Doing things that are at other's expense, or that makes someone feel bad about themselves, is what we need to work towards eliminating from our daily communications -- a very hard thing to do when even children's television shows have examples of teasing/making fun that are passed off as being acceptable.
If you'd like to know more about the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, you can visit www.violencepreventionworks.org  or you can email me (greenribbonadvocate@gmail.com) for specific Olweus publications that can help introduce the program to your school district. I look forward to hearing from you!

Developing Partnerships for Children's Mental Health

Shopper's News Ad

Part of sharing the children's mental health message is establishing partnerships with well known community organizations or individuals that will lend their community influence to your particular marketing goal. When you find that unique partnership that benefits both parties, the result is quite an exciting opportunity to showcase what each party brings to the community at large.
As we head into preparation for National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day in May, it makes me extremely proud to see the partnerships we have established and continue to nurture between community governments and the children's mental health awareness movement. Last year, Project Connect showcased a collection of 18 mayor proclamations, which announced the observance of Awareness Day. It was quite a marketing accomplishment when we created a newspaper ad that showed photos of 18 Mayors, establishing that even from government point of view, children's mental health is one issue we all need to be giving our attention. With the two ads we developed, distribution in our communities exceeded the population of our three counties by almost 5,000 copies. We chose two publications that are delivered free of charge to all homes and businesses in our three county area.
We are working our hardest to make these mayor proclamations happen again in 2013. This year we are hoping to get all 19 mayors, which will be every community in White, Gallatin, and Saline Counties in Illinois.
SAMHSA helps to make proclamations an easier task by providing a template that can be used at the state or local level. We are even adapting it for schools and other community organizations this year. If you would like to use the SAMHSA template for proclamations in your area, you can find it at http://www.samhsa.gov/children/pnb_proclamation.asp If you'd like more information on how we accomplished our proclamations, you can contact me and I will be glad to share with you our process! greenribbonadvocate@gmail.com

Surviving and Thriving after Traumatic Events

It has been called the disaster without an anniversary date -- the tornado that hit Harrisburg, Illinois on February 29, 2012. Tomorrow, it's one year later, but is it? Traumatic reactions always occur sporadically after a devastating event like this disaster, but the question of not being able to fully recognize the event because of something like leap year provides a way for us to look at the idea of trauma and the way events like this can affect our children.
I believe the hardest thing in dealing with trauma is not knowing when symptoms will be triggered and when they won't. Because it's hard to even identify it within ourselves, it's twice as hard to see it in our children. The unpredictable responses and not knowing what to do for a child usually leaves adults making the choice to just avoid talking about it. Totally understandable though -- cause we don't want to end up making things worse! We care, but we're scared to mess things up at the same time.
Harrisburg is my hometown and I live only 20 miles from there now. I have family and friends there still and the news of the tornado immediately brought anxiety, fear, and sorrow. The same was true for my children.
Thanks to my colleagues at Egyptian Health Department, I have access to resources that I can utilize and share with others. Dr. Matt Buckman, a psychologist I am thankful to know, immediately began collecting information to share with parents and providers that would help children deal with the after effects of the tornado. Dr. Buckman presented his info to three schools and some parent groups. The info included things like:
Normal Childhood Responses & Resiliency
How to Help All Children Cope
The Signs of Traumatic Stress
Managing Survivor Guilt
Compassion Fatigue
Personal Stress and Post Trauma Growth
If you are interested in the information from Dr. Buckman, please contact me at greenribbonadvocate@gmail.com or Dr. Buckman at mattbuckman@egyptian.org
Trauma reactions can come and go, just like an anniversary date -- or sometimes it may seem like it never existed at all. But, no matter what, we have a responsibility to help our children sort through and learn great coping skills. Not only that, but helping others is always personally beneficial to our own mental health too! Let's get to work :)

2013 Stigma, Discrimination & Disparities Conference

The Family & Youth Roundtable, serving San Diego's children and families with mental health challenges, provides an excellent opportunity every year to consult with colleagues and learn from leaders in the field regarding stigma, discrimination and disparities in services. I was fortunate to be able to attend this conference last week and bring the very best of information back to my community.

There were many highlights but I'd like to touch on a few that were at the top of my list. The conference opened with a keynote address from Dr. Arun Gandhi, who spoke of continuing his grandfather's teachings of non-violence. He spoke of living for a period of time with his grandfather and of how his family practiced disciplining children in a non-violent, non-intimidating way. He continues his teachings through an organization called Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute and I consider it a true honor to have had the opportunity to meet him.

 I also had the opportunity to hear about Dr. Ross Greene's work in the field of collaborative problem solving. His non-profit organization is called Lives in the Balance and it's described best on his website saying:

 Lives in the Balance is the non-profit organization founded by child psychologist Dr. Ross Greene, author of The Explosive Child and Lost at School, and originator of the Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) approach. His model is highly effective with kids often described as challenging, angry, defiant, and oppositional. This website contains a ton of resources -- streaming video, an extensive Listening Library, and lots more -- to help you learn about and implement Dr. Greene's research-based model and provide you with the strategies and support you need to help these kids in ways that are compassionate and effective.

