PROSUMER NEWS - Prosumers

P R O S U M E R — A P E R S O N W H O I S P R O A C T I V E I N H I S
O R H E R R E C O V E R Y A N D W H O G I V E S B A C K T O T H E
C O M M U N I T Y A Prosumer is not who you are, it is what you do!
P R O S U M E R N E W S
www.ProsumersInternational.org, Facebook—Prosumers & Prosumer Action Center, Twitter—ProsumersInt
Phone: 210-399-8734 Toll free number: 1-877-334-2717 (Please only use this if needed)
June 2012 Janet Paleo—Editor
Prosumer meetings in Texas:
San Antonio 2nd Friday (12-3 pm) and 3rd Tuesday (5-8 pm) of the month
Houston—2nd Saturday (12-3 pm) of the month
Volume 10, Issue 6
Prosumer Meetings
A consumer led, consumer developed
program that has you focus on wellness
and recovery.
The 2nd Friday of the Month
12 Noon to 3 PM
Prosumer Action Center
1921 Burnet, San Antonio,
78202
June 8 Meeting
Back to Work
We will be taking a look at what you need
to go back to work. Although coming up
with a resume and other details may
seem daunting, what really stops us is the
way we approach going back to work. All
the self-doubts, the wondering if they are
going to reject us, the exposure of who we
are and are people going to like us. All
those things make looking for work
difficult and then you add in “What if they
find out I have a diagnosis” We will
explore those topics and examine how to
overcome what stops us from achieving
our dreams.
July 13 Meeting
Finding your voice through Art
Art has always been an outlet for
people with mental illness. Van Gogh
created great works of art from within
the mental health hospital walls. We will
explore finding your voice utilizing art
and different styles of art. You will even
get a chance to create a piece of art for
yourself. We will look at community
resources that will help you continue on
with this expression of communication.
This is going to be a fun meeting.
If you would like meetings to be
interpreted in American Sign Language
or Spanish, please notify us 5 working
days prior to the meeting. Prosumer
meetings start with food, so please
remember to RSVP to 210-399-8734
or online so that we have enough
food to feed everyone. Thanks!
SA Prosumer Evening Meeting
The 3rd Tuesday of the Month
5 PM to 8 PM
Prosumer Action Center
1921 Burnet, San Antonio
June 19 Meeting
Back to Work
(See June 8 Description)
Houston Prosumer Meeting
The 2nd Saturday of the Month
12 PM to 3 PM
MHMRA of Harris County
June 9 Meeting
Drumming
Dr. Paul Warren will be teaching us the skills
around drumming. Drumming Therapy taps
into layers of the mind and body that other
modalities cannot. Studies have shown that
repetitive drumming changes brain wave
activity, inducing a state of calm and focused
awareness. You don’t want to miss this.
RSVP toll free for this meetings at
1-877-334-2717 or online at
www.ProsumersInternational.org
so we can order enough food.
Recovery Reads
The Recovery Reads book/reading club,
is designed to explore a wide range of
recovery and wellness-related topics. There
are monthly reading selections designed to
appeal to a diverse audience interested in
learning more about recovery. We believe that
Recovery Reads selections and
accompanying discussion questions are ripe
for community dialogues at Consumer-
Operated Service Providers, group
supervision at traditional mental health
provider organizations, and feeds into online
forum discussion at ViaHope.org. Like the
webinars, there is no competitive application
process, but you are required to register to
participate.
Go to www.ViaHope.org under Recovery
Institutes and then under Awareness Building
to find the link to register. You can participate
in the monthly book club ‘gatherings’ via
conference call or by webinar. The dates
for the next Recovery Reads are June
13, Jul 11 and Aug 8.
TWO Peer Trainings
Available in San Antonio
Focus for Life®
June 26-28, 2012 9 am — 4:30 pm
Prosumer Action Center
Registration Fee - $450
Scholarships are available
Class is limited to 30 participants.
A peer led training that builds the
resiliency in your life. In this training you
will learn the skills to be empowered in
your life such as:
Intentional Peer Support
August 27-31, 2012 9 am — 4:30pm
Prosumer Action Center
Registration Fee - $660
Scholarships are available
Class is limited to 20 participants
Intentional Peer Support is a way of thinking
about purposeful relationships. It is a
process where both people (or a group of
people) use the relationship to look at things
from new angles, develop greater awareness
of personal and relational patterns, and to
support and challenge each other as we try
new things. IPS has been used in crisis
respite (alternatives to psychiatric
hospitalization), by peers, mental health
professionals, families, friends and
community-based organizations.
