WINTER 2015/2016
Speaking of Open Dialogue Revisiting talk therapy and antipsychotic reduction by Lorraine Zeller
In our last issue I presented infor- phrenia patients who received small- episode. According to Dr. Kenneth mation about a talk therapy treatment er doses of antipsychotic medication Duckworth, medical director for Na- for psychosis used in Finland which and a bigger emphasis on one-on- tional Alliance on Mental Illness, the has been successful in reducing the one talk therapy and family support findings are “a game-changer for the need for antipsychotics. That article made greater strides in recovery over field”. mentioned a large study finding that the first two years of treatment than only 35% of Open Dialogue patients patients who got the usual drug- This is wonderful news as costs of required antipsychotic medication as focused care. medications and costs to the health opposed to those who were treated — due to side effects such as weight In this study, the group on combined as usual. gain, metabolic syndrome/diabetes, therapy which included one-on-one extreme drowsiness, emotional Now a new report, published on Octo- talk therapy and low dose anti- numbing, and decreased ability to ber 20th in The American Journal of psychotic use, also received help self-motivate — of people with psy- Psychiatry and funded by the Nation- with work or school and their family chosis on high doses of these medi- al Institute of Mental Health, once members received education to in- cations is extremely high. again illustrates that talk therapy can crease their understanding of the dis- reduce the need for anti-psychotics. order. The medication doses were There is hope that people According to The New York Times, kept as low as possible, anywhere who struggle with psychosis “the findings, from by far the most from 20% to 50% lower. Subjects can be empowered to lead a satisfy- rigorous trial to date conducted in the who did the best also were identified ing, joyful, and productive life, with United States, concluded the schizo- and treated earliest – after the first appropriate care.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Are You Low Functioning? 2 Santa Clara County Resources
Consumer Learning Center 2 Broaden Your Horizons! SUICIDE & CRISIS HOTLINE 24/7 1-855-278-4204
Aztec Dance - 3 Emergency 24/7 (police/fire/ambulance) 911 A Tool in My Wellness Toolbox ask for a C.I.T. officer who is trained in mental health issues
Dia de Los Muertos - 3 Mental Health Urgent Care 408-885-7855
Day of the Dead Information & Referral 24/7 211 Ethopian Enkutatash Celebration 4 (New Year) Police (non-emergency) 24/7 311 ask for a C.I.T. officer who is trained in mental health issues Behavioral Health Meetings 4
Special Events & Calendars 5 - 7 Call Center for mental health services 800-704-0900
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) 408-453-0400 WRAP Groups back
WINTER 2015 P A G E 2 Are You Low Functioning? by Patricia Deegan https://www.patdeegan.com/
The phrase low functioning is pe- get out into the community and see Finally, once we have heard jorative, despite the fact that it is the individual in many different set- powerful staff using the phrase widely used in behavioral health. tings with many different friends, low functioning, we are likely to In my opinion, short of conducting family members and natural sup- use it on our peers. For in- a standardized functional assess- porters. When we take the time to stance, it's not uncommon to ment, the phrase low function- do this, new profiles of strengths, hear, "Oh, that program is for ing is nothing more than a value talents and gifts emerge. Nobody is low functioning people" or "I judgement that clinicians place on low functioning. don't want to go there. Only the a person in services. low functioning go there." It's Another insidious effect of the such a sad thing for peers to Low functioning is a value judge- phrase low functioning is that we judge peers in this way. ment cloaked in official sounding begin to internalize it. If we over- clinical jargon. From my vantage hear powerful mental health or hos- Low functioning is a wounding point, when a clinician refers to a pital staff referring to us as low and destructive phrase. Though person as low functioning, they functioning, we often take that in. It cloaked in clinical sounding jar- are saying more about themselves lowers our self-esteem. It erodes gon, it's time for us to strike low than the person they have as- our belief in our worth and value as functioning from our vocabulary cribed that phrase to. When using human beings. It wounds and instead focus on discovering the phrase, clinicians are saying, us. Eventually we are faced with people's gifts, "I have failed to realize the unique recovering, not only from emotional talents and gifts and talents of this individual". distress, but also from strengths. In my experience, the remedy is to this iatrogenic wounding.
Consumer Learning Center Broaden Your Horizons! by John Hardy
Since the Consumer Learning Center opened in 2013, people visiting the Zephyr Center have logged in over 3,000 times. Its popularity with consumers is growing.
The CLC is open virtually any time the Zephyr center is open. People use the open lab hours for all kinds of reasons, from writing their resumes and applying for jobs to checking out their favorite music videos on You Tube.
At the CLC, free classes on basic computer use and Office applications are another attraction. The most popular class is for computer novices, called Basic Computer Functions. In this class, first timers learn Win- dows 7 (the operating system offered by Microsoft), how to go online and do basic web searches and also how to open and communicate with a free email account of their own. Other classes are available depending on demand, such as Word (the Microsoft word processing application), Excel (the Microsoft spreadsheet ap- plication) and PowerPoint (the Microsoft presentation application).
“It’s opened a whole new way of thinking for me” one student said. Broaden your Horizons and find out what you may be missing by dropping in to the Consumer Learning Center today! Aztec Dance – A Tool in my Wellness Toolbox by Liliana Carrisoza-McCoy
As I walk through life I encounter, beautiful people and moments, daily blessings, lessons, and growth; nonetheless, my life also includes trials and tribulations, daily stressors, triggers, and negativity. It is my responsibility to make sure that despite the latter, I am well enough to live my life as fruitful as can be. It is important for me to have a list of tools which will help me stay well and help me get back to being well again if I am not. I apply many wellness tools to my life on a regular basis, but Aztec Dance has proven to be one of the most healing tools in my life.
