CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News
January 23, 2007, Vol. 07-16

2006 Year in Review

SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION CENTER FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR CONSUMER AFFAIRS

The following is a year-end review of the activities of the office of the Associate Director for Consumer Affairs (ADCA) within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS).

For more information on any of these activities, please contact the staff listed at the end of this update.

Year of the Consumer

In 2006, SAMHSA initiated the Year of the Consumer to highlight the importance of the voice and participation of mental health consumers, families, and youth in the transformation of the mental health system. Activities include the analysis of internal and external consumer participation policies and the development of a strategic plan to ensure consumer-driven care. This activity includes extensive consultation with SAMHSA staff and public stakeholders. Most of the information gathering was completed in 2006 and the development of the strategic plan will be completed in 2007. Please contact Paolo del Vecchio with further questions.

National Consensus Statement on Mental Health Recovery

Early in 2006, SAMHSA released the National Consensus Statement on Mental Health Recovery. The consensus statement was developed through deliberations by over 110 expert panelists representing mental health consumers, families, providers, advocates, researchers, managed care organizations, state and local public officials and others. The consensus statement provides a definition of mental health recovery with ten fundamental components and guidance to promote recovery for individuals and systems http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/sma05-4129/. Please contact Paolo del Vecchio for more information.

National Anti-Stigma Campaign (NASC)

On December 4, 2006, SAMHSA officially launched the National Anti-Stigma Campaign at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. The campaign launch featured remarks from Rear Admiral Dr. Kenneth P. Moritsugu, Acting Surgeon General; SAMHSA Acting Deputy Administrator Dr. Eric Broderick; Kathryn Power, Director for SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services, as well as representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Advertising Council, and a young adult consumer and her friend. Three television public awareness advertisements and three radio ads were shown and released to the public. The launch of the campaign Web site was also announced www.whatadifference.samhsa.gov. The launch generated over 100 media stories by national and local television, print, and radio media. Print advertising is still in development and should be released shortly. All of these materials can be obtained via the NASC web site at www.whatadifference.samhsa.gov or by calling the SAMHSA National Mental Health Information Center at 1-800-789-2647. To partner with the Campaign or for more information on the NASC, please contact Chris Marshall.

SAMHSA Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma (ADS Center)

The SAMHSA ADS Center provides information and resources on effective, practical approaches to counter stigma, research findings on stigma and what works to counter it, anti-stigma campaigns and programs, and anti-stigma events and trainings. The ADS Center uses its ever expanding database of resources and information on addressing stigma and discrimination to respond to technical assistance and information requests. The database includes references to and citations of research studies, books, articles, campaigns, educational materials, fact sheets, personal stories, and other anti-stigma activities. The ADS Center Web site is at www.stopstigma.samhsa.gov, and its phone number is (800) 540-0320. You may also email the Center at stopstigma@samhsa.hhs.gov.

During 2006, the ADS Center provided an array of training teleconferences on such topics from using the arts to counteract stigma and discrimination to overcoming barriers and the stigma associated with mental illness in rural communities; and many others. These teleconferences are archived along with their power point presentations and can be accessed for free on the Web site: http://www.stopstigma.samhsa.gov---click on Trainings. Please contact Carole Schauer for more information.

CMHS National Advisory Council Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) maintains a required National Advisory Council (NAC) that advises the CMHS Director on Center activities. In 2000, a subcommittee to the NAC was formed, the Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues, to serve as a fact-finding body, advise and make recommendations to the NAC on issues from the consumer/survivor perspective. To accomplish this task, members of the NAC serve on the Subcommittee as well as expert consumer/survivor consultants. All meetings are open to the public. In 2006, the Subcommittee met two times and addressed such topics as the development of two new evidence-based practice toolkits that focus on consumer-operated services and older adults; consumer perspectives on the Institute of Medicines' mental heath and substance use report; recovery orientation for mental health systems; and person-centered planning. The Subcommittee also finalized its statement on the definition of consumer-driven which can be found at http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/consumersurvivor/programs.asp. The Subcommittee makes recommendations to the full CMHS National Advisory Council, which are then voted on for adoption. To view the recommendations, please go to http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cmhs/AdvisoryCouncil/matrix.asp.