You must preregister or apply for
scholarships for the classes by
calling 210-399-8734
or online at
www.ProsumersInternational.org

The Fable of the Fern and the
Bamboo
One day I decided to quitI quit my job,
my relationship, my spirituality. I wanted to
quit my life. I went to the woods to have one
last talk with God. “God”, I said. “Can you give
me one good reason not to quit”
His answer surprised me. “Look around”,
He said. “Do you see the fern and the
bamboo”
“Yes”, I replied.
“When I planted the fern and the bamboo
seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave
them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly
grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered
the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo
seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
In the second year the fern grew more
vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came
from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on
the bamboo.
In year three there was still nothing from
the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. The
same in year four.
Then in the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged
from the earth. Compared to the fern, it was
seemingly small and insignificant. But just six
months later, the bamboo rose to over 100
feet tall. It had spent the five years growing
roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it
what it needed to survive. I would not give any
of my creations a challenge it could not
handle.
Did you know, my child, that all this time
you have been struggling, you have actually
been growing roots I would not quit on the
bamboo. I will never quit on you.
Don’t compare yourself to others.” He said.
“The bamboo had a different purpose than the
fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful.
“Your time will come”, God said to me.
“You will rise high.”
I left the forest, realizing that God will
never give up on me. And He will never give
up on you.
Never regret a day in your life.
Good days give you happiness; bad days
give you experiences; both are essential to
life.
–Author Unknown SOURCE: beyond blue blog
The Power of Declaration
By Janet Paleo
Language is so critical to how we feel, see and interpret our world. The
words we use can empower you or disempower us. You can literally
change how life occurs to you by changing the language you use.
For instance, you can wake up and say it is dark and gloomy or say it
is great duck weather. You could say that you boss is a jerk,
inconsiderate , etc., or realize what it must be like for him to get his job
done and why he is so stressed all the time.
In both of those situations, the way life was occurring could be altered.
It is a choice we make, even if we are unaware that we are making a
choice.
Choices are neither good nor bad. The way the world occurs for you is
neither good nor bad. The question is which choice works best for your
life and what you want to accomplish in life. Another good thing about
choices is that you can always choose differently in a moment.
So where does declaration come in
Once you have chosen and declare your choice. There is actual brain
chemistry that happens when you say something out loud. It is as if you
set a goal solidly in your brain and your brain goes to work on how to
make this happen. If you just think it, your brain does not take you as
seriously. This is a good thing considering how many thoughts we have
every moment.
Once declared, your brain lifts filters allowing you to see and interpret
life in a way you haven’t seen before.
An example is when you declare you want to see something beautiful,
things that you may normally not notice, like birds, butterflies, wild flowers,
mountain ranges, etc., now are fully visible to you and you begin to
appreciate the beauty that is constantly around.
Another example in declaring you want a job. You begin wearing more
professional clothes as you never know who you will be meeting. You
start hearing, reading and becoming aware of jobs out there. You may
even notice you carry yourself differently.
In declaration, what you declare is usually not something that is
occurring now. In fact it does not even have to be based in reality. When
the Wright brothers declared they were going to fly, people laughed and
said “If man were meant to fly, he’d have wings.”
The other thing about a declaration is that it can pull you into action.
The more invested you are in your declaration, the less likely you are to
let barriers stop you or people discourage you. When we can begin to see
that we can have a life that excites us—a life that makes us glad to wake
up in the morning; a life that seems almost impossible to obtain—it
becomes obtainable. To achieve a life like this – Choose it! Declare it!
And then have your language match your declaration. Continue to watch
your language to keep you empowered. Begin living in your dreams and
making your dreams your new reality. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The
purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out
eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the
things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw
off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade
winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~H. Jackson
Socials for June at Prosumer Action
Center
June 6 Game Day
June 13 Movie and Popcorn
June 20 Ice Cream Social
June 27 Bingo
Page 2

Texas Department of State Health
Services Consumer Services and
Rights Protection. 1-800-252-8154
Texas Department of Public
Safety for Abuse and Neglect 1-
800-252-5400.
S.A.L.S.A.
San Antonio League
of Self-Advocates
An organization of people with
intellectual disabilities,
speaking up
for their human and civil rights
All are welcome at
our meetings.
We meet on the 1st
Tuesday of the month.
Time of Meetings
6:00-7:30 p.m.
