DBSA Tennessee Past President, S.L. Brannon
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JOIN US IN THE FIGHT

1/30/2014

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Join Us in the Fight to Save Access to Mental Health Treatment: Act Now by Telling Congress You Care!

Posted on January 28, 2014

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) wants to significantly limit access to antidepressant and immunosupressant medication for people subscribing to Medicare Part D. Read today’s post to learn why you should be concerned, and what you can do to support the mental health community by raising our voices in Washington.

Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule that would remove antidepressants and immunosupressants from the protected class status under Medicare Part D and is considering removing antipsychotics from the same status the following year. If CMS adopts its proposal, it would reduce patient access to and the availability of mental health treatment.

Since it went into effect in 2006, Medicare Part D’s protected class structure ensures patients with mental health conditions have access to all or substantially all of the most appropriate medications, protecting them from “fail-first”1 experiences or other appeals processes. In many cases, delays caused by these processes can result in inadequate treatment and potentially tragic outcomes.

We need to ensure that all mental health patients have access to all the medications that they need. It is clear that CMS’ rule will signal a step in the wrong direction and the consequences will be detrimental. According to the World Health Organization, depression is currently the leading cause of disability worldwide. By 2030, it will be the leading global burden of disease.2 In the United States alone, the total direct and indirect cost associated with depression exceeds $83 billion annually.3

Ultimately if CMS’ rule is approved, there will be severe human, economic and societal consequences for not only mental health patients, but for all Americans. We must take action now.

Here’s How You Can Take Action Today

Now, more than ever, the mental health community of patients, families, friends and others need to join together to tell CMS and the Administration how big of a mistake implementing this rule will be for all Americans. Below you’ll find several ways in which you can make your voice heard during CMS’ open comment period, ending March 7,to protect antidepressants, immunosupressants and antipsychotics within Medicare Part D. The clock is ticking!

  1. Make Your Voice Heard by writing to your Member of Congress. Use the sample email letter to inform your member of Congress that the implementation of this proposed rule is a big mistake. Be sure to share any personal experiences and how this rule will impact you or a loved one.
  2. Share your personal stories: The Care For Your Mind blog is interested in your personal stories to help share the extent of the issue and how it will impact you or a loved one. While this rule is expected to decrease patient costs for medications, members of the mental health community understand the treatment for our conditions is far from one size fits all. Below are a few questions that may help you shape and share your story:
    a. What will happen if you lose access to your medications?
    b. Have you had a negative experience with “fail-first” experiences?
    c. How will the new rule impact you, your parents, other family members or friends?
  3. We encourage you to submit your personal story here for publication on our website. And in the meantime, join our conversation online by contributing to this blog below. Your voice counts and the time to speak up is now!
  4. Share this information with others:  Knowledge is power. The more people know about the proposed rule’s real life consequences, the more we can make our voices heard. Share this post and relevant information with your friends and family, on your social media accounts, through email and word of mouth offline.Together, we can send a powerful message and help ensure that patients have access to the medications they need and deserve.

At Care For Your Mind, we understand that your personal experience and ideas can help build a mental health care system that works.

1 Fail first refers to the practice of forcing doctors to prescribe the least costly drug in any class to patients first, even if the physician wants to begin treatment with a different medication.

2 World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs369/en/

3 Greenberg, et al.(2003).The economic burden of depression in the United States: How did it change between 1990 and 2000? Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 64, pp. 1465-1475

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Speak with the decision-makers

1/28/2014

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The attached document contains  a ‘pairing’ of PSC’s with their area’s Senator & Representative. For those of you planning on attending Mental Health Day on the Hill, this year, I’m hoping you can take some consumers with you. It would be great if you can use this document,  early on,& go ahead & call your area legislators for appointment times. M H ‘Day on the Hill is March 18ththis year.

I would like to know when you set appointments, so I can try to be with you. Obviously, the huge issue for Mental Health Consumers is the matter of Governor Haslam’s desire to eliminate funding for the Peer Centers. Let’s all in regions VI, & VII  “put it together”, & influence our Legislators as to how important pro-mental health legislation is. And particularly how very important it is to keep our Peer Support Centers running. You can let me hear from you by, or by my cell #:

PEER SUPPORT CENTERS IN TENNESSEE

 

REGION I

 

FRONTIER HEALTH SERVICES
Host Agency Contact: Mary Fultineer
26 Midway Street
Bristol TN 37620

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR RON RAMSEY--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE JON LUNDBERG--

​​

 

Open Arms
Coordinator: Angela Prater

1400 Windsor Avenue
Bristol, TN 37620
Open: Monday-Thursday 8:30 am - 6:30 pm
Counties Covered: Sullivan

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR RON RAMSEY--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE JON LUNDBERG--

​​

 

 

Friendship House
Coordinator: Glenda Edwards

805 West Walnut Street
Johnson City, TN 37604
Open: Tuesday-Thursday 8 am – 5 pm
Counties Covered: Unicoi, Washington, Carter

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR RUSTY CROWE--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE MATTHEW HILL--

​​

 

Friendship Connection
Coordinator: Melissa Frazier

117 Wexler Street
Kingsport, TN 37660
Open: Monday-Thursday 9 am-6 pm
Counties Covered: Sullivan

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR RON RAMSEY--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE TONY SHIPLEY--

​​

 

Freedom Peer Support Center – Greeneville
Coordinator: Charles McLain

616 East Church Street
Greenville, TN 37743
Open: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 11 am-5 pm
Counties Covered: Greene, Hawkins

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR STEVE SOUTHERLAND--

​​

​​

​​REPRESENTATIVE DAVID HAWK--

​​

 

Higher Ground
Coordinator: Charles Justice

1404 Crossroads Drive
Mountain City, TN 37683
Open: Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri 9 am-5 pm
Counties Covered: Johnson

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR RON RAMSEY--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE TIMOTHY HILL--

​​

 

 

New Start - Sneedville
Coordinator: Charles McLain

119 Nora Alder Drive
Sneedville, TN 37689
Open: Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri 12-5 pm
Counties Covered: Hancock

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR FRANK NICELEY--(615)

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE MIKE HARRISON--(423)

​​

 

 

REGION II

 

CHEROKEE HEALTH SYSTEMS
Host Agency Contact: Stella Melton
or
215 Hedrick Drive
Newport, TN 37821

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR STEVE SOUTHERLAND--(423)

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE JEREMY FAISON--(615)

​​

 

 

Health Recovery Group-Morristown
Peer Counselor: Mike Clayton

815 W 5th North Street
Morristown, TN 37814
Hours: Mon, Wed, Fri 1-4 pm
Counties covered: Hamblen, Cocke

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR STEVE SOUTHERLAND---(423)

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE TILMAN GOINS--(423)

​​

 

 

 

Health Recovery Group-Newport
Peer Counselor: Mike Clayton
or
215 Hedrick Drive
Newport, TN 37821
Hours: Tues &Thurs 1-4 pm
Counties covered: Hamblen, Cocke

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR STEVE SOUTHERLAND--(423)

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE JEREMY FAISON--(615)

​​

 