Individuals interested in serving as expert consultants on the CMHS National Advisory Council's Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues should submit a resume and a letter of interest to Chris Marshall using the contact information at the end of this email. Please contact Chris Marshall for more information.

Consumer/Survivor Regional Meetings

In this past year, CMHS/ADCA held two consumer/survivor regional meetings to identify critical needs and receive recommendations from mental health consumers on how to improve mental health services and to address consumers' concerns. Regional meetings create a forum for networking between states and provide useful information on the successful implementation of state and local initiatives. The information from regional meetings is utilized on the state and federal level. This year a particular focus was placed on addressing the transformation goals of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. The regional meetings took place in San Francisco, California and New York City, New York.

The San Francisco regional meeting included the following states and territories: Arizona, Hawaii, American Samoa, Nevada, Guam, and California. Below are some of the major concerns they had in their respective areas:

• Housing
  
• Adult Foster Care, need for quality and accountability
• Respite care needs of individuals
• Increased access to services for co-occurring disorders
• Employment
• Workforce shortages in mental health staff, need for adequate training
• Reduction and elimination of seclusion and restraint
• Services to address addictions to alcohol and other substances

The New York City regional meeting included participants from New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The following major themes emerged from the discussion of needs and issues of states and territories in the region:

• Housing
  
• Employment training and supports
• Need for increased educational opportunities and support
• Transportation, lack of access and affordability
• The needs of individuals who are forced to take medications
• Integration of physical care and mental health needs

Summaries of these meetings are available upon request. CMHS/ADCA will be holding regional consumer/survivor meetings in 2007 in Denver and Chicago. The Denver regional meeting will include representatives from the states of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. The Chicago regional meeting will include representatives from the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. These meetings are open to the public and will be announced on this E-News service. Contact Carlton Speight for more information.

Participatory Dialogue Meetings

Dialogue between Mental Health Consumers and Representatives of the Disaster Response Community

In August 2006, CMHS convened a dialogue between consumers of mental health services and representatives of various sectors of the disaster response community. The purpose of the meeting was to identify issues that both hinder and help recovery and develop recommendations regarding attitudinal shifts and systems transformation that can lead to improved mental and physical health care outcomes for people with mental illnesses. It is apparent the consumers of mental health services experience unnecessary suffering, functional impairment, mortality, economic losses, and health care costs as a result of ineffective care due to fragmentation of the nation's multiple health care systems. Recommendations were proposed that address communication and engagement of mental health consumers and disaster response providers in integrating care, stakeholder education and accountability, research, and finance. A summary of the meeting is being developed and will be available in 2007. Contact Carole Schauer for more information.

Seclusion and Restraint

ADCA staff has led the development of a consumer-based staff training manual on alternatives to the use of seclusion and restraint (S&R) that was published by SAMHSA in the summer 2006. You can download the training guide at: http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/sma06-4055/ or order from: 1-800-789-2647. Work continued on the development of a training video focused on the prevention of and alternatives to S&R. ADCA provides staffing to the SAMHSA seclusion and restraint matrix work group that has a national action plan to reduce and eliminate the use of such practices. See the following for more info: http://www.samhsa.gov/Matrix/matrix_seclusion.aspx. Please contact Paolo del Vecchio for more information.

Evaluation of Consumer Direction

ADCA facilitated the expansion of SAMHSA's partnership with the Department of Education's National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research to study the impact of models of consumer direction in mental health. For more information, please contact Paolo del Vecchio.