Meetings are held at
Brighton Center
14207 Higgins
(One-half mile west of
Nacogdoches, between
Thousand Oaks and
O’Connor)
For More Information call
Judith Laufer, Advisor
210-828-7125
Therapy of a Different Sort
By PAULA SPAN
The six women who gathered in Wendy Wilson’s living room in Massapequa, on Long
Island, on a Saturday morning — five in person, one on speakerphone from Florida — were
talking about dependence and independence, big issues for people ages 75 to 88.
“Am I lucky to have these kids who are aware of my frailty” asked one member with
Parkinson’s disease, whose children have begun to fill weekly pillboxes for her and her
husband. “Yes. Does that make me dependent No.” She sees herself as “allowing them to be
kind to me, as I am kind to them.”
“Emotional maturity is not being independent,” said one of the younger members, offering an
axiom she heard years ago. “It’s being interdependent.”
The group liked this notion; nods and murmurs traveled around the circle. “She’s smart, for a
kid,” someone said.
Ms. Wilson, the clinical social worker and psychoanalyst who leads this monthly discussion
(she recorded the most recent, with members’ permission, so that I could listen in), has never
called it a therapy group. She refers to it as a workshop. Its official title is Vibrant Seniors,
though participants have dubbed it “the oldies group.” Those from generations reared in a more
reticent pre-Oprah culture can be notoriously wary of anything that sounds like mental health
treatment.
But whatever its name, “I’m working as a therapist when I’m running the group,” Ms. Wilson
acknowledged. “And the results are those you’d see in psychotherapy. People are talking about
topics they otherwise never would have.”
She structures each 90-minute gathering around a questionnaire that explores subjects like
longevity, friendship, finances, sexuality (the only subject members have trouble talking about),
inheritances, family disputes and wisdom. Holding meetings in her home, serving coffee and
Danish, helps put people at ease, she thinks.
Initially, she invited people she knew to discuss their aging experiences as a way to help her
understand the territory (and gather material for a book), so she expected a shorter-term
experiment. “But when I asked if people wanted to continue, they all said yes.” In the group’s
four-year history, people have grieved for one member (the only man) who died; another is
recovering from a fall in Florida — hence, the speakerphone. But the group has endured.
“I have lots of friends to talk to, but not everyone wants to talk about things like this —
accepting help, things starting to change,” explained Felicia Cohn, 74. Within the group, “there’s
a kind of freedom, a we’re-all-in-the-same-boat feeling.”
Can this model be replicated in assisted living facilities and senior centers and therapists’
offices Convinced that she’s onto something, Ms. Wilson will be presenting her experience at
a conference of the National Association of Social Workers in Washington in July.
The need seems inarguable. “The stereotypes older adults are facing have harmed their self
-esteem, their confidence, their mental health,” said Ms. Wilson, who is 70. Yet if they do seek
professional help, older patients may find a shortage of those trained to work with people their
age. They also often encounter an eagerness to resort to medication.
The efficacy of Ms. Wilson’s approach can’t be ascertained from one small Long Island
group. Questions about payment might also arise; Ms. Wilson has led Vibrant Seniors without
charge, but to have Medicare cover such services would require a diagnosis, an
acknowledgement of the dread T-word.
But according to the annual evaluations that group members write, “people feel more selfconfident,”
Ms. Wilson said. “They’re happier. They definitely have more control over their lives.
It’s hard to quantify, but that’s what I see.”
As one member told the group on a recent Saturday: “I’m realizing what a good time this is.
The general consensus is you’re older and you’re slowing down and you don’t have wonderful
things happen in your life anymore. But that’s not the case.”
Paula Span is the author of “When the Time Comes: Families With Aging Parents Share Their Struggles and
Solutions.”
Mental Health Support Group
Meets at St. George Episcopal
Church
located at 6904 West Avenue
in Conference Room.
Every 2nd Wednesday at 7
pm.
