Advocate Support Blog

A Good Time Was Had By All

Today's bowling activity was a great success! I enjoyed seeing everyone having such a good time and can't wait till next month.

- Jim

Continuing Education for Professionals

Cross Country Education is a leader in educational products and services for the entire health care industry. Their seminars and training programs are designed to help health care providers achieve improved performance and results in all areas of clinical, financial and operational management. Their faculty of more than 150 instructors are the "best of the best" in their field of expertise and know how to provide programs that really make a difference to participants.

Since 1995, Cross Country Education has trained over 1,000,000 providers, managers, nurses, behavioral health professionals and other key personnel throughout the entire healthcare industry. They produce over 5,000 seminars and conferences annually for the health care industry. They also coordinate in-house training for health care facilities.

Cross Country Education is offering a training, "Ethical Pitfalls: Avoiding Professional Hazards", in September at several locations in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.

Visit them at http://www.crosscountryeducation.com for more information.

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Recent Jail Suicides Make The Capital Newspaper

Today I read an article by Scott Daugherty, Staff Writer for The Capital Newspaper, Annapolis, Maryland, entitled, "RECENT JAIL SUICIDES PROMPT REVIEW".

I was surprised to hear about the two recent suicides in our local detention center and even more surprised about the statistics Mr. Daugherty reported.

"According a report by the U.S. Department of Justice, 47 of every 100,000 inmates in local jails across the country in 2002 committed suicide. That is down from 129 of every 100,000 inmates in 1983."

However, the most interesting thing I read was regarding their screening process, "...the county currently screens inmates like most other jurisdictions in Maryland. She said a medical professional on staff at the jail - usually a nurse - questions the inmates about their physical and mental health within four hours of being booked into the detention facility.
The nurse asks an inmate 29 questions from a special questionnaire during the mental health screening to determine whether he should be placed on suicide watch or another form of segregation. The questions revolve primarily around the inmate's medical history, including whether they are on psychiatric medications, have attempted suicide before or spent time in a mental hospital. The nurse also asks questions about the inmate's feelings and looks to see if he is showing any signs of depression or anxiety, Ms. Harting said."

Conducting an assessment within fours of being booked into the detention center seems like they are being pretty pro-active and efficient, and having a protocol of questions that must be asked also seems like a prudent step.

Because they didn't elaborate more about the screening process, I couldn't tell why these two individuals weren't identified, or if they were, what went wrong.

Maybe the nurse doesn't have enough time for each assessment, maybe the nurse wasn't performing optimally during these two interviews, or maybe the "special questionnaire" is lacking. In all fairness, maybe everything was done perfectly, and sometimes, no matter how much expertise and effort is expended, someone determined to commit suicide will do so.

Hopefully the Superintendent will investigate and find more effective solutions.

We are very fortunate to live in the United States and I hope we can find solutions for the problems we have with our correctional facilities because they are a reflection of our society.

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Financial Stress?

A lot of the recent news has included stories about rising gas prices, increased energy costs, home foreclosures, falling stock prices, failing banks, and the list goes on, and on, and on.

For many months, people were afraid to use the "R" word, recession, but I think most "normal" people, meaning not a member of the wealthy, or ruling class, believe that the U.S. is now in a recession.

If our economy gets much worse, we may be headed for a DEPRESSION. I don't think that is going to happen, but it makes me wonder. If the U.S. were to experience another depression, would everyone technically be diagnosed with depression? Would our health care system have the capacity to provide all of the therapy sessions we would need to treat our depression. Would depression continue to be a disorder if everyone had it? Would the pharmaceutical company's have enough Prozac for everyone. If not, I could probably make my own Prozac in my bathtub, sell it on the streets, and make a fortune. So, a depression might be a good thing for me. But what if I was the only one who was not depressed?

