In the video below Steve Miccio talks about options to assisted outpatient treatment. He uses one phrase that I particulary like. He says, “…mental health treatment has a beginning and a middle and a middle and a middle….” He captures the crux of a really important issue. The one size fits all model of treatment so often seems indeterminable to be people. It seems not like a process worth working through, but of a point of perpetual existence.
Treatment that does not respect the different needs, personalities, strength, issues, goals and values of people will, as experience too often shows, become irrelevant and empty to the people it seeks to help. That is born out by the amount of people, many who see themselves as really needing more help than they can offer themselves, who conclude that the system has not much to offer. Many hang in there just hoping, but it is a fragile hope easily dampened by a system that seems unresponsive to them.
There are people I believe, for example, who will need psychotropic medication for the bulk of their life in order to function well. There are others that medication is only needed to get them past a crisis or issue and give them the chance to build independent capacity. There are some people who seem to do just fine with never using medication. I believe this is an indisputable fact because I know people who seem to fall in each category. They may argue forever about what group is the best, but that argument misses the point. Several groups exist because people are different and trying to say that everyone should be in one group is wrong and inadequate regardless of what group you praise.
For many people treatment is posed as a life sentence. Reality as I know it doesnt seem to reflect that. An more accurate question might be what are the necessary things for me to continue life with. Under what conditions can I let go of medication, therapy, support services etc. Life should be defined as more than what I must put up with if it is to be worth living. The ultimate lie is that if you have mental health issues you can never have a life worth living.
People need to take charge of their lives. They need to have options availible to them that reflect the diversity of their needs and values. Changes are happening in many places, but they are slower than anyone wants. In some areas the recovery model has begun to supersede the medical model as the governing paradigm, but it has taken a lot of effort and needs a lot more effort.
If you havent yet heard what Steve has to say I hope you will listen to the following video. There is a lot of wisdom in it. And remember only things that have an ending can really bring a birth of something new.
In the video below Steve Miccio talks about options to assisted outpatient treatment. He uses one phrase that I particulary like. He says, “…mental health treatment has a beginning and a middle and a middle and a middle….” He captures the crux of a really important issue. The one size fits all model of treatment so often seems indeterminable to be people. It seems not like a process worth working through, but of a point of perpetual existence.
Treatment that does not respect the different needs, personalities, strength, issues, goals and values of people will, as experience too often shows, become irrelevant and empty to the people it seeks to help. That is born out by the amount of people, many who see themselves as really needing more help than they can offer themselves, who conclude that the system has not much to offer. Many hang in there just hoping, but it is a fragile hope easily dampened by a system that seems unresponsive to them.
There are people I believe, for example, who will need psychotropic medication for the bulk of their life in order to function well. There are others that medication is only needed to get them past a crisis or issue and give them the chance to build independent capacity. There are some people who seem to do just fine with never using medication. I believe this is an indisputable fact because I know people who seem to fall in each category. They may argue forever about what group is the best, but that argument misses the point. Several groups exist because people are different and trying to say that everyone should be in one group is wrong and inadequate regardless of what group you praise.
For many people treatment is posed as a life sentence. Reality as I know it doesnt seem to reflect that. An more accurate question might be what are the necessary things for me to continue life with. Under what conditions can I let go of medication, therapy, support services etc. Life should be defined as more than what I must put up with if it is to be worth living. The ultimate lie is that if you have mental health issues you can never have a life worth living.
People need to take charge of their lives. They need to have options availible to them that reflect the diversity of their needs and values. Changes are happening in many places, but they are slower than anyone wants. In some areas the recovery model has begun to supersede the medical model as the governing paradigm, but it has taken a lot of effort and needs a lot more effort.
If you havent yet heard what Steve has to say I hope you will listen to the following video. There is a lot of wisdom in it. And remember only things that have an ending can really bring a birth of something new.
Take good care.