Call 342-4261 for more info
“Every time you meet a situation you think at the time it is
an impossibility and you go through the tortures of the
damned, once you have met it and lived through it, you
find that forever after you are freer than you were
before.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt
Page 3

2012 June 2012
MON TUE WED THUR FRI SAT
27 May 28
CHCS & Action
Center Closed
Memorial Day
DBSA 7 pm @8026
Floyd Curl
3 June 4
Laughing Qigong
2:00-3:00 @ Action
Center
DBSA 7 pm @8026
Floyd Curl
10 June 11
Laughing Qigong
2:00—3:00 @ Action
Center
DBSA 7 pm @8026
Floyd Curl
17 June 18
Laughing Qigong
2:00-3:00 @ Action
Center
DBSA 7 pm @8026
Floyd Curl
24 June 25
Laughing Qigong
2:00-3:00 @ Action
Center
DBSA 7 pm @8026
Floyd Curl
May 29
Recovery Inc 10-12
1-3 @ Action Center
June 5
Recovery Inc 10-12
Skill Building 1 - 2 @
Action Center
NAMI Meeting 7 pm @
510 Belknap
June 12
Recovery Inc 10-12
Skill Building 1:00-2:00
@ Action Center
June 19
Recovery Inc 10-12
Skill Building 1:00-2:00
@ Action Center
Prosumer Evening
Meeting 5-8 @ Action
Center
June 26
Focus for Life @
Action Center
ACTION CENTER
CLOSED for Training
Recovery Inc 10-12
May 30
Action Center Closed
Recovery Inc 7pm
June 6
Social Event 1-3 @ Action
Center
Recovery Inc 7 pm
Mental Health Support Grp 7
pm St. George Episcopal
Church, 342-4261
June 13
Social Event 1-3 @ Action
Center
Recovery Inc 7 pm
June 20
Social Event 1-3 @ Action
Center
Recovery Inc 7 pm
June 27
Focus for Life @ Action
Center
ACTION CENTER CLOSED
for Training
Recovery Inc 7 pm
May 31
Action Center
Closed
June 7
Arts and Crafts
11-12 @ Action
Center
June 14
Arts and Crafts 11-
12 @ Action Center
June 21
Arts and Crafts 11-
12 @ Action Center
June 28
Focus for Life @
Action Center
ACTION CENTER
CLOSED for
Training
Please verify times and events before going!!
June 1
Journaling 10:30-
11:30 @ Action
Center
June 8
Prosumer Meeting
12-3 @ Action
Center
June 15
Journaling 10:30-
11:30@ Action
Center
June 22
Journaling 10:30-
11:30@ Action
Center
June 29
Journaling 10:30-
11:30 @ Action
Center
June 2
DBSA-BC 2-4
@ St. Benidict’s
Church “the
Nest
June 9
Prosumer
Meeting in
Houston 12-3
DBSA-BC 2-4
@ St. Benidict’s
Church “the
Nest
June 16
DBSA-BC 2-4
@ St. Benidict’s
Church “the
Nest”
June 23
DBSA-BC 2-4
@ St. Benidict’s
Church “the
Nest”
June 30
DBSA-BC 2-4
@ St. Benidict’s
Church “the
Nest”
Prosumer Numbers April
May 11 SA Prosumer Mtg
29 present
May 15 SA Prosumer Mtg
3 present
May 12 HOU Prosumer Mtg
18 present
Prosumer Newsletter circulation 2,316
The care of the Earth is our most ancient
and most worthy, and after all our most
pleasing responsibility. To cherish what
remains of it and to foster its renewal is
our only hope.
~Wendell Berry
Focus for Life Training
381 people have completed
149 people attended who completed a partial
F4L Trainings scheduled:
June 26-28 San Antonio
Intentional Peer Support Training:
August 27-31 San Antonio
World Congress on
Mental Health 2013
Buenos Aires, Argentina
August 25-28, 2013
www.wmhc2013.com
2012 Wellness Conference
Edison, New Jersey
Wednesday, June 6 2012
www.njamhaa.org
We are the ones
We have been
Waiting for
Texas Catalyst for
Empowerment
Leadership Symposium
August 4 & 5, 2012
Houston, Texas
www.myTCE.org
For application
NAMI Texas State
Conference
November 2 & 3, 2012
Sheraton Austin Hotel
Austin Capitol
Alternatives 2012 Conference
Portland, Oregon
October 10-14, 2012
(503) 922-2377
www.mindfreedom.org
The Bexar County
Consumer/Family 2012
Conference
October 5, 2012
Region XX
Art is the triumph over chaos.
National Association
for Rights Protection &
Advocacy (NARPA)
Conference 2012
September 5-8, 3023
The Millennium Hotel,
Cincinnati, OH
www.NARPA.org
~John Cheever
Page 4

CALENDAR NAMES, ADDRESSES and PHONE NUMBERS
Prosumer Action Center (AC) – located at 1921 Burnet, Office Manager, Anita Correnti 210-399-8734 FAX 210-653-7372
www.ProsumersInternational.org , Mailing Address: PO Box 120394, San Antonio, TX 78212 Alternate Phone number 210-653-5267 to RSVP
Toll free number is 1-877-334-2717
Day Meeting 2nd Friday of the month from 12-3 Evening Meeting on 3rd Tuesday of the Month from 5-8
24/7 Crisis Clinic—Address is 527 N. Leona 2nd Floor (the Brady Green). 210-225-5481.