Any way, the recent bombardment of bad financial and economic news made remember an episode of The Office I once watched, in which the main character Michael Scott, was having financial difficulties and was advised that he may have to "Declare Bankruptcy" by an office accountant. Michael didn't quite understand what his advisor meant. Take a look at the clip below. Hope it takes your mind off any financial stress you have and makes you smile.

Please don't take any advice from me or this blog without consulting a professional, but I can't stop you from "Declaring Bankruptcy" like Michael Scott.

Setting Goals

As we all know, life definitely has its challenges and struggles, and working through these
situations can be hard. One way that we can cope with these things is to work on a new outcome
by setting goals.

The way in which you set goal strongly affects their effectiveness. The following broad guidelines
apply to setting effective goals:

Positive Statement: express your goals positively: 'Execute this
technique well' is a much better goal than 'don't make this stupid mistake'.

Be Precise: if you set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts so that achievement can be measured, then you know the exact goal to be achieved, and can take complete satisfaction from having completely achieved it.

Set Priorities: where you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones. Write goals down to avoid confusion and give them more force.

Keep Operational Goals Small: Keep the goals you are working towards immediately (i.e. in this session) small and achievable. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making
progress towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward.
Today's goals should be derived from larger goals.

One more key point to remember! If you choose to set goals make sure to be realistic. For
example if your goal is to lose weight, be realistic, you aren’t going to drop 50lbs in a week and if you use that as a goal it will end in disappointment. Instead, try saying (or writing down as stated above) I’m going to change my eating habits and exercise first. Then try giving yourself a month to lose 5 or 10 pounds on you new diet regimen. Breaking down goals allows for you to get specific, realistic goals that you are able to attain. Be patient, stick to your goals, and you to following these steps can see results.

This post was taken from Advocate Support Services, Inc., Monthly Newsletter, March, 2008, submitted by Jennifer Cooper.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

If you need help, please call.

Each month, the Lifeline Network serves over 45,000 callers who are in emotional distress. You can reach the Lifeline by dialing 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Although suicide prevention is our primary mission, people call the Lifeline for many reasons:
Suicidal thoughts
Abuse/violence
Information on suicide
Economic problems
Information on mental health/ illness
Sexual orientation issues
Post-disaster needs
Homelessness issues
Substance abuse/addiction
Physical illness
To help a friend or loved one
Loneliness
Relationship problems
Family problems

Who Should Call?
• Anyone, but especially those who feel sad, hopeless, or suicidal
• Family and friends who are concerned about a loved one who may be experiencing these feelings
• Anyone interested in suicide prevention, treatment, and service referrals

Details About the Lifeline
• The service is free and confidential
• The hotline is staffed by trained counselors
• We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• We have information about support services that can help you

TTY Users
If you are a TTY user, please use our TTY number: 1-800-799-4TTY (4889)

For more detailed information visit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Understanding Depression

People sometimes have a hard time understanding the difference between depression and normal sadness. Dr. Eredlyi discusses the different kinds of depression, and how to recognize them.

SAMHSA Launches New Homelessness Resource Center Web Site

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced this week that they have launched a new Homelessness Resource Center Web site.

The Web site is designed to support individuals working to improve the lives of people affected by homelessness who have mental health conditions, substance use disorders, and histories of trauma.

“The new Homelessness Resource Center Web site provides a platform for creating an interactive community of providers, consumers, policymakers, researchers, and public agencies at federal, state, and local levels working to prevent and end homelessness,” said Terry Cline, Ph.D., SAMHSA administrator.

This social networking site is designed to help users network with other providers of homelessness services, such as by sharing knowledge and experiences. Other features include accessing resources from the library, downloading resources and practical tools, rating and commenting on content, posting helpful information, and learning about upcoming events.

Topics, such as how to reach out to the homeless, the transition from homelessness, health care, self care, and housing, are included to promote recovery-oriented and consumer-centered homeless services.

For more information, visit: http://www.homeless.samhsa.gov

SAMHSA is a public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation's substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment, and mental health services delivery system.