Conference results
The Regional 1 Mental Health Recovery Conference went off with flying colors. Paul Jones “Bipolar Boy” spoke as one of the speakers, as did Lizzy Simon. If you ever have the opportunity to hear them, take it. They are very good. Bipolar Boy is very funny. He makes you think of the stigma of mental illness in a whole new way.
Breaking the stigma of mental illness starts here, with the consumer. When I think of mental illness, I think of recovery. Most think of “crazy”, “dangerous”, “looney”, and terms like that. Those are the terms we need to combat. Mental illness can lead to recovery with the right treatment plan and the right attitude. Recovery IS possible. There are people all over the country who are living proof of that.
My talk went well. It was very exciting to talk in front of about 50 people total and tell my story of recovery. I had very positive feedback. I knew it was something I had to do more of.
Saturday, I particpated in the “Out of the Darkness Community Walks” for Suicide Prevention Awareness in my community. We raised over $2200 for our first year. Not too bad for a small rural community. Next year, I hope to contribute more. The walk wasn’t that long. The weather was perfect. Lots of support from the community. Check to see about a walk in your area.
October 1, 2008 @ 12:20 am
A mental Health Consumer Provider’s experience working on two Programs of Assertive Community Treatment
After an accident I was disabled for five years. During this time I received Social Security Disability Income and counseling. I joined a club house in Newton Massachusetts for vocational counseling. After volunteering there I got a temporary employment placement. I did janitorial work on two days each week for two hour shifts at some group homes. On one night each week I attended a vocational support group to discuss issues related to the job. After this I found a part time telemarketing job. This independent employment was a step in the right direction. I had an excellent college education and had difficulty getting hired. I thought this could be related to having been disabled. Employers are careful in hireling people and this can exclude people who can do the job but have been unemployed. I was grateful that a program was available in my community to help disabled people get jobs. Being excluded from the work force creates a unique poverty of the soul. I vowed that someday I would help disabled people with finding jobs.
A year and six months into my recovery I got a residential counselor job working with individuals called mentally retarded. I slept overnight three nights. This was an excellent situation for someone with depression. I got off public assistance and was self supporting, productive and responsible member of society. After you worked for a year at the agency you were eligible for tuition reimbursement. I took advantage of this and enrolled in the U Mass Boston’s Rehabilitation Counseling program.
After taking one course a semester for a few years I moved into a therapeutic community where I worked as a counselor with mental health clients. Working in a supportive environment as a counselor and learning about mental health counseling helped me grow as a person and nurture the growth of people I worked with. I worked in this position and studied rehabilitation counseling for five years. After I earned a Masters in Counseling I got certified as a rehabilitation counselor.
Then I took a job with a Program of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT) in central Massachusetts. I was able to advocate for clients and help them with a lot of problems. I liked the fact that we did outreach and helped clients where ever they were. This type of work brought me to homeless shelters, schools, work places, hospitals, jails and client’s homes. The psychiatrist and staff were supportive. Because the program was associated with a University teaching and learning were emphasized. I received good performance reviews over my four years of employment. I handled numerous crisis situations effectively. I helped clients to find jobs.
After four years I was offered a better paying position at another PACT. I had twelve years experience and not one complaint on my record. I moved near to Malden take a position as a Vocational Counselor with a PACT in Malden at Tri-City Mental Health Center (TCMHC). The company was merging with Eliot Community Mental Health (ECMH). This was because TCMHC had committed fraud in billing Medicaid and the director of rehabilitation stole from clients. I understood that the company was in transition. I was confident in my ability to help clients and I knew I had a good work ethic and thought that would be enough to succeed. No one new I had a disability when I took the job. I had the experience of being on an effectively operated PACT. This experience was needed because the program had problems.
After taking the job I saw that clients were not getting services they needed with housing and employment. Clients needed help. Staff would say that clients were to “symptomatic” to benefit from help with these important issues. Staff treated clients in a condescending manner. I raised my concerns about client treatment with Aaron Katz the new program director. A Katz did not have the required credentials or experience to manage the program. This program was designed to serve the most disabled and vulnerable mental health consumers in the area. The response I got was “mind your own place and business”. I could see his approach to management was to bully subordinates, use intimidation and push people around. For example he and another manager would co supervise a counselor while A Katz sat at a computer taking notes like it was a disposition. You never knew what was being written. I asked if I could take notes during a meeting but was told this was not allowed. I do not respond well to this approach by a manager.