Crisis Hotline for people feeling suicidal, homicidal or people not doing well mentally 210-223-7233 or 1-800-316-9241.
CHCS – Center for Health Care Services address is 3031 IH 10 West (Central Office) 210-731-1300
BHPNAC—Behavioral Health Planning & Networking Advisory Committee
for individuals with mental health and/or substance abuse issues
CHCS Adult Mental Health Intake—210-223-4061
Children’s Clinic —Address is 711 E. Josephine 210-299-8139
Children’s Clinic for Eligibility/Enrollment—Address is 1200 Broadway 210-223-4061
Burnet Clinic – Address is 1920 Burnet 210-227-3401
Palo Alto Clinic—Address is 2711 Palo Alto Road 210-533-2577
North West Clinic—Address is 9502 Computer Dr # 101 210-615-5700
Zarzamora Clinic - Address is 806 S. Zarzamora 210-434-7001
This committee is open to the public and will receive public comment.
If you are interested in serving on one of these committees,
contact: Betty Landrum at 210-731-1300 ext 382
Disability Rights Texas (formerly Advocacy Inc) - Address is 6800 First Park Ten Blvd. 210-737-0499 www.DisabilityRightsTx.org
DARS (Formerly TRC) Help individuals with disabilities obtain and maintain employment. For services call 1-800-628-5115
DBSA --Depressive Bipolar Support Alliance meets at 8026 Floyd Curl 210-945-0689
DBSA #2— Thursday nights, 7-9 p.m., Good News Lutheran Church, 11020 Old Corpus Christi Road (corner of Hwy 181 and IH-37 S); contact
number, Wanda, 210-779-6479
DBSA Bexar County—Depressive Bipolar Support Alliance meets at 4623 Lord Road, call 210-262-2596 or email larryforbrich@yahoo.com,
DBSA Texas Phone: (512) 407-6676, Toll-free: 1 (866) 327-2839, Fax: (281) 480-4333, P.O. Box 591342, Houston, TX 77259-1342
Fair Housing Council of Greater San Antonio– Address 4414 Centerview Drive, Suite# 229 210-733-3247 Office
Mental Health Support Group — St. George Episcopal Church 6904 West Avenue 210– 342-4261 for more information
NAMI SA – National Alliance on Mentally Illness of San Antonio 210-734-3349
Recovery Inc.—Recovery International, the Power to Change—an Abraham Low Self Help System
Tuesdays, 10-12 Incarnate Word Retirement Center (The Garden Room); 4707 Broadway 830-216-4264
Wednesdays, 7:00 PM Ecumenical Center for Religion and Health; 8902 Ewing Hallsell Call Patricia (210) 655-6875
Peer-to-Peer and Family Support Group -San Juan de los Lagos Church at 3231 El Paso St. Call 210-734-3349 for more information
SAILS – San Antonio Independent Living Services address is 1028 S. Alamo Drive 210-281-1878
Support Alliance for Mental Health (of South Texas) www.samentalhealth.org Send info about all peer support groups and other events to
normansbrother@rocketmail.com.
VIA Metro Center — Address is 1021 San Pedro 210-362-2020 Monday - Friday 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Call for help with bus schedules
and bus transfers.