 

 

RIDGEVIEW PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL & CENTER
Host Agency Contact: Sharon Stratton

240 West Tyrone Road
Oak Ridge, TN 37830

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR RANDY MCNALLY--(865)

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE JOHN RAGAN--(865)

​​

 

 

Friendship Place
Coordinator: Linda King

201 Sewanee Street #100
Harriman, TN 37748
Open: Tues – Fri 12 PM to 5:30 PM
Counties Covered: Morgan

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR KEN YAGER--(865)

​​

 

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE KENT CALFEE--(615)

​​

 

 

Horizons
Coordinator: Linda White

11 Joel Lane
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Open: Wed – Sat 12 PM to 5:30 PM
Counties Covered: Anderson

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR RANDY MCNALLY--(865)

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE JOHN RAGAN--(865)

​​

 

 

Wings
Coordinator: Barbara Smith

1327 East Central Avenue, Suite 5
Lafollette, TN 37766
Open: Wed – Thurs, 11 AM - 6; Fri, 11 AM – 7 PM Sat, 10 AM – 6 PM
Counties Covered: Campbell

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR KEN YAGER--(865)

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE DENNIS POWERS--(615)

​​

 

 

HELEN ROSS MCNABB CENTER
Host Agency Contact: Jana Morgan

526 Lamar Street
Knoxville, TN 37917

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR STACY CAMPFIELD--(865)

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE GLORIA JOHNSON--(865)

​​

 

 

Friendship House

Coordinator: Michelle Palmer

526 Lamar Street
Knoxville, TN 37917
Open: Tues., Thurs. & Sat. 10 AM to 2 PM
Wed. & Fri. 10 AM to 6 PM
Counties Covered: Knox

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR STACY CAMPFIELD--(865)

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE GLORIA JOHNSON--(865)

​​

 

 

PENINSULA BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
Host Agency Contact: Mary Nelle Osborne

1451 Dowell Springs Blvd Suite 101
Knoxville, TN 37909-2451

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR STACY CAMPFIELD--(865)

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE STEVE HALL--

​​

 

 

Maryville Wellness Recovery Center
Coordinator: Joey Amason

532 E. Broadway Avenue
Box 9
Maryville, TN 37804
Open: Mon – Thus, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Counties Covered: Blount

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR DOUG OVERBEY--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE ART SWANN--

​​

 

 

 

Sevierville Wellness Recovery Center
Coordinator: Marjorie Diefenbach

509 High Street
Sevierville, TN 37862
Open: Mon – Thur, 11 am – 6 pm
Counties Covered: Sevier

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR DOUG OVERBEY--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE DALE CARR--

​​

 

 

Knox Wellness Recovery Center
Interim Coordinator: Leslie Judson

1451 Dowell Spring Road
Knoxville, TN 37919
Open: Tuesday- Thursday 3-7
Counties Covered: Knox

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR STACY CAMPFIELD--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE STEVE HALL--

​​

 

 

REGION III

 

FORTWOOD CENTER
Host Agency Contact: Dot Stephens

1028 East 3rd Street
Chattanooga, TN 37403

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR TODD GARDENHIRE--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE JOANNE FAVORS--

​​

 

Lighthouse Peer Support Center
Coordinator: Marty Davis

509 South Highland Park
Chattanooga, TN 37403-4116
Open: Monday – Thursday 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Saturday – 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Counties Covered: Hamilton

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR TODD GARDENHIRE--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE JOANNE FAVORS--

​​

 

 

VOLUNTEER BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Host Agency Contact: Vicki Harden

 

 

The Cottage
Coordinator: Paul Turney

112 College Street
Jasper, TN 37347
Open: Mon, Wed, Fri 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM
Tues &Thurs 10:30 AM – 7:00 pm
Counties Covered: Marion, Grundy

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR JANICE BOWLING--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE BILLY SPIVEY--

​​

 

 

Dakoda Place - Athens
Coordinator: Tina Gesolgon

PO Box 685
424 Old Riceville Road
Athens, TN 37303
Open: Monday – Friday 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Counties Covered: McMinn

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR MIKE BELL--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE JOHN FORGETY--

​​

 

 

Dakoda Place - Cleveland
Coordinator: Tina Gesolgon

940 South Ocoee Street
Cleveland, TN 37311
Open: Tues & Thurs 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Counties Covered: Bradley

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR MIKE BELL--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN BROOKS--

​​

 

 

Friends & Company
Coordinator: Angela Smithers
or
1200 S. Willow Avenue
Cookeville, TN 38503
Open: Tues 12-5; Wed - Fri 9-5
Counties Covered: Putnam, White

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR CHARLOTTE BURKS--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE RYAN WILLIAMS--

​​

 

 

Friendship Circle
Coordinator: Becky Porter

412 Delaware Avenue
Dayton, TN 37321
Open: Monday – Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Counties Covered: Rhea

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR KEN YAGER--(865)

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE RON TRAVIS--

​​

 

 

My Friends House
Coordinator: Linda Joan Smith

209 B South Church Street
Livingston, TN 38570
Open: Monday – Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Counties Covered: Overton, Clay, Pickett

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR CHARLOTTE BURKS--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE JOHN MARK WINDLE--

​​

 

 

 

PREPS Center
Coordinator: Sandra Crabtree

47 Willow Street
Crossville, TN 38555
Open: Mon - Fri 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
2nd Friday 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
2nd Saturday 9:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Counties Covered: Cumberland

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR CHARLOTTE BURKS--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE CAMERON SEXTON--

​​

 

 

Harmony House
Coordinator: Mary Webb

107 Lyon Street Suite 3
McMinnville, TN 37110
Open: Monday - Thursday, 8 am to 2 pm
Counties covered: Warren

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR JANICE BOWLING--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE CHARLES CURTISS--

​​

 

 

 

REGION IV

 


CENTERSTONE


Host Agency Contact: Mary Moran

1101 Sixth Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37208

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR THELMA HARPER--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE MIKE TURNER--

​​

 

 

ReConnect Nashville
Coordinator: Greg Bennett
or
1101 Sixth Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37208
Open: Monday – Friday 10 – 4 open one Saturday per month
Counties Covered: Davidson

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR THELMA HARPER--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE MIKE TURNER--

​​

 

REGION V

 

CENTERSTONE
Host Agency Contact: Mary Moran

1101 Sixth Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37208

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR THELMA HARPER--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE MIKE TURNER--

​​

 

 

ReConnect Clarksville
Regional Coordinator: Carla Sanders
or
611 8th St.
Clarksville, TN 37040
Open: Mon – Fri 10 – 4; open one Saturday per month
Counties Covered: Montgomery, Robertson

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR MARK GREEN--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE JOE PITTS--

​​

 

 

ReConnect Dickson
Regional Coordinator: Carla Sanders
or
224 N Main ST
Dickson, TN 37055-1802
Open: Mon – Fri 10 – 4; open one Saturday per month
Counties Covered: Dickson

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR JIM SUMMERVILLE--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE DAVID SHEPARD--

​​

 

 