National Consensus Meeting on Person/Family-Centered Planning

In December '05, ADCA provided leadership in convening a national consensus conference on person/family-centered planning. The focus of this activity was to identify models of conducting such planning. As a result of this meeting, a series of training guides on person-directed planning is in development targeting consumers, families, providers, and administrators. For more information, see http://www.psych.uic.edu/uicnrtc/cmhs/pfcphome.htm or contact Paolo del Vecchio.

Self Care Project

CMHS/ADCA has completed the second phase of a project to develop and produce a training protocol to be used by State, county and local mental health delivery systems that will identify self-help skills and strategies to aid people with mental illnesses to achieve levels of wellness, stability and recovery. The manual is based on a train-the-trainer model intended for trainees who are people in mental health recovery, parents, and mental health workers. It is expected that those trained will be able to lead consumers through self-care and recovery planning training. The manual and protocol detail both the content of the training as well as the process that a public mental health system may use in implementing the training. Pilot testing of the manual was completed in 2006 in three states, Connecticut, West Virginia, and Texas. Once the evaluation has been competed, the recovery self care curriculum will be published and distributed nationally. For more information, please contact Chris Marshall.

Peer Specialist Project

CMHS/ADCA is near completion of the Peer Specialist Certification Resource Kit to be used by State mental health delivery systems. The Resource Kit includes a manual for States with detailed information on the steps needed to design, plan, implement, and manage a Certified Peer Specialist Program; a guide for consumers and advocates to understand the program; and one-page fact sheets on the program. The toolkit uses the Georgia Peer Specialist Certification Project, as well as efforts in Michigan and Hawaii to describe this model and also reports on peer support initiatives taking place in other states. The program trains former or current mental health consumers to become Certified Peer Specialists (CPS) who provide peer support services. A pilot demonstration in Connecticut of the resource kit was completed in 2006. For more information, please contact Chris Marshall.

Self-Direction Education Project

SAMHSA/CMHS/ADCA initiated a contract to conduct a mental health self-direction education project. This effort included a series of videoconferences and fact sheets on mental health self-direction approaches. To view archived versions of the web casts, please see: www.connectlive.com/events/samhsa. A series of fact sheets on self-direction were recently published and available via: www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov. For more information, please contact Paolo del Vecchio.

Additional Publications

Mental Health Consumers and Primary Health Care Representatives in Dialogue

CMHS/ADCA convened a dialogue between consumers of mental health services and representatives of various sectors of the primary health system. The purpose of the meeting was to identify issues that both hinder and help recovery and develop recommendations regarding attitudinal shifts and systems transformation that can lead to improved mental and physical health care responses by primary care and mental health providers to people with mental illnesses. It is apparent the consumers of mental health services experience unnecessary suffering, functional impairment, mortality, economic losses, and health care costs as a result of ineffective care due to fragmentation of the nation's multiple health care systems. Recommendations were proposed that address communication and engagement of mental health and primary care providers in integrating care, stakeholder education and accountability, research, and finance. A summary of the meeting is now available and can be obtained online at http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/SMA06-4040/default.asp or by calling SAMHSA's National Mental Health Information Center at 1-800-789-2647. Contact Carole Schauer for more information.

Mental Health Consumers and Representatives of the Mental Health and Criminal Justice Systems in Dialogue

CMHS/ADCA also convened a dialogue between consumers of mental health services and representatives of mental health and criminal justice systems. The participants identified person and systems level factors that hinder and help recovery of consumers involved in criminal justice systems. Recommendations were proposed to address policy needs- including the need to reduce seclusion and restraint in criminal justice settings, program development - including to infuse peer support efforts in criminal justice systems, and training and education - including addressing the key role that trauma plays. A summary of the meeting is now available and can be obtained online at http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/SMA05-4067/ or by calling SAMHSA's National Mental Health Information Center at 1-800-789-2647. Contact Paolo del Vecchio for more information.