Our Elected Officials
SENATOR LETICIA VAN DE PUTTE,
SENATE DIST 26
700 N. Saint Mary's St., Suite 1725-A, SA, TX 78205
(210) 733-6604 Closest Bus Route: 30
SENATOR JUDITH ZAFFIRINI, SENATE DIST 21
12702 Topperwein, Rd. Suite 214, SA,TX 78233
(210) 657-0095 Bus Route 640 stops 1 1/2 miles
away from Zaffirini’s Office
SENATOR CARLOS I. URESTI, SENATE DIST 19
2530 SW Military Drive, Suite 103, SA, TX 78221
(210) 932-2568 Closest Bus Route:551, 550, 520
SENATOR JEFF WENTWORTH,
SENATE DIST 25
1250 N.E. Loop 410, Suite 925 SA, TX 78209
(210) 826-7800 Closest Bus Route: 10
REPRESENTATIVE John Garza
HOUSE DIST 117
No address or phone listed at this time
REPRESENTATIVE TREY MARTINEZ FISCHER,
HOUSE DIST116
1910 Fredericksburg Road, SA, TX 78201
(210) 737-7200 Closest Bus Route: 92, 91
REPRESENTATIVE JOE STRAUS,
HOUSE DIST 121
7373 Broadway Suite 202A SA, TX 78209
(210) 828-4411 Closest Bus Route: 9, 10, 505, 647
REPRESENTATIVE, JOE FARIAS
HOUSE DIST 118
660 SW Military Dr. SA, TX 78221
210-923-0908 Closest Bus Route: 44
REPRESENTATIVE ROLAND GUTIERREZ
HOUSE DIST 119
3319 Sidney Brooks Bldg. 510 Suite 2 SA, TX 78235
(210) 532-2758 Closest Bus Route: 34, 20
REPRESENTATIVE LYLE LARSON,
HOUSE DISTRICT 122
PO BOX 171148 SA, TX 78217
(210) 414-3536 Closest Bus Route:
REPRESENTATIVE RUTH JONES MCCLENDON,
HOUSE DIST120
403 South WW White Road, Suite 210, SA, TX 78219
(210) 225-2107 Closest Bus Route: 25, 550
REPRESENTATIVE JOAQUIN CASTRO,
HOUSE DIST 125
6100 Bandera, Ste. 130, SA, TX 78238
(210) 684-6896 Closest Bus Route: 88
REPRESENTATIVE MIKE VILLARREAL,
HOUSE DIST123
1114 S. Saint Mary’s Suite 110 SA, TX 78210
(210) 734-8937 Closest Bus Route: 34,36,42
REPRESENTATIVE JOSE MENENDEZ,
HOUSE DIST 124
7121 US Hwy. 90 West, Suite 240, SA, TX 78227
(210) 673-3579 Bus Route: 616
Editor in Chief—Janet Paleo PRO International P.O. Box 120394 San Antonio TX 78212
Phone: 210-653-5267 FAX: 210-653-7372 Email: jpaleo@satx.rr.com www.ProsumersInternational.org
The views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or any of its sponsors.
Page 5

Useful Websites and Links
An Online Wellness Tool
www.ProsumersLightaCandle.org
Disability.gov Connecting the Disability
Community to Information and Opportunties
www.Disability.Gov
The Prosumer website
www.ProsumersInternational.org
PRO International for Empowermentware
www.TheProInternational.com
National Consumer/Survivor Coalition
www.ncmhcso.org
The Center for Health Care Services
www.CHCSBC.org
A website for all TX government departments
www.texas.gov
National Empowerment Center a consumer
technical Assistance Center www.Power2u.org
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
(DBSA) www.dbsalliance.org
Mental Health America of Texas
www.mhatexas.org
Texas Legislature Online
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us
Texas Administrative Code where you find the
laws pertaining to the running of MHMR Centers
http://www.sos.state.tx.us/tac/
The Texas Election Division to find voter
information, and candidates
http://www.sos.state.tx.us/tac/
Substance Abuse Mental Health Services
Administration
www.SAMHSA.gov
Mental Health Self Help Clearinghouse
http://mhselfhelp.org/
Website for Medications, Assistance Programs,
Discount programs
www.needymeds.com
TX Department of Housing and Community
Affairs http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us
Patient Assistance with Medications
http://www.phrma.org/
Free Online Computer Classes through Global
Community Foundation www.gcflearnfree.org/
For more information specific to their current
situation and the transition to Medicare Rx
www.texasmedicarerx.org
Blog for discussion of mental illness in veterans
by Dr. Maria Felix-Ortiz www.bexarinmind.org
Assistance with household goods for people
with chronic mental illness. Home Comforts
www.bexarhomecomforts.com
NAMI a Organization for the families of people
with mental illness www.nami.org
Via Hope, a collaboration of Mental Health
Advocacy groups to help with the transformation
of services in Texas. www.viahope.org
Page 6
Yoga May Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia
By Andrew Czyzewski
MedWire News: Schizophrenia patients who take part in a program of yoga show
improvements in the cognitive domain of attention relative to their peers who receive
treatment as usual, study results show.
"Although the precise physiological basis for the beneficial effects of yoga is
unknown it is possible that some of the beneficial effects of yoga are related to
stabilization/normalization of autonomic function," Triptish Bhatia (Dr Ram Manohar
Lohia Hospital, Delhi, India) and colleagues comment.
Cognitive impairments are a prominent feature of schizophrenia and deficits in longterm
memory, working verbal memory, and executive functioning have been
consistently associated with poor functional outcome in the disorder.