ReConnect Tullahoma
Regional Coordinator: Brenda Hargrove

709 North Davidson St
Tullahoma, TN 37388
Open: Mon – Fri 10 – 4; open one Saturday per month
Counties Covered: Coffee, Lincoln

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR JANICE BOWLING--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE JUDD MATHENY--

​​

 

 

ReConnect Columbia
Regional Coordinator: Wanda Yeager
or
6011 Trotwood Avenue
Columbia, TN 38401
Open: Mon – Fri 10 – 4; open one Saturday per month
Counties Covered: Maury, Lawrence

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR JOEY HENSLEY--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVVE SHEILA BUTT--

​​

 

 

ReConnect Shelbyville
Contact Person: Brenda Hargrove
or
1110 Woodbury Street
Shelbyville, TN 37160
Open: Mon – Fri 10 – 4; open one Saturday per month
Counties Covered: Bedford

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR JIM TRACY--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE PAT MARSH--

​​

 

 

VOLUNTEER BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Host Agency Contact: Vicki Harden

 

 

Enrichment House
Coordinator: Effie Cates

538 East Main Street
Gallatin, TN 37066
Open: Tues – Fri 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Counties Covered: Sumner, Wilson

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR FERRELL HAILE—(

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE WILLIAM LAMBERTH--

​​

 

 

Our Place
Coordinator: Lyndi Shupp

120 S. Hancock Street
Murfreesboro, TN 37130
Open: Mon – Thurs & Sat 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Counties Covered: Rutherford

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR BILL KETRON--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE RICK WOMICK--

​​

 

 

REGION VI

 

CAREY COUNSELING CENTER
Host Agency Contact:
Sherri Sedgebear

PO Box 793
Huntingdon, TN 38344

 

 

Liberty Place
Coordinator: Priscilla Johnson

111 East Eaton St
Trenton, TN 38382
Open: Tues – Fri 10-8; Sat 8-4
Counties Covered: Gibson

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR JOHN STEVENS--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE CURTIS HALFORD--

​​

 

 

Outreach Center
Coordinator: Kathy Graham

1539 Hwy 69 North
Paris, TN 38242
Open: Tues- Fri 10-6; Sat 8-4
Counties Covered: Henry

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR JOHN STEVENS--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE TIM WIRGAU--

​​

 

 

C.A.R.E.S. Center
Coordinator: Teresa Madison

946 Flatwoods Road
Camden, TN 38320
Open: Thurs – Fri 9-4; Sat 9-3
Counties Covered: Benton

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR JOHN STEVENS--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE TIM WIRGAU--

​​

 

 

Sunrise Outreach Center
Coordinator: Shawna Williams

110 East Church Street
Union City, TN 38261
Open: Tues – Fri 10-6; Sat 8-4
Counties Covered: Obion

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR JOHN STEVENS--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE ANDY HOLT--

​​

 

 

PATHWAYS
Host Agency Contact: Pat Taylor

238 Summar Dr
Jackson, TN 38301

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR LOWE FINNEY--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTIVE JOHNNY SHAW--

​​

 

The Hope Center
Coordinator: Debbi Young

222 E. Court St. Suite A
Dyersburg, TN 38024
Open: Tues – Thurs 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Counties Covered: Crockett, Dyer, Lake

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR LOWE FINNEY--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE BILL SANDERSON--

​​

 

 

Rainbow Center
Coordinator: Thomas Byars

67 American Drive
Jackson, TN 38301
Open: Tue, Wed & Thurs 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Counties Covered: Madison, Haywood

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR LOWE FINNEY--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE JIMMY ELDRIDGE--

​​

 

Comfort Center
Coordinator: Kim Buckley

300 Holly Street
Lexington, TN 38351
Open: Mon - Fri 8:00 AM-4:00 PM
Counties Covered: Henderson

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR DELORES GRESHAM--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE STEVE MCDANIEL--

​​

 

 

PROFESSIONAL CARE SERVICES
Host Agency Contact: Jimmie Jackson

1997 Hwy 51 S
Covington, TN 38019

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR MARK NORRIS--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE DEBRA MOODY--

​​

 

 

Hearts in Hands
Coordinator: Brenda Robbins

12615 S. Main
Somerville, TN 38068
Open: Mon, Tues, Thurs, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Wed 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Counties Covered: Fayette

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR DELORES GRESHAM--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE BARRETT RICH--

​​

 

 

Togetherness House
Coordinator: Melissa Belair

477-B South Washington
Ripley, TN 38063
Open: Mon, Wed, Fri, 8:30 – 5; Tues, 9 – 5; Thurs, 1-5
Counties Covered: Lauderdale, Tipton

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR LOWE FINNEY--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE CRAIG FITZHUGH--

​​

 

QUINCO MENTAL HEALTH CENTER
Host Agency Contact: Heather King

10710 Old Hwy 64
Bolivar, TN 38008

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR DELORES GRESHAM--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTIVE JOHNNY SHAW--

​​

 

 

Horizon of Bolivar
Coordinator: Shirley Kelley

428 W. Market St.
Bolivar, TN 38008-2606
Open Tues-Fri, 8 am – 4 pm
Counties Covered: Hardeman, Chester

 

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR DELORES GRESHAM--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTIVE JOHNNY SHAW--

​​

 

 

Horizon of Savannah
Coordinator: Jana James

430 Pinhook Drive
Savannah, TN 38372
Open: Wednesday – Friday 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Counties Covered: Hardin, McNairy

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR DELORES GRESHAM--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE VANCE DENNIS--

​​

 

 

REGION VII

 

SOUTHEAST MENTAL HEALTH CENTER
Host Agency Contact:
Debra Dillon

135 N. Pauline
Memphis, TN 38104

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR JIM KYLE--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE JOHN DEBERRY--

​​

 

 

Turning Point
Coordinator: Zoe Simpson

4088 Summer Ave
Memphis, TN 38122
Open: Mon., Thurs. & Fri. 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Counties Covered: Shelby

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR BRIAN KELSEY--

​​

 

​​REPRESENTATIVE G. A. HARDAWAY--

​​

 

 

Tennessee Mental Health Consumers’ Association
Host Agency Contact: Lori Rash

 

The Beers-Van Gogh Peer Center
Coordinator: Megan Hoffmann

669 Madison Ave
Memphis, TN 38103
Open: Mon – Fri 12 PM to 5 PM
Counties Covered: Shelby

 

 

CONTACT:​SENATOR JIM KYLE--

​​

 

REPRESENTATIVE JOHN DEBERRY--

​​

 

1

 

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Patient Protection/Affordable Care Act

1/23/2014

0 Comments

 
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Join DBSA in blocking efforts to end medications for consumers

1/23/2014

0 Comments

 
DBSA Opposes CMS Proposal to Eliminate Access to Mental Health Treatments as Part of the "Six Protected Classes"In a misguided effort to save money, CMS proposal would deny vital treatments for people with mental health conditions who are covered under Medicare Part DChicago, IL (January 17, 2014)  
On January 6, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) circulated a proposed rule that would remove antidepressants and immunosupressants from the protected class status they received under Medicare Part D in 2015, and to remove antipsychotics from that status in 2016. Despite a growing public recognition of America’s mental health treatment crisis, the Administration inexplicably proposed undoing one of Medicare’s signature protections for people with mental health conditions by suggesting that when it comes to drug treatment one size fits all.