I was very impressed by Dr. Greene's work and the fact that he is offering such great resources for free. This website provides parents another option for helping their children with mental health challenges to have more success in the classroom. It's definitely worth taking a look at!

One of my most favorite presenters was also there too. Eddie Peterson presented a session about the stigma related to the sexual abuse of males. I always gain great insight when I hear him speaking. Not only is he my friend, but a wonderful colleague that helps keep me motivated in doing the work that is so close to my heart. If you are needing a dynamic speaker for your next event that can talk about stigma reduction and many other mental health topics, Eddie is the one to call! You can become familiar with all of the great things Eddie is involved in by visiting his website at www.youdontknowmylife.org
This conference was a great experience and a regeneration of my passion to fight stigma and continue to educate our communities about how common mental health challenges are in all of our lives. I am grateful that I got to share this conference with Eddie and my other great friend and colleague, April. I think that together, we are an unstoppable team in the world of eliminating stigma, discrimination, and disparities for children with mental health challenges.

Friend of MHINDS (Mental Health Interest Needs Dedicated Students)

As our core team at Project Connect have looked for ways to engage more youth in education and awareness of mental health, we always hit one stumbling block -- how do we get them to come to the events? An age old question that requires an age old answer... meet them where they are. I envisioned an opportunity that would be convenient to high school students, offer them something they might be in need of, and create a situation that would open up a much needed discussion about mental health issues. The answer was Friend of MHINDS.

Just like anything we attempt to do at Project Connect, it's a collaborative effort in which myself and my colleagues are moving full speed ahead to implement. We plan to go into our area high schools once a month at lunch time, bringing lunch and mental health education to those students who are interested. The only requirement is to let us know ahead of time that you are coming (so we have enough food) and be committed to learning about issues like stigma, bullying prevention, suicide prevention, and drug-abuse prevention.

Our first meeting of sorts was a "meet and greet" information table at Eldorado High School today at lunch time. Our team, comprised of a diverse group of individuals were all there in order to show students that as adults with different backgrounds, ages, and ethnicities, we are all committed to growing a generation that accepts mental health ideas and embraces the differences of others. In a small rural school, where everyone knows everyone's business whether you like it or not, we were amazed at the interest that these students showed! Over 75 students signed up for our first lunch meeting on February 28th. Wow! I am so very excited to meet with these students as we will be talking about stigma and the upcoming National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day in May.

We hope to establish a Friend of MHINDS group in each high school in our three county service area of White, Gallatin, and Saline. I believe the possibilities for outreach are endless with this project and I can even see the possibility of sustaining the program in the future by involving other community organizations for support with providing lunches and education opportunities. I guess my biggest hope besides the success of this within our schools, is the possibility of making it a replicable activity that system of care groups can do all over the United States. If you are interested in learning more about Friend of MHINDS, you can contact me at greenribbonadvocate@gmail.com or visit the Eldorado Friend of MHINDS Facebook page. I'll be back with more information after the first meeting on February 28th!

Supporting the Emotional Health of You and Your Family After a Heart Attack/Stroke Happens

Go Red for Women by the American Heart Association does an excellent job promoting the signs and symptoms of an impending heart attack or stroke in women, and every year I enjoy helping to share that information. Go Red Day this year will be on February 1st and I always look forward to choosing that perfect red clothing item to sport all day long!

This year though, I have a particular issue about women's heart health that has continued to get my attention, and I'd like to take some time to shed some light on it. At the Mrs. International Pageant in July 2012, a very brave woman spoke at our orientation meeting, telling us not only about her heart attack experience, but also how it affected her and her family emotionally after she was in recovery. She described the difficult time that they all had dealing with the traumatic event of her heart attack because the fear of losing a mom and a wife just doesn't go away with recovery -- it's something that sticks with a family and increases the stress a family has about normal every day activities.

Of course being a family mental health advocate, this really made an impact on me, and I realized that not enough emphasis has been put on helping a family deal with the emotions of recovery. Families go through trauma when a heart attack or stroke strikes a loved female in the family. Trauma does not go away just because the person's medical condition gets better -- the fear and anxiety stick with you and can be a debilitating cloud hovering over everything. But not only are we talking about mental recovery from trauma, but also from the number of medicines that were pumped into the body in order to save a life. Withdrawal from anesthetics or pain medication can bring a host of emotional troubles including crying spells/depression, angry outbursts, and social withdrawal -- not to mention the number of ongoing prescriptions that are required for heart recovery with the side effects that they weild.

I do know that SAMHSA has created some initiatives that address this very concern, so it gives me hope that this is a growing issue of concern in the field of mental health. If you are looking for specific information about mental recovery after a heart attack or stroke, I really like the hearthealthywomen.org site. Even though I do my part in trying to share information to prevent heart attack and stroke in women, I believe now that it is equally as important to provide support to those in recovery -- not just celebrating recovery, but understanding the emotional depth of it too.