As pharmacologic treatment is not routinely efficacious, there is ongoing interest in
adjunctive non-pharmacologic interventions for ameliorating cognitive deficits.
Yoga is viewed by many practitioners as a systematic process designed to purify the
body and the mind from toxins accumulated due to improper lifestyle choices and
negative thinking patterns.
It has been shown to improve cognitive function in healthy individuals, but its impact
on cognitive function among schizophrenia patients has not been investigated.
The researchers therefore conducted a trial among 88 patients with schizophrenia,
65 of whom took part in a yoga program while the remaining 23 carried on with
treatment as usual.
The yoga protocol was designed for the study in consultation with the Central
Council of Research and Naturopathy (AYUSH) and comprised a daily 1-hour session
over 21 consecutive days, excluding Sundays.
Before and after the yoga program, patients completed a computerized
neurocognitive battery (CNB), which assessed accuracy and speed for seven cognitive
domains.
Bhatia et al found that the yoga group showed significantly greater improvement with
regard to measures of attention compared with the treatment-as-usual group
immediately after completion of the regimen as well as at the 2-month point.
The improvement was, however, more prominent among the men than the women.
Discussing the findings, the researchers say schizophrenia patients "could benefit
from simple economical yoga exercises if these are incorporated in their treatment
regimens."
"This cognitive improvement may help them in their rehabilitation and adjustment in
society," they add in Acta Neuropsychiatrica.
SOURCE: MedWire (www.medwire-news.md) is an independent clinical news service provided by
Springer Healthcare Limited. © Springer Healthcare Ltd; 2012
Seeking the Line Between Grieving and Depression
By Shirley S. Wang
Should grieving people be considered clinically depressed
Johns Hopkins professor and author Kay Jamison, who has written about her
struggles with bipolar disorder, weighed in today on that knotty question that’s
popped up as doctors consider changing how depression is diagnosed.
The main psychiatric diagnostic manual, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders, or DSM, currently excludes people who are mourning from
getting diagnosed with major depression. A proposed revision would change that.
As the New York Times has reported, this has raised worries that this would
pathologize a normal response to painful loss.
Jamison, speaking to a packed room of hundreds at the American Psychiatric
Association conference, described her own experience when her husband, Richard,
died about 10 years ago. She said she felt distraught and restless. She ruminated
and had dark thoughts, doubting that she’d love again, but she didn’t think about
suicide.
“My thoughts were on the pain of missing life, not the pointlessness of life” as in
depression, she said. Depression is “indiscriminate” and unyielding, whereas grief
hit her in waves, often when she otherwise felt OK and wasn’t expecting it.
“My mind was not right, but it wasn’t deranged,” she said.
There are exceptions when grief turns into depression and people need
treatment, Jamison says. But, overall, “grief is not a disease; it’s necessary,” she
said.
Source: Wall Street Journal Health Blog
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
~Albert Einstein

Page 7
Children’s Rights
The President has repeatedly stated that children deserve to
receive a world-class education. With the release of today's
resource document, we continue that commitment for all
students by working to ensure that they can learn in a safe
environment.
U.S. Department of Education Issues Resource Document
that Discourages Restraint and Seclusion
Today, the U.S. Department of Education issued a
publication that outlines principles for educators, parents and
other stakeholders to consider when developing or refining
policies and procedures to support positive behavioral
interventions and avoid the use of restraint and seclusion.
The goal of this resource document is to help ensure that
schools are safe and healthy environments where all students
can learn, develop and participate in instructional programs that
promote high levels of academic achievement.
“As education leaders, our first responsibility must be to
make sure that schools foster learning in a safe environment for
all of our children and teachers,” U.S. Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan said. “I believe this document is an important step
toward this goal. I also want to salute leaders in Congress for
their vigilance on this issue.”
The 15 principles that frame the document ultimately
highlight how school wide behavioral interventions can
significantly reduce or eliminate the use of restraint or
seclusion. These guiding principles offer states, districts and
other education leaders a framework for developing appropriate
policies related to restraint and seclusion to ensure the safety of
adults and children.
“Ultimately, the standard for educators should be the same
standard that parents use for their own children,” Duncan
added. “There is a difference between a brief time out in the
corner of a classroom to help a child calm down and locking a
child in an isolated room for hours. This really comes down to
common sense.”
The document also provides a synopsis of ongoing efforts
by federal agencies to address national concerns about using
restraint and seclusion in schools, and includes links to state
restraint and seclusion policies and procedures.
To access this document, go to http://www.ed.gov/policy/
restraintseclusion.