“DBSA advocates for the right of people with mental health conditions like depression or bipolar disorder to choose their own paths to mental, emotional, and physical wellness,” stated Allen Doederlein, President of DBSA. “Implementation of this proposed ruling has the potential not only to undermine hard-won treatment advances a person with a mental health condition may have made, but also to undermine a person’s ability to choose the right treatment that a clinician identifies as the best fit for a serious, life-threatening condition.”

For nearly a decade, the “six protected class” policy has ensured that Medicare patients with mental health conditions, many of whom have severe, treatment-resistant symptoms, have access to the most appropriate drug without having to go through “fail-first” experiences or lengthy appeals and grievance processes.  Often, delays caused by these processes can result in suicide and other tragic outcomes, and inadequate treatment leaves people open to relapse, co-occurring conditions which greatly shorten lifespans, and increased suicide risk.

Commenting on the proposed ruling, Joseph R. Calabrese, MD, Director, Mood Disorders Program, Bipolar Dis. Research Chair & Professor of Psychiatry and Dir. Bipolar Disorders Research Center at Case Western Reserve University, stated “the effectiveness and tolerability of antidepressants can vary greatly among people who choose this treatment option. Our extensive clinical experience demonstrates that the best therapy for one person may be ineffective or poorly tolerated in another individual. Moreover, successful treatment frequently involves trial of several different medications in a quest to find the best treatment in terms of efficacy and tolerability. As a result, it is important that people with mental health conditions have access to a wide variety of treatments and that clear information about these options is available both to clinicians and the individuals they serve and treat.”

We understand that the Administration's proposal represents an effort to save money.  However, CMS has clearly failed to anticipate the predictable increase in costs to both Medicaid and Medicare Part A from the resulting spike in inpatient admissions.  The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance strongly opposes this proposed rule and is joining other stakeholders in the fight against it. These activities include submitting comments to the regulatory rulemaking process which are due on March 7.

Background:  In 2005, CMS directed that Part D formularies include all or substantially all drugs in six drug classes, including: antidepressant; antipsychotic; anticonvulsant; immunosuppressant (to prevent rejection of organ transplants); antiretroviral (for the treatment of infection by retroviruses, primarily human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); and antineoplastic. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act created the six protected classes, and the Affordable Care Act also defined them by name. Today, Medicare Part D plans must carry "all or substantially all" of the chemically distinct drugs in these categories on their formularies. For other categories, the plans can typically carry one brand-name drug and one generic drug.

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It's time for Awards for State DBSA Chapters

1/21/2014

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DBSA TENNESSEE WAS RECENTLY NOMINATED TO RECEIVE THE DBSA OUTSTANDING STATE ORGANIZATION FOR 2013 AWARD. BELOW IS ONE OF THE LETTERS OF NOMINATION FOR THAT AWARD.

                            NOMINATION

                                      FOR

   OUTSTANDING STATE ORGANIZATION FOR 2013

As one of the fourteen existing state chapters, DBSA Tennessee is one of the most energetic. The chapter has proven itself active in encouraging local chapters, advocating for mental health and educating and reaching out to the community, both those in need of support and communities at large. The state website, which drew over 10,200 hits in 2013, maintains a complete list of chapters and support groups across the state of Tennessee, including contact information, addresses and meeting times in order to better connect those in need with support groups.

 

From an educational standpoint, DBSA Tennessee assisted its local chapters with two state meetings. These meetings included educational presentations which introduced chapter leaders to an organization to provide legal assistance to the neediest consumers as well as providing training programs for peer support. These programs proved beneficial to chapter leaders by giving them the tools necessary for successful chapters. The state chapter also recruited participants for Peer Advocate training in July, with chapter members volunteering for training and committing to the success of 2014’s advocacy initiatives.

 

In 2013, five members of DBSA Tennessee attended the DBSA Peer Advocate Training in Washington, DC. Two trained Peer Advocates represented DBSA at Mental Health Day on Capitol Hill. These members also created an advocacy plan for the state of Tennessee. Additionally, DBSA Tennessee led a campaign against proposed state budget cuts to close all 45 of Tennessee’s Peer Support Service Centers leaving 3500 people per month out in the cold. The campaign included recruiting local chapter members to send Christmas cards to the governor. The statewide goal of this grassroots effort was 300 cards. This campaign was the first concerted effort a statewide organization waged on decisions affecting peer support centers, letting the governor know that our state deserves and needs what peer support centers add to the mental health system in Tennessee. Both the State Director and the Assistant Director serve on the Consumer Advisory Board of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. DBSA Tennessee was a sponsor for the statewide annual conference of the Tennessee Health Care Campaign, a mental health care advocacy organization. As a sponsor, the state organization provided for two scholarships and maintained a DBSA chapter exhibit at the state conference.

 

A community outreach effort was initiated by a local DBSA chapter with the encouragement of the state chapter. A coalition between DBSA and a local NAMI chapter to reach the community of Chattanooga resulted in a Mental Health Day (as declared by the mayor) in the city. The chapter initiated a day devoted to mental health including a multimedia presentation and panel of local experts giving a question and answer session and booths set up by local providers. The primary organizer, a chapter leader of DBSA Chattanooga, presented, with multimedia, the steps to creating such a community event at the state organization meeting held later that month. DBSA Tennessee led and supported five local chapters—Chattanooga, Madison, Bolivar, Memphis and Jackson, to participate in radio and newspaper interviews to promote and reach out to the community, including one live in studio television segment.

 

By and large, DBSA Tennessee’s most impressive accomplishment is their plan for helping new chapters in the startup process. Starting a new chapter can be a daunting task, but DBSA Tennessee has made that process much smoother for those wishing to start a new DBSA chapter. DBSA Tennessee has a solid plan in place for assisting those individuals. This plan includes helping new chapter leaders find a free location for meetings, provides assistance in affiliation and incorporation process with money earmarked for this purpose, assigns a sponsor from an already established chapter to assist the budding chapter leader, gives printed material and information to the new chapter, trains the facilitator and furnishes personal support to the new leader. New chapter locations are listed on the national website under the established chapter sponsoring them. After three successful months of meetings, DBSA Tennessee pays forward a portion of the affiliation and one time incorporation fee for the new chapter. Once the new chapter is established, it then pays into the fund for future chapters. This plan has proven successful in the creation of the new chapter in Murfreesboro which was successfully built to nearly double the initial attendance and has enlisted the financial support of State Representative Scott DeJarlais. Initial work is completed for new startup chapters in Clarksville, East Nashville and Knoxville with interest and steps taken by the cities of Columbia and Union City. Additionally, new support groups have been established in Memphis, Jackson, Madison, and Chattanooga.

 

DBSA Tennessee is a growing, thriving chapter of the National DBSA organization. With its advocacy for peer support and local chapter startup, community outreach and commitment to peer education, the chapter is, indeed, among the most energetic in the organization.