Have a great day of celebration on Friday and wear your red proudly for prevention AND recovery in women's heart health.

Planning for Awareness Activities -- NCMHAD 2013

 

At the PACE (Parents And Caregivers Empowered) meeting on Thursday, January 24th, I had the priviledge of facilitating a discussion with almost 100 parents and youth about what we as family members want to do to make our communities aware of the importance of children's mental health. SAMHSA has declared May 9th as the designated National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day for 2013, and we want to be ready to make an impact!

We had lots of great ideas and volunteers to specifically step-up and take leadership roles for things like coordinating poster contests, coloring contests, mayor proclamations, food donations for a "block party" event, and even more ways to involve as many community members as possible. At the end of the planning session there was a sense of excitement and a feeling of unity because we all have a common goal of educating others and creating awareness of the real facts about mental health and our families.

Following that discussion, my very good friend, April Scales, introduced a new campaign idea to us parents that she feels very passionate about and that we would like to see develop in our communities. The campaign is called "OUCH!" and is a concept from Leslie Aguilar's "Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts!" The Ouch Campaign follows the simple principle of standing up for others that may not be able to stand up for themselves when they are ridiculed, demeaned, or discriminated against. When you hear somebody say something that is offensive, and you're pretty sure that someone in the room probably felt the sting of those words -- all you have to do is say "Ouch." Sometimes, people don't know that they are hurting others with their words and just need some simple re-directing of their word choices. Or, if someone is intentionally being hurtful, then the person who is the target needs a friend to stand up and say 'I have your back, and what that person said is not ok.' "Ouch" becomes a simple way to change stigmatized messages and lift others up that may have frequently been the victim of judgement or ridicule.

With the rampant spread of awareness about bullying, it has become everyone's responsibility to not let classmates, coworkers, neighbors, or even family members target others and make them feel badly about themselves. I love the idea of the "Ouch" Campaign and I will be doing everything that I can to help my friend April establish the message in our communities. It applies so strongly to mental health and so many other things too. If you have additional ideas about sharing the message of "Ouch!"-- we would love to hear it! Just leave a comment or email me at greenribbonadvocate@gmail.com or April at ascales@egyptian.org

What's the future of children's mental health?

As the dabate continues about gun control after the Newtown tragedy, mental health is interwoven in all the discussions... As it should be! But of course, everyone has a different idea of what that mental health discussion should be, and who knows what actual interventions will be implemented and followed through to longterm sustainability. Knowing that President Obama would be addressing gun control and mental health, my colleagues and I have been anticipating just how this is all going to take place and how receptive that our nation will be -- which is a conversation we were already having about our own small community we continue to serve.

I became very excited about the possibilities for change in our nation when Sandra Spencer, Executive Director of the National Federation of Families, informed us that she had been invited to join the conversation at the White House regarding the recommendations that Vice President Biden would be providing President Obama about gun control initiatives. Upon leaving the meeting, she prepared a video to inform Federation members about her role in the meeting and what she hoped would be a huge step in a positive direction to help America understand the position of families and caregivers already addressing mental health challenges -- and in effect why the feelings they have are the same as caregivers that are not seeking treatment for fear of social ridicule and judgment. See the video below to hear her address to Federation members.

 

As I listened to Sandra's words, I was inspired by how well she captured the depth of what America needs to know in order to understand the importance of children's mental health diagnosis and treatment along with unstigmatized support from a family's community at large. When I talked to Sandra individually to applaud her job well done and to express how moving I felt her address to the Federation members was, she shared additional information about being asked back to the White House to continue the conversation after the President's Press Conference on Wednesday, January 16th. She expressed her excitement as to being able to give more information for prompting action to celebrate the upcoming children's mental health awareness day and promoting the identification of the green ribbon in support!

 

One of the most infuriating and sad things about our world today is that it takes a tragedy like Sandy Hook in order to call attention to something that should have been addressed a long time ago anyway! But as I look at the details surrounding this event, a close friend of mine brought to my attention that the school colors of Sandy Hook just happened to be green and white. A call of rememberance was made for everyone to wear green in honor of those lost on the Monday following the shooting. For me, I believe this adds a whole new level of possible response for the green ribbon in support of children's mental health. I feel that the tragedy at Newtown has given all dedicated green ribbon advocates an additional push of motivation to share the message of awareness this May.

 

In the official statement released from the White House after the Presiden't Press Conference on Wednesday morning (see the document by clicking here) President Obama says, "We are going to need to work on making access to mental health care as easy as access to a gun." I definitely second that!  What remains to be seen however, is whether or not America will follow suit and agree about the protection of our children and that it includes both gun control and mental health awareness and services for all.

 

 I'm hoping for the best possible future for children's mental health and that public awareness and acceptance changes dramatically over the next year. I'll say it over and over again in the months to come...I'm a green ribbon advocate for many, many reasons. How about you?