Mental Health on Campus Dialogue

In December 2005, CMHS/ADCA held a participatory dialogue meeting entitled Mental Health On Campus that brought together university and college student leaders with mental health problems and college administrators, counselors, faculty and representatives from different sectors of the college mental health system including legal experts, researchers, and clinicians. The dialogue meeting examined recent research and media reports that have been reporting a steady increase in the incidence of serious mental health problems among students on college campuses, suicides and suicide attempts, and substance abuse. A meeting report is currently being developed and will be available early in 2007. Please contact Chris Marshall for more information.

Developing a Stigma Reduction Initiative

CMHS/ADCA released this publication which is based on the 8 State demonstration project, the Elimination of Barriers Initiative. The kit offers guidance on how to mount a statewide or local campaign to reduce stigma, contains sample materials and templates to use in developing communication materials, explains tactics to enhance outreach efforts, and provides directories of resources for creating public education materials. A schools training package and business materials to create mental health-friendly environments are also provided. The publication can be obtained online at http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/sma06-4176/ or by calling SAMHSA's National Mental Health Information Center at 1-800-789-2647. Contact Paolo del Vecchio for more information.

Consumer Scholarships

More than 200 mental health consumers were provided travel, lodging, meals, and registration support to attend 20 national and other mental health meetings during the past year. This effort promotes mental health transformation via the communication of consumer perspectives to mental health professionals, policy makers, and State officials at these meetings. Summaries generated from these meetings, based on consumer reports, provide CMHS staff and others valuable information on cutting-edge services and emerging trends and issues related to mental health service delivery. Scholarship announcements for upcoming meetings are announced on this e-news service. For more information, please contact Carole Schauer.

2006 Exhibits at SAMHSA

CMHS/ADCA collaborated with acclaimed photographer Michael Nye and brought his interactive, instructive photo exhibit, "Fine Line: Mental Health/Mental Illness" to SAMHSA's office building in Rockville, Maryland on January 3, 2006. A reception and opening event was held at SAMHSA.

The Fine Line exhibit featured 55 black-and-white-portraits and voices of persons impacted by mental health problems and addressed various aspects of mental health such as family, trauma, treatment, recovery and healing. The exhibit used an artistic interpersonal approach that helped reduce the stigma associated with individuals with mental health problems and highlighted their humanity in a respectful and dignified manner. The exhibit was first completed in the fall of 2003 and had its debut opening at the Witte Museum in San Antonio, Texas.

In September 2006, SAMHSA hosted the traveling exhibit "The Lives They Left Behind" Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic. When Willard Psychiatric Center in New York's Finger Lakes closed in 1995, workers discovered hundreds of suitcases in the attic of an abandoned building. The suitcases contained items from various patients who stayed there throughout the years. The contents from these suitcases were examined and cataloged and an effort began to capture the lives of these individuals. As the stories of these lives were slowly pieced together, an exhibit was created based on these stories. For further information on this exhibit please visit www.suitcaseexhibit.org.

In December 2006, SAMHSA hosted an exhibit created by the National GAINS Center entitled The Consumer Perspectives Exhibit. Contributors to this exhibit included consumers and peer specialists, participants in jail diversion programs and drug courts, and others with justice system involvement. These contributions resulted in a multi-media exhibit of vignettes, photos, pastels, pencil drawings, poetry, collages, audio clips and a film clip. The vignettes and audio clips were developed by GAINS Center staff during both in-person and phone interviews. An important component is the inclusion of a focus on personal recovery and the current work of consumers to transform systems to better meet the needs of people with co-occurring disorders. For more information on this exhibit please visit http://gainscenter.samhsa.gov/html/.

The VOICE Awards

Building on the enormous success of last year's initiation of the Voice Awards - the first-ever Federal awards event that to recognize positive, accurate, and dignified portrayals of people with mental illness in TV, film and radio - ADCA staff held the second annual Voice Awards on August 23, in Los Angeles. The Voice Awards honor TV and radio writers and producers who create dignified, respectful and accurate portrayals of people with mental health problems. The Voice Awards also recognize community leaders who have made outstanding efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination toward individuals with mental health problems on a national, State or local level.