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Meet Jackson

1/19/2014

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Take time to show you care

1/17/2014

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News of our heros makes the front page of USA Today!

A large number of these men and women suffer from mental health challenges. They are our special brothers and sisters. Let's ask why they are without adequate treatment.

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Make your signature count in 30 seconds

1/16/2014

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The petition for peer centers

by hopeworkscommunity

Please sign and pass it on to as many people as you can.  We need signatures.

 

I’ve started the petition “Governor Bill Haslam: Restore funding to the 45 peer support centers in Tennessee” and need your help to get it off the ground.

Will you take 30 seconds to sign it right now? Here’s the link:

http://www.change.org/petitions/governor-bill-haslam-restore-funding-to-the-45-peer-support-centers-in-tennessee

Here’s why it’s important:

 

The 45 peer support centers in Tennessee serve an average of 3500 a day.  For literally a few dollars a day they provide a safe, positive, supporting and therapeutic environment to their members.  They reduce hospitalization 93% for their members.  They provide success to many people who have never known it.  For many people they are the mental health system.  The 4.5 million dollars currently budgeted is a bargain financially, socially and emotionally.  Please keep the peer centers in Tennessee

 

You can sign my petition by clicking here.

Thanks!
Larry Drain

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Sign our petition to save 45 peer service centers

1/13/2014

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Please sign and pass on to others


     DBSA Tennessee is determined to give voice to the great need of the most vulnerable consumers of our state. Larry Drain, Legislative Liaison for State Affairs, provides you a convient way to sign on to a petition calling on Governor to reverse direction.

Thank you,

Steve Brannon


I've started the petition "Governor Bill Haslam: Restore funding to the 45 peer support centers in Tennessee" and need your help to get it off the ground.

Will you take 30 seconds to sign it right now? Here's the link:

http://www.change.org/petitions/governor-bill-haslam-restore-funding-to-the-45-peer-support-centers-in-tennessee

Here's why it's important:

The 45 peer support centers in Tennessee serve an average of 3500 a day.  For literally a few dollars a day they provide a safe, positive, supporting and therapeutic environment to their members.  They reduce hospitalization 93% for their members.  They provide succes to many people who have never known it.  For many people they are the mental health system.  The 4.5 million dollars currently budgeted is a bargain financially, socially and emotionally.  Please keep the peer centers in Tennessee

You can sign my petition by clicking here.

Thanks! 
Larry Drain

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My spiritual work in DBSA

1/13/2014

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DBSA(Depression Bipolar Support Alliance)Jackson Pushes Back Against Stigma

                   Steve Brannon

I identify myself as “spiritual but not religious”. And one of my core beliefs is that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. We enrich this experience by remembering/acknowledging/honoring our oneness with the Source and with each other. To do this, we must embrace our neighbor as an individual, regardless of their state of their physical or mental health, the size of their wallet, the “correctness” of their religious views. For the past twelve years, my work as Founder and President of DBSA Jackson has focused on the “consumers” (individuals utilizing mental health services for depression and bipolar disorder), as well as their family and friends. Together, we have created a supportive “understanding family” comprised of a plurality of belief systems.

As “progressive” as we like to think we’ve become, there is still an enormous stigma attached to mental illness. We all have our problems and worries, and we all have coping mechanisms—some healthy, and some, not so much—that we use to deal with them. However, what about those among us that need help managing their mental health challenges? Faced with the very real prospect of rejection, they are silenced and cut off from the world. Unfortunately, many religious institutions reflect this societal view, and this has only further isolated those dealing with mood disorders.

Mother Teresa did not shy away from those facing challenges. On the contrary, she gravitated not to the pillars of society, but to those considered less fortunate and even, by some, undesirable, most notably the poor and infirm. It is with a desire to serve that I have based my organization’s community outreach: first, to in-patients in a behavioral health facility and, secondly, to a population of consumers in the larger community. My inspirational support meetings provide spiritual encouragement to in-patients and other consumers suffering from mood disorders, regardless of the person’s faith (or lack thereof). The aim is to create a supportive, trustworthy, respectful, non-judgmental, and nurturing atmosphere where these individuals can safely explore and strengthen their desire for wellness and contributing to society.

I begin these meetings with a moment of silence in which we remember “those members of our family that we have yet to meet.” A central message of our work is that everyone needs time to be alone and go within: what I refer to as visiting the “inner sanctuary”. In my book, The Two Agreements, I discuss the importance of entering the “stillness” and the “Silence” to find one’s own connection with the Source, on their own terms, rather than those imposed upon them by any person, organization, or religious dictates.    

I am also sensitive to the fact that mental illness does not only affect the consumer, but their loved ones as well. That’s why I hold a second meeting each week that’s open to friends and family in need of support. Many focus all of their energy and attention trying to help the diagnosed person. Others are frightened away, and remain distant from the person experiencing the illness. Still others report feeling hurt, helpless, overwhelmed, confused, sad, guilty and ashamed because of their loved one’s illness. I believe that no matter the reaction, these family members and friends need support and comfort as they walk the often-challenging road to wellness alongside their loved one. To this end, my work includes special events that build a family atmosphere and promotes healthy relationships between people with illnesses, family and friends from different walks of life.

I believe that bringing consumers out of isolation helps push back against stigma. Both of the groups that meet weekly, our understanding family, are part of a larger mosaic. Within that mosaic, our family demonstrates the necessity of unity not only to these individuals and to their loved ones but also, on a deeper level, the human family, and our connection with one another. Spiritually speaking, the esoteric teachings of major religions speak of an underlying unity in all of creation, an eternal oneness.

In these most trying of times, our inspirational support group and network creates a safe place, in space and time, for these vulnerable individuals and their loved ones.  The result is that they maintain their treatment plan and likely avoid hospitalization. There are a number of fully-employed consumers who regularly attend our meetings and events. These individuals claim they gain the strength to work and contribute to the community because of the support and encouragement they receive. In helping every consumer in our organization to “be well and live well”, we are pushing back against stigma in a most profound way.

S.L. Brannon on DBSA Life Unlimited web site -- http://bit.ly/1kEBzlZ

The Two Agreements fb page -- http://bit.ly/the2agree

DBSATennessee.org

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Severe Changes to TennCare for July 1, 2014

1/7/2014

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Below is the news release from Governor Haslam and our elected officials on cuts in services to Medicaid to be effective July 1, 2014. Tennesseans are loosing in every way as the expansion to Medicaid, with the huge funding it brings, is refused by Governor Haslam. I urge readers to use the contact information at the end of the release to inform our representatives and senators of the sufferings that will result by the implementation of Amendment 21.
Thank you, Larry, for bringing the announcement to our attention. [Larry Drain, Legislative Liaison for State Legislative Affairs, DBSA Tennessee]


Notice of Change in TennCare II Demonstration Amendment 21 

The Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration is providing official notification, pursuant to 42 CFR § 447.205 and 59 Fed. Reg. 49249, of intent to file an amendment to the TennCare II Demonstration, as well as corresponding amendments to the Medicaid State Plan. The amendments will be filed with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal agency located in Baltimore, Maryland, with a Regional Office in The State is required to meet certain advance notice obligations whenever an amendment to the TennCare Demonstration is filed. This demonstration amendment, which will be known as “Amendment 21,” is being filed with a proposed effective date of July 1, 2014. The benefits 
listed in this notice are currently supported with non-recurring funds that have been made available through a hospital assessment fee scheduled to expire on June 30, 2014. Should the fee be renewed, the changes contained in Amendment 21 will not occur.