In my first month of employment I was asked to take a client to get a toxicology screen. The test results could get the client in legal trouble. I thought that this task was a bad idea for our first meeting. I found out latter this client had been charged with attempted murder. I was not told about his background but just to take him to get tested. I refused to do this. This is just one example of a number of problems where clients and staff were put at odds because of poor management. (Reports to DMH never told what was going on.) In a PACT program clients are often under court order to get treatment and have the program manage their money. The only way to be sure clients are not coerced and staff is acting ethically is for there to be effective communication between all staff and management. However this was not possible at the ECHS PACT all communication was one way. Aaron Katz gave orders and expected staff to obey his orders without question. It was as if the clients weren’t people but animals to be feed anti-psychotic medications. A Katz the program director would say “I have to micromanage everything”. If a team meeting was going on counselors were expected to raise there hand and ask permission to go to the bathroom. We were in team meetings ten hours a week.
The work place became hostile. I think it was because other staff saw that I advocated for clients in meetings and management felt threatened. I got the “you aren’t fitting in talk” from the manager. Then I got a written warning that threatened termination. This was for late paper work. Some of the paper work was the program directors (A Katz) responsibility. I explained that I had dyslexia and I asked for some extra time to complete the paper works. I advocated for my self and asked for the accommodations that I am entitled to under the American’s with Disabilities Act. Other than this minor issue I had demonstrated leadership in important matters. I helped client’s find jobs and housing. I managed crisis situations. My request for more time to do paper work was denied by a Katz.
Then after a client in crisis did not get help from management in a timely manner a blame game started. I had brought the client in crisis to meet the manager. I got blamed because this client who needed to be hospitalized ended up driving in Malden. This happened after I warned the manager that he needed help. A staff person from the day program was in his car. He could have crashed his car into someone. But I was blamed for this management neglect. I filed two grievances with the SEUI union. Management ignored them. I developed health problems as a result of the stress I was under. The management created a hostile work place. I even got treatment for job related stress. I let A Katz and M Mathews a senior manager know I was being treated for job related stress. The work place got more hostile. I requested time off but this was denied. Even though I had a doctors note as evidence that I had job related stress and both vacation and personal time.
Basically I was thrown out like the trash. The reason was because I advocated for clients, workers rights and would not accept unethical behavior by management. ECHS management contested my unemployment claim. At hearings M Mathews and Aaron Katz committed perjury. After four hearings the Massachusetts Department of Employment and Training found I had an urgent and compelling reason for ending the job. I was paid unemployment compensation. ECHS management also refused to pay me for my last two weeks work. I went to small claims court and named Pam Burns the Human Resources Director in my complaint. I had an excellent case but the hearing officer was a Malden court clerk named Paul Burns. Without considering the facts I lost my case.
Because of all this I lost my health insurance and couldn’t continue treatment. Now, I can not get a good job because I do not have a reference from my last employer. My health problems have not been treated. I am applying for Social Security Disability. I found management’s main interest was in misleading the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health about how the PACT was operated. Ethical issues were not to be discussed. Dishonesty and hostility were the foundations of management’s practice. They treat counselors like dogs and laugh at the SEUI union.
Signed,
Dog Meat
January 15, 2009 @ 9:09 pm
Hi. I’m writing from The Jed Foundation which works nationally to reduce the rate of suicide and the prevalence of emotional distress among college and university students. We are presenting The Jerry Greenspan Student Voice of Mental Health Award for college students who have had mental health issues like the one’s you write about on your site and wanted for you to help spread the word.
The award is for a video on their experiences with mental health issues and how they are working to raise awareness and encourage their peers on the issue. The award includes a $2,000 scholarship, a trip to NYC to our annual gala in June 2009, recognition through our site and events and possibly appearing on MTVU. The info is on our site (link below).
We are interested in having you post the information on your blog. We are also interested in having folks write about the importance of doing work like this and show casing, if you will, this award we are presenting.
Thank you so much for your time and feel free to email me. I’d like to talk further about how we can work together.
http://jedfoundation.org/programs/student-voice-of-mental-health-award
Eman Rimawi