David Hoberman, executive producer for "Monk" received a Career Achievement Award for his many years of mental health advocacy. SAMHSA also presented actresses Patty Duke and Ruta Lee with Special Recognition Awards for commitment to mental health advocacy. Mariel Hemingway hosted this year's Voice Awards. More than 35 productions were nominated. Writers and producers of nine of them were presented with Voice Awards. Among the nine award recipients are the writers and producers of the movie "Proof" and the writers and producers of an episode of the television series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

In addition to the entertainment awards, the Voice Awards recognized five mental health advocates with Consumer Leadership Awards for their efforts to raise awareness of mental health and expand public understanding that mental health problems exist in every community and affect almost every family in the United States. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Carmen Lee, a mental health advocate and founder and Executive Director of Stamp Out Stigma (SOS), a non-profit organization dedicated to changing the public's perceptions of people living with a mental illness. Consumer Leadership Awards were presented to Doug Devoe, chief executive officer of Ohio Advocates for Mental Health; Lynn Kohr and Nancy Jensen, members of NAMI Wichita; Gayathri Ramprasad, mental health advocate, producer, and public speaker; and Sandra McQueen-Baker, executive director of the organization that she helped to establish, Fresh Start Drop In Center, Inc. in Miami, Florida. For more information about the Voice Awards visit http://www.allmentalhealth.samhsa.gov/voiceawards. For more information, please contact Paolo del Vecchio.

Consumer Affairs E-News

ADCA continues to maintain and grow the CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News. The E-News is an email alert service from the Center for Mental Health Services dedicated to providing the latest news and information centered on mental health consumers. The e-news includes announcements and updates on: CMHS and federal consumer-related programs and activities, grant announcements and funding opportunities, policy statements, reports, press releases, opportunities for public comment, news on upcoming meetings, and conferences. To sign up for this service, please go to http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/consumersurvivor/ and scroll down to the bottom of the page. Please contact Carlton Speight for further information.

New ADCA Activities for 2007

Shared Decision Making

In 2007, ADCA will initiate several efforts to promote the development of models of shared decision-making in mental health. Such approaches have been successful in other healthcare arenas as a means of improving healthcare quality and outcomes. Shared decision-making is seen as a means of promoting recovery by fostering consumer self-direction, empowerment, responsibility and effective trusting relationships with providers.

Cash and counseling analysis

ADCA has begun work to further examine the research findings of the "Cash and Counseling" demonstration grants that established the evidence base for self-directed care for people with disabilities. Specifically, this will include analyzing the impact of such approaches on participants in this grant program that had a mental health diagnosis.

DRA Fact Sheets

ADCA has started work to develop informational fact sheets for consumers and other mental health stakeholders on the implications and opportunities within the Deficits Reduction Act (DRA). It is hoped that such knowledge will assist in promoting the financing and organization of mental health and related supports to facilitate recovery.

Wellness

In 2007, ADCA also plans to begin work on identifying model approaches that foster the physical well being of persons with mental illnesses. Such efforts are critical given the significant risk of early mortality faced by consumers.

CMHS ADCA Staff

Paolo del Vecchio
Associate Director for Consumer Affairs
SAMHSA
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room 6-1069
Rockville, MD 20857
T: 240-276-1946
Paolo.delvecchio@samhsa.hhs.gov

Carole Schauer
Senior Consumer Affairs Specialist
SAMHSA
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room 6-1067
Rockville, MD 20857
T: 240-276-1948
Carole.schauer@samhsa.hhs.gov

Chris Marshall
Consumer Affairs Specialist
SAMHSA
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room 6-1071
Rockville, MD 20857
T: 240-276-2947
Chris.marshall@samhsa.hhs.gov

Carlton Speight
Consumer Affairs Specialist
SAMHSA
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room 6-1080
Rockville, MD 20857
T: 240-276-1949
Carlton.speight@samhsa.hhs.gov

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The Center for Mental Health Services is a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services.