Amendment 21 will eliminate certain currently covered services and establish benefit limits on others. Children under 21 will not be affected by these changes. Eligibility for TennCare will not be affected by these changes. Pregnant women and institutionalized persons will not be affected by proposed benefit limits; however, they will be affected by the elimination of coverage for occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy.

The specific changes to be made are as follows:
• Implementation of a combined annual limit of 8 days per person for inpatient hospital and inpatient psychiatric hospital services
• Implementation of an annual limit on non-emergency outpatient hospital occasions of 8 per person (an “occasion” is a day)
• Implementation of a combined annual limit on health care practitioners’ office visits of 8 “occasions” per person (an “occasion” is a day)
• Implementation of an annual limit on lab and X-ray services of 8 occasions per person (an “occasion” is a day)
• Elimination of coverage for occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy

It is our intention to submit this amendment to CMS with the request that it be approved in time for implementation to occur on July 1, 2014. Corresponding State Plan Amendments will be filed, where appropriate. We estimate that implementation of the amendment and corresponding State Plan changes will result in a decrease in aggregate annual expenditures of $302,722,400 in State Fiscal Year 2015. 

Copies of this notice will be available at county health departments in Tennessee, and on the TennCare website located online at http://www.tn.gov/tenncare/.

Written comments may be submitted by email to Susie.Baird@tn.gov or may be mailed to Mr. Darin Gordon, Director, Bureau of TennCare, 310 Great Circle Road, Nashville, Tennessee 37243. Persons wishing to review copies of written comments received may submit their requests to the same email and/or physical address.
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Medicaid expansion? It's simple to answer the question

1/7/2014

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The question is a simple one. Do you, as a consumer, want more of your fellow consumers to get help or do you want fewer of your fellow consumers to get help? Now, I hope I know what your answer is going to be.


Peacefulness to you . . .





Medicaid expansion and the mental health budget

by hopeworkscommunity


The article below points out some amazing facts about the relationship of medicaid expansion to the mental health budget in many states. It is well worth reading and pondering.

Overall roughly 40% of state mental health budget dollars go towards paying for services for poor people with little or no insurance. In 2009 it amounted to over 16 billion dollars. With mental health parity now the law of the land mental health expenses can only go up. When a state like Tennessee refuses to accept federal dollars for medicaid expansion the only possible result is a growing strain on state mental health budgets that in the end can only hurt an already hurting system. It will be a larger and larger hole with more and more people trapped in it.

In Tennessee we see the developing storm. Let me start by saying I have no inside facts. What follows is my attempt to make sense of things. If anyone wants to share better sense I will gladly listen.

A large portion of the Tennessee state funds for mental health goes to people with little or no insurance. The behavioral health safety net and state psychiatric hospitals are part of the expense but by no means all of it. The money that the state could save in mental health spending will as things stand now not happen.
Mental health parity will drive the costs up in unspecified ways. In the last 8 years we have cut over 165,000 dollars in tax income from state coffers. Not suprisingly when too much demand is tied to too little money someone is going to be left out.

Unless something changes the peer support centers in Tennessee will be eliminated. 4.5 million dollars will be saved. I dont know how you count what will be lost. Perhaps a bandaid will be found and we may escape the choices ahead. I hope so. I fervently hope so.

The savings of mental health dollars that medicaid expansion might give is all I can see that offer the opportunity to build a system that really does work and doesnt have to be refought each year. Let Governor Haslam know what you think.

The Washington Post
http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/07/05/how-the-medicaid-expansion-also-saves-states-money/
(from Easy Browser)

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Can you find me?  Mental Health Day '13

1/6/2014

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A BIG Thank You to everyone for a very successful Hill Day.  Over 700 people attended the event this year – 25 of them representing DBSA.   See if you can find yourself in this fantastic picture!

This was DBSA’s first year partnering with the National Council for Behavioral Health and we certainly made our presence known.  Our goal was to make sure the Peer voice was heard.  And heard it was!  We received recognition at the closing reception as the state and/or organization with the most peers in attendance.  And we were listed among the top ten tweeters for the event.

 Give yourself a big pat on the back, soak your tired feet, but don’t rest on your laurels, because this is just the beginning.  Look for e-mails from me in the very near future outlining how you can grow your advocacy efforts on the local, state and national level.

I am honored and proud to be part of such a dedicated and enthusiastic group of people.  Let’s keep the momentum going.

 Phyllis Foxworth
Advocacy and Communications Manager
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
p


 

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Can religion cause mental health problems?

1/4/2014

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I enjoy my spiritual life in every respect. To reach the place in my life of living in the liberty I enjoy, I first worked through a lot of "stuff" others taught me about the Creator. That stuff kept getting in my way of living in the natural harmony that I was born with. In fact, we are all born with a natural relationship with the Creator, a relationship of harmony.

Many of my friends enjoy a religious life. Our different paths to God do not get in the way of our friendship. However, I caution anyone seeking a spiritual life in organized religion to use wisdom. For years, I have supported folk in finding a better life as they suffered with mood disorders. Many of them are seeking a place of peace and acceptance with the power they believe gave them life. It is not their belief in a Creator God that causes them pain. It is the judgement they direct at themselves. They feel like they must be spiritual failures for God to punish them with a mental illness.

I came across the following article that brings a very interesting perspective to the situation I just described. In my book, I share my story of learning a new way of understanding God and interpreting Christianity's wisdom book. Since, I began living from the interpretation in my book, my life is one with peace and assurance and a wonderful absence of self judgement.

Peacefulness to you and yours . . .


Religious Trauma Syndrome: How Some Organized Religion Leads to Mental Health Problems

Posted on March 26, 2013
by Valerie Tarico

At age sixteen I began what would be a four year struggle with bulimia.  When the symptoms started, I turned in desperation to adults who knew more than I did about how to stop shameful behavior—my Bible study leader and a visiting youth minister.  “If you ask anything in faith, believing,” they said.  “It will be done.” I knew they were quoting the Word of God. We prayed together, and I went home confident that God had heard my prayers.

But my horrible compulsions didn’t go away. By the fall of my sophomore year in college, I was desperate and depressed enough that I made a suicide attempt. The problem wasn’t just the bulimia.  I was convinced by then that I was a complete spiritual failure. My college counseling department had offered to get me real help (which they later did). But to my mind, at that point, such help couldn’t fix the core problem: I was a failure in the eyes of God. It would be years before I understood that my inability to heal bulimia through the mechanisms offered by biblical Christianity was not a function of my own spiritual deficiency but deficiencies in Evangelical religion itself.