Aztec Dance brings me prayer, bonding time with my daughter, culture awareness, feelings of being at one with the Earth and those who share their energy with me as we become one through our cere- mony. I also choose to dance in honor of my ancestors and to keep my ancient traditions alive. When I am experienc- ing thoughts and feelings that challenge my ability to stay well, I remember I have Aztec Dance to help remind me that it is possible to remain happy and healthy.
Dia de los Muertos – Day of the Dead by Liliana Carrisoza-McCoy
During the same time my parents would begin decorating for Halloween, I remember they would also create an altar. They included pictures of loved ones who had passed on, candles, rosaries, skulls and offerings in the form of food or gifts. It was a very peaceful time and I enjoyed hearing the stories and memories my parents shared about our loved ones who had passed. Although I did not meet almost all of the people honored in our altars, I remember feeling a strong connec- tion to them and I remember knowing they were close to my heart.
My mom explained the altar is made to honor their lives and to take a specific time to remember them. She said growing up she also helped her parents with their altar and her mother helped her grandmother and her grandmother helped her great-grandmother. She explained this tradition dated back to Ancient Aztec times and after Spanish colonization the celebration combined the indigenous Aztec ritual with Catholicism. Our pre-Columbian tradition was celebrated by civilizations for thousands of years before the Spanish conquista- dor’s arrival.
Dia de los Muertos celebration has always been a part of my life and for the last few years, I have also been blessed with the opportunity to join my Aztec Dance group – White Hawk, in a beautiful ceremony. The con- nection I once felt to my loved ones as a little girl listening to my mom’s stories is intensified when I dance in honor of their memories. The ceremony is filled with the scent of copal (tree resin and sap) and sage, thun- dering drums, Ayoyotl seeds from the Ayoyotl tree shaking on our ankles and hand shakers, vibrant colors, beautiful feathers, and most importantly the feelings of becoming one with the spirits of our ancestors.
Although Dia de los Muertos is strongly associated and strongly celebrated in Mexico, the celebration is also recognized throughout Latin America and acknowledged throughout the world!
Ethiopian Enkutatash Celebration (New Year)
by Semert Haile
Enkutatash is the name for the Ethiopian New Year and means “gift of jewels” in the Amharic language. The story goes back almost 3,000 years to the Queen of Sheba of ancient Ethiopia and Yemen who was returning from a trip to visit king Solomon of Israel in Jerusalem, as mentioned in the Bible in 1 kings 10 and II Chronicles 9. She had gifted Solomon with
120 talents of gold (4.5 tons) as well as a large amount of unique spices and jewels. When the Queen returned to Ethio- pian her chiefs welcomed her with enku or jewels to replenish her treasury.
The Ethiopian celebration is both religious and secular as the day begins with church services followed by the family meal. Young children receive small gifts of money or bread after the girls gather flowers and sing, and boys paint pic- tures of saints. Families visit friends and adults drink Ethiopian beer (Tela).
The Ethiopian calendar is a unique form of the Coptic calendar, derived from the earlier Egyptian calendar. On Septem- ber 11, 2008 Ethiopian celebrated its bi-millennial, or 2, 000 years from the Annunciation of Christ. Why is their calendar 7-8 years different from the West’s Gregorian calendar? In the West, the calendar was calculated around A.D. 525 by Dionysium Exeguus a Roman monk-mathematician-astronomer who based his calculations for the birth of Christ on an erroneous date for the death of Herod the Great. In the East, an Alexandrian monk named Panodorus did his calcula- tions differently back around A.D. 400 for the Egyptian calendar.
2015 County Behavioral Health Board & Committee Meetings BHB Board Line (408) 885-5779
1st Friday– 9 a.m. 11/6 System Planning & Fiscal Committee 1/8 2/5 2nd Monday – 9 a.m. 11/9 Older Adult Committee 2/8 3/14 2nd Monday – 12 p.m. 11/9 Behavioral Health Board 2/8 3/14 2nd Thursday – 2 p.m. 11/12 Family, Adolescent, & Children’s 1/8 Committee 3/12 3rd Tuesday – 12 noon 11/16 Minority Advisory Committee 1/25 2/22
3rd Thursday – 9 a.m. 11/19 Adult System of Care 1/21 3/17 You may email the BH Board at [email protected] or check out the SCC Behavioral Health Board webpage at www.sccmhd.org
Contact Llolanda Ulloa at [email protected], by phone at 408-793-5677, or by fax at 408-885-5788 Look Up Information on Licensed Board and Care Homes!
The Community Care Licens- ing website now has a tool at http://ccld.ca.gov/ PG3581.htm that you can use to get more de- tailed information about licensed board and care homes in California. This can help individ- uals and families learn more about facilities they may be considering. It includes inspection reports and an online tool to subscribe for up- dates about facilities you’re interested in. Of course, you’ll still need to visit the facility to en- sure that it meets the needs of the future resi- dents. When you visit always make sure and ask to see the latest licensing information. They are required by law to give you that information.
Distributed by the Santa Clara County Lorraine Zeller, Editor Mental Health Department Phone: 408-792-2132 Office of Consumer Affairs Fax: 408-792-2158 1075 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, CA
NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS / COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME! Many thanks to all who submitted material, proofed, and helped prepare this issue of “Our Voice” for mailing!
All of us at Consumer Affairs wish you Happy Holidays and a New Year full of Health, Peace, and Good Cheer!
Please send submissions for our spring issue by Friday, January 12th All submissions received by Friday, January 12th will be considered for publication.
Lorraine Zeller - [email protected]