[NYAPRS Enews] NCMHR Releases Guidelines for Promoting Recovery Through Choice and Alternatives

[Harvey Rosenthal]

National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery

1101 15th Street, NW #1212 Washington, DC 20005 

Phone: 877-246-9058 (Toll Free)   Email: info at ncmhr.org   Web:
www.ncmhr.org


Press Release


For Immediate Release


National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery Releases Guidelines for
Promoting Recovery Through Choice and Alternatives


WASHINGTON, D.C. (4-28-11) - The National Coalition for Mental Health
Recovery (NCMHR), a national coalition of statewide consumer/survivor
organizations and others, has released guidelines to educate people
about the values-based needs of individuals with mental health
challenges. The guidelines - "Enhancing the Effectiveness of Psychiatric
Care and Other Services and Supports: Guidelines for Promoting Recovery
Through Choice and Alternatives" - were developed by a diverse group of
people with the lived experience of mental health recovery from across
the United States. They are available here
http://www.ncmhr.org/press-releases/4.28.11.htm#guidelines and pasted in
below. "It is our intention that these guidelines be used as a tool for
training and education of all community members interested in improving
the provision of mental health services and supports," said NCMHR
director Lauren Spiro. "It is our hope that the guidelines will be
incorporated into current efforts at mental health systems reform." 

 Spiro continued: "We express our support for all efforts to implement
these principles, and applaud the significant steps forward made during
the February 11-12, 2011, Medication Optimization Symposium convened by
providers and policy makers and inspired by the important work of
journalist Robert Whitaker and his latest book, 'Anatomy of An
Epidemic.' We congratulate Mr. Whitaker for having this book selected by
the Investigative Reporters and Editors Association as its winner in the
category of Best Investigative Journalism of 2010
http://www.ire.org/resourcecenter/contest/press/AwardsPR2010.pdf ."

 The National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery (NCMHR) will ensure
that consumer/survivors have a major voice in the development and
implementation of health care, mental health, and social policies at the
state and national levels, empowering people to recover and lead a full
life in the community.

 

Contact: Beckie Child, MSW, Director, Peerlink National Technical
Assistance Center

503-922-2377 (voice);  888-820-0138 (toll-free); TTY: Use 711 relay

2 p.m. - 8 p.m. EST or 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. PST 

For more information about the National Coalition, see www.ncmhr.org
<http://www.ncmhr.org/> , and for information on Emotional CPR, see
www.emotional-cpr.org <http://www.emotional-cpr.org/> 

 


Enhancing the Effectiveness of Psychiatric Care and Other Services and
Supports: 


Guidelines for Promoting Recovery Through Choice and Alternatives


We affirm the power of each person to discover his or her own path to
recovery. We are concerned about the over-reliance by health and mental
health care providers on psychiatric pharmaceuticals. We are pro-choice
regarding psychiatric medication, services and supports. 

We propose the following guidelines to the broad spectrum of health and
mental health care providers so that each individual is aided on his or
her recovery journey to the greatest extent possible: 

*        Promote hope, optimism, and the expectation of recovery in all
service settings. 

*        Services must be person-directed, culturally attuned and
trauma-informed.

*        The use of involuntary interventions, which should never be
considered treatment, is indicative of a failure to effectively engage
the individual(s) involved. Involuntary interventions should only be
used as a last resort, when all other approaches have been exhausted. 

*        Services must involve the availability of an array of options,
including psychotherapy, psychosocial rehabilitation programs, peer
support, holistic health services, and other community-based mental
health services and supports, as well as the availability of appropriate
and effective medication. 

*        Educate individuals accurately about what is known and not
known about a psychiatric diagnosis and about the wide range of possible
explanations of mental health symptoms. 

*        Adopt sound treatment protocols. This would include providing
individuals with accurate and up-to-date research about the potential
benefits, risks and side effects of medications and other treatments. It
would ensure their right to seek a second opinion - to allow for shared
decision-making and truly informed consent. 

*        Adhere to the fundamental medical principle "First, do no
harm." 

*        Ensure individuals' rights to accept or refuse treatment. 

*        From the outset, provide an array of medical and alternative
possibilities.

*        Do not use the term "medication cocktails" to describe
polypharmacy.

*        Educate individuals about the role that trauma may have in
their experience and the importance of healing trauma as they journey
toward recovery. Educate the community that trauma may play a
significant role in mental health issues.

*        Treat mental health crises as episodic and situational. Use
additional caution when prescribing medication during these instances. 

*        Employ holistic health assessments of mind, body and spirit.
Identify physical factors - such as sleeplessness, food allergies,
thyroid imbalance, medication side effects, and malnutrition - that may
contribute to symptoms. 

*        Ensure access to a wide range of supported wellness programs,
including healthy sleep education, exercise, peer support, therapy,
nutrition, and self-care education, such as the Wellness Recovery Action
Plan (WRAP), Person-Directed Planning, and Psychiatric Advance
Directives. 

*        Avoid prescribing psychiatric medications to children with
mental health challenges or addictions. Offer non-medication
alternatives whenever possible. 

*        Engage individuals experiencing "first-break psychosis" - the
initial crisis that first brings a person to mental health services -
with psychosocial alternatives to medication first. If necessary,
address sleep issues through medication as a first priority. When
medications are used to bring a person out of crisis, employ a clear
"exit strategy" to help the person move from medication reliance toward
alternative ways of addressing any ongoing or recurring mental distress,
whenever possible. 

*        Individuals' preferences in regard to reducing or discontinuing
medication must not affect their eligibility for other mental health
services, housing or income subsidies.

*        Provide access to peer support groups and to literature about
reducing and discontinuing psychiatric medications, with the
understanding that taking medication is a personal choice. 

*        Train providers and peers in the most effective use of
psychiatric medications - including the possibility of reducing and
discontinuing their use - and in empowerment, trauma-informed care, and
other client education, including shared decision-making. 

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