Dr. Marlene Winell is a human development consultant in the San Francisco Area. She is also the daughter of Pentecostal missionaries. This combination has given her work an unusual focus. For the past twenty years she has counseled men and women in recovery from various forms of fundamentalist religion including the Assemblies of God denomination in which she was raised. Winell is the author of Leaving the Fold – A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving their Religion, written during her years of private practice in psychology. Over the years, Winell has provided assistance to clients whose religious experiences were even more damaging than mine. Some of them are people whose psychological symptoms weren’t just exacerbated by their religion, but actually caused by it.

Two years ago, Winell made waves by formally labeling what she calls “Religious Trauma Syndrome” (RTS) and beginning to write and speak on the subject for professional audiences. When the British Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Psychologists published a series of articles on the topic, members of a Christian counseling associationprotested what they called excessive attention to a “relatively niche topic.” Onecommenter said, “A religion, faith or book cannot be abuse but the people interpreting can make anything abusive.”

Is toxic religion simply misinterpretation? What is religious trauma? Why does Winell believe religious trauma merits its own diagnostic label?  I asked her.

Let’s start this interview with the basics. What exactly is religious trauma syndrome?

Winell: Religious trauma syndrome (RTS) is a set of symptoms and characteristics that tend to go together and which are related to harmful experiences with religion. They are the result of two things: immersion in a controlling religion and the secondary impact of leaving a religious group. The RTS label provides a name and description that affected people often recognize immediately. Many other people are surprised by the idea of RTS, because in our culture it is generally assumed that religion is benign or good for you. Just like telling kids about Santa Claus and letting them work out their beliefs later, people see no harm in teaching religion to children.

But in reality, religious teachings and practices sometimes cause serious mental health damage. The public is somewhat familiar with sexual and physical abuse in a religious context. As Journalist Janet Heimlich has documented in, Breaking Their Will, Bible-based religious groups that emphasize patriarchal authority in family structure and use harsh parenting methods can be destructive.

But the problem isn’t just physical and sexual abuse. Emotional and mental treatment in authoritarian religious groups also can be damaging because of 1) toxic teachings like eternal damnation or original sin2) religious practices or mindset, such as punishment, black and white thinking, or sexual guilt, and 3) neglect that prevents a person from having the information or opportunities to develop normally.

Can you give me an example of RTS from your consulting practice?

Winell: I can give you many. One of the symptom clusters is around fear and anxiety. People indoctrinated into fundamentalist Christianity as small children sometimes have memories of being terrified by images of hell and apocalypse before their brains could begin to make sense of such ideas. Some survivors, who I prefer to call “reclaimers,” have flashbacks, panic attacks, or nightmares in adulthood even when they intellectually no longer believe the theology. One client of mine, who during the day functioned well as a professional, struggled with intense fear many nights. She said,

I was afraid I was going to hell. I was afraid I was doing something really wrong. I was completely out of control. I sometimes would wake up in the night and start screaming, thrashing my arms, trying to rid myself of what I was feeling. I’d walk around the house trying to think and calm myself down, in the middle of the night, trying to do some self-talk, but I felt like it was just something that – the fear and anxiety was taking over my life.

Or consider this comment, which refers to a film used by Evangelicals to warn about the horrors of the “end times” for nonbelievers.

 I was taken to see the film “A Thief In The Night”. WOW.  I am in shock to learn that many other people suffered the same traumas I lived with because of this film. A few days or weeks after the film viewing, I came into the house and mom wasn’t there. I stood there screaming in terror. When I stopped screaming, I began making my plan: Who my Christian neighbors were, who’s house to break into to get money and food. I was 12 yrs old and was preparing for Armageddon alone.

In addition to anxiety, RTS can include depression, cognitive difficulties, and problems with social functioning. In fundamentalist Christianity, the individual is considered depraved and in need of salvation. A core message is “You are bad and wrong and deserve to die.” (The wages of sin is death.) This gets taught to millions of children through organizations like Child Evangelism Fellowship and there is a group organized  to oppose their incursion into public schools.  I’ve had clients who remember being distraught when given a vivid bloody image of Jesus paying the ultimate price for their sins. Decades later they sit telling me that they can’t manage to find any self-worth.

After twenty-seven years of trying to live a perfect life, I failed. . . I was ashamed of myself all day long. My mind battling with itself with no relief. . . I always believed everything that I was taught but I thought that I was not approved by God. I thought that basically I, too, would die at Armageddon.

I’ve spent literally years injuring myself, cutting and burning my arms, taking overdoses and starving myself, to punish myself so that God doesn’t have to punish me. It’s taken me years to feel deserving of anything good.

Born-again Christianity and devout Catholicism tell people they are weak and dependent, calling on phrases like “lean not unto your own understanding” or “trust and obey.” People who internalize these messages can suffer from learned helplessness. I’ll give you an example from a client who had little decision-making ability after living his entire life devoted to following the “will of God.” The words here don’t convey the depth of his despair.

I have an awful time making decisions in general. Like I can’t, you know, wake up in the morning, “What am I going to do today? Like I don’t even know where to start. You know all the things I thought I might be doing are gone and I’m not sure I should even try to have a career; essentially I babysit my four-year-old all day.

Authoritarian religious groups are subcultures where conformity is required in order to belong. Thus if you dare to leave the religion, you risk losing your entire support system as well.

I lost all my friends. I lost my close ties to family. Now I’m losing my country. I’ve lost so much because of this malignant religion and I am angry and sad to my very core. . . I have tried hard to make new friends, but I have failed miserably. . . I am very lonely.

Leaving a religion, after total immersion, can cause a complete upheaval of a person’s construction of reality, including the self, other people, life, and the future. People unfamiliar with this situation, including therapists, have trouble appreciating the sheer terror it can create.

My form of religion was very strongly entrenched and anchored deeply in my heart. It is hard to describe how fully my religion informed, infused, and influenced my entire worldview. My first steps out of fundamentalism were profoundly frightening and I had frequent thoughts of suicide. Now I’m way past that but I still haven’t quite found “my place in the universe.

Even for a person who was not so entrenched, leaving one’s religion can be a stressful and significant transition.

Many people seem to walk away from their religion easily, without really looking back. What is different about the clientele you work with?

Winell: Religious groups that are highly controlling, teach fear about the world, and keep members sheltered and ill-equipped to function in society are harder to leave easily. The difficulty seems to be greater if the person was born and raised in the religion rather than joining as an adult convert. This is because they have no frame of reference – no other “self” or way of “being in the world.” A common personality type is a person who is deeply emotional and thoughtful and who tends to throw themselves wholeheartedly into their endeavors. “True believers” who then lose their faith feel more anger and depression and grief than those who simply went to church on Sunday.

Aren’t these just people who would be depressed, anxious, or obsessive anyways?

Winell: Not at all. If my observation is correct, these are people who are intense and involved and caring. They hang on to the religion longer than those who simply “walk away” because they try to make it work even when they have doubts. Sometime this is out of fear, but often it is out of devotion. These are people for whom ethics, integrity and compassion matter a great deal. I find that when they get better and rebuild their lives, they are wonderfully creative and energetic about new things.

In your mind, how is RTS different from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Winell: RTS is a specific set of symptoms and characteristics that are connected with harmful religious experience, not just any trauma. This is crucial to understanding the condition and any kind of self-help or treatment. (More details about this can be found on my Journey Free website and discussed in my talk at the Texas Freethought Convention.)

Another difference is the social context, which is extremely different from other traumas or forms of abuse. When someone is recovering from domestic abuse, for example, other people understand and support the need to leave and recover. They don’t question it as a matter of interpretation, and they don’t send the person back for more. But this is exactly what happens to many former believers who seek counseling. If a provider doesn’t understand the source of the symptoms, he or she may send a client for pastoral counseling, or to AA, or even to another church. One reclaimer expressed her frustration this way:

Include physically-abusive parents who quote “Spare the rod and spoil the child” as literally as you can imagine and you have one fucked-up soul: an unloved, rejected, traumatized toddler in the body of an adult. I’m simply a broken spirit in an empty shell. But wait…That’s not enough!? There’s also the expectation by everyone in society that we victims should celebrate this with our perpetrators every Christmas and Easter!!

Just like disorders such as autism or bulimia, giving RTS a real name has important advantages. People who are suffering find that having a label for their experience helps them feel less alone and guilty. Some have written to me to express their relief:

There’s actually a name for it! I was brainwashed from birth and wasted 25 years of my life serving Him! I’ve since been out of my religion for several years now, but i cannot shake the haunting fear of hell and feel absolutely doomed. I’m now socially inept, unemployable, and the only way i can have sex is to pay for it.

Labeling RTS encourages professionals to study it more carefully, develop treatments, and offer training. Hopefully, we can even work on prevention.

What do you see as the difference between religion that causes trauma and religion that doesn’t?

Winell: Religion causes trauma when it is highly controlling and prevents people from thinking for themselves and trusting their own feelings. Groups that demand obedience and conformity produce fear, not love and growth. With constant judgment of self and others, people become alienated from themselves, each other, and the world. Religion in its worst forms causes separation.

Conversely, groups that connect people and promote self-knowledge and personal growth can be said to be healthy. The book, Healthy Religion, describes these traits. Such groups put high value on respecting differences, and members feel empowered as individuals.  They provide social support, a place for events and rites of passage, exchange of ideas, inspiration, opportunities for service, and connection to social causes. They encourage spiritual practices that promote health like meditation or principles for living like the golden rule. More and more, nontheists are asking how they can create similar spiritual communities without the supernaturalism. An atheist congregation in London launched this year and has received over 200 inquiries from people wanting to replicate their model.

Some people say that terms like “recovery from religion” and “religious trauma syndrome” are just atheist attempts to pathologize religious belief.

Winell: Mental health professionals have enough to do without going out looking for new pathology. I never set out looking for a “niche topic,” and certainly not religious trauma syndrome. I originally wrote a paper for a conference of the American Psychological Association and thought that would be the end of it. Since then, I have tried to move on to other things several times, but this work has simply grown.

In my opinion, we are simply, as a culture, becoming aware of religious trauma.  More and more people are leaving religion, as seen by polls showing that the “religiously unaffiliated” have increased in the last five years from just over 15% to just under 20% of all U.S. adults. It’s no wonder the internet is exploding with websites for former believers from all religions, providing forums for people to support each other. The huge population of people “leaving the fold” includes a subset at risk for RTS, and more people are talking about it and seeking help.  For example, there are thousands of former Mormons, and I was asked to speak about RTS at an Exmormon Foundation conference.  I facilitate an international support group online called Release and Reclaim  which has monthly conference calls. An organization called Recovery from Religion, helps people start self-help meet-up groups

Saying that someone is trying to pathologize authoritarian religion is like saying someone pathologized eating disorders by naming them. Before that, they were healthy? No, before that we weren’t noticing. People were suffering, thought they were alone, and blamed themselves.  Professionals had no awareness or training. This is the situation of RTS today. Authoritarian religion is already pathological, and leaving a high-control group can be traumatic. People are already suffering. They need to be recognized and helped.

—-  Dr. Marlene Winell is a human development consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area and the author of Leaving the Fold – A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving their Religion. More information about Marlene Winell and resources for getting help with RTS may be found at Journey Free.  Valerie Tarico is a psychologist and writer in Seattle, Washington.  She is the author of Trusting Doubt: A Former Evangelical Looks at Old Beliefs in a New Light and Deas and Other Imaginings, and the founder of www.WisdomCommons.org.  Her articles can be found atAwaypoint.Wordpress.com.

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Peer Support Centers- What Are They Worth?

1/3/2014

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Larry Drain

by hopeworkscommunity

Tennessee according to current plans will do away with its 45 peer centers.  What exactly  will it lose.  This information comes directly from Tennessee Dept of Mental Health and Substance Abuse.

The peer centers in Tennessee serve an average of 3500 people a day.  They are served literally for dollars a day.  106 certified peer specialists are employed.  They serve every corner of the state.  Almost every community has access to at least once.  If you could put all the peer centers together in one location they would be by far the largest source of mental health services in the state of Tennessee.

They provide recovery education.  Quoting from the Department... "Trained Certified Peer Recovery Specialists lead evidence-based classes, covering such topics and curricula as the Wellness Recovery Action Plan, Illness Management and Recovery, the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, and the BRIDGES psycho-education course. Other topics include stress management, anger management, and grief counseling.

Each center also provides support groups to its members.  They provide opportunities to volunteer in the community and give back.  And perhaps most importantly an opportunity for socialization for people  who might otherwise have none... "Peer Support Centers provide socialization opportunities that address the isolation felt by many people who live with mental illness. Members enjoy going to local community events, such as art fairs, city clean-up days, or holiday festivals; playing games together, such as charades, cards, or even kickball; and even going out for lunch from time to time.

They make a difference.  Here is what the people attending centers say about what they got from the experience:

  • 96% felt better about themselves
  • 95% were better able to ask for help when needed.
  • 94% were more independent
  • 93% felt like they were more in control of their life.
  • 93% felt like they were less likely to go to a psychiatric hospital.
  • 91% felt like they were less lonely

Is there anything in your life that has such important impacts in your life??  How much would you be willing to pay for something that did?

And most importantly if you knew you could help other people to feel the same way about their life how much would you pay?  In a time when the government does so many things that dont make a difference how badly would you want them to continue doing this?

You can make a difference.  Speak now.  Speak loud.  Speak often.

Save the peer centers in Tennessee

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DBSA Support Groups Really Help

1/3/2014

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Support Groups Help

Depression and bipolar disorder can be isolating illnesses, but DBSA support groups can help you connect with others who have been there as well. Visit a DBSA support group and get the support that is essential to recovery.

Look in the support group listings on this site to find a meeting near you.Come and find the help you need to build a new life of fulfillment and happiness.

S.L. Brannon on DBSA Life Unlimited web site

http://bit.ly/1kEBzlZ

The Two Agreements fb page

http://bit.ly/the2agree

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