Stay Connected
Disability Rights Texas seeks applicants with mental
heath experience for the Protection and Advocacy of
Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Advisory
Council. This is a working council that gives input to
the Disability Rights Texas Agency, serves as secret
callers to improve services, creates awareness
building videos, etc. It is important work that truly
makes a difference in Texas!! The PAIMI Advisory
Council values diversity of culture, disability and
other life experiences. In order to assure that the
PAIMI Council reflects, to the greatest extent
possible, the geographic and ethnic diversity of
Texas, Disability Rights Texas encourages
individuals from rural areas, bilingual and distinct
ethnic communities, and other traditionally
underserved communities to apply to the PAIMI
Council.
For more information go to
www.DisabilityRightsTX.org
under Volunteer Opportunities.
Mammogram & Health Screenings
at Your Local Goodwill!
In June: We will use the new mammopad technology to provide a
softer, warmer type of mammogram. See dates & details below. We
have funds to pay for screenings of uninsured women who also
meet other criteria.
Mammogram by Appointments Only - Call 704-4100 or 704-4221
to set a time and you, must::
• Be 40 years of age or older
• Have a doctor’s order for mammogram (only needed if you have
not seen your doctor in the last year). Call 704-4100 or 704-4221 to
learn the easy way to do this!
• Not have had a mammogram in the past 365 days
• Not have lumps, skin changes, missing masses, nipple discharge,
or be breastfeeding
• Not have previous breast cancer, mastectomy, or implants
Please:
• Wear a two-piece outfit
• Do not wear deodorant, perfume or lotion
• Bring your picture ID and insurance card if applicable
• Bring films of your most recent mammogram if applicable
We accept Medicare, Medicaid & most private insurance
Financial assistance is available if you are uninsured
and meet other criteria
Call 704-4100 or 704-4221 for more information and instructions
Wednesday, June 6
Goodwill Store – 2902 Goliad Rd. (at SW Military)
Mammogram - 8 am -12 pm
FREE Health Screenings 8 am -10 am
Wednesday, June 13
Goodwill Store – 727 NW Loop 410 at Blanco
Mammogram - 8 am -12 pm
FREE Health Screenings 8 am -10 am
Wednesday, June 20
Goodwill Store – 10647 Culebra Rd.
Mammogram - 8 am -12 pm
FREE Health Screenings 8 am -10 am
Tuesday, June 26
Goodwill Store - 1075 S. Walnut Ave (in New Braunfels)
Mammogram - 8 am -12 pm
Wednesday, June 27
Goodwill Store –3401 Fredericksburg Rd.
Mammogram - 8 am -12 pm
FREE Health Screenings 8 am -10 am
Health Screenings include FREE blood pressure, cholesterol,
height/weight (BMI), and glucose screenings.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Glucose screening is best done on an
empty stomach
LOOKING FOR WORK
The Prosumer Action Center is looking for consumers who want
to go back to work. People who join our volunteer program
receive intensive training and opportunities while building a
resume for viable employment. All the time working in an
atmosphere of fun, growth and development. You also get to be
part of one of the fastest growing programs in Texas.
If you are interested call
210-399-8734 today!!

Page 8
Decolonizing Our Minds, Freeing Our Spirits: Some Thoughts on a Language of Liberation
Leah Harris
All that we are is the result of what we have thought.
The mind is everything. What we think, we become.
–Buddha
Perhaps it might be intellectual indulgence to be writing about language
while people’s rights are being violated on a daily basis, when people
are suffering in institutions with and without walls, when people are
dying from toxic drugs. But I think it’s a tremendously important task to
begin to shift the way we think, to decolonize our minds and embrace a
broader perspective on what it means to be fully human in a crazy
world. I believe that we create our own realities, and it is through
thought and language that we determine the course of our individual
and collective existence.
Let me give you an example: my journey to liberation from mental
colonization began when I was eighteen years old. I was sitting on the
ratty old couch in a group home I had been living in, my hand covered
with third degree burns from a fire I had accidentally started while in a
pharmaceutical-induced haze. I had just been released from yet
another hospital for a half-hearted suicide attempt, something that had
become a pattern for me. I was sent home with yet another drug and
made to promise that I’d make yet another appointment for therapy with
yet another therapist that I could not relate to at all.
From childhood, I had alternately fought and reluctantly accepted a
view of myself as “sick” and “disordered.” The acceptance was
winning. I hated the labels but identified with them at the same time. I
didn’t see a way out from the box they imprisoned me in. By the time I
was eighteen, I was well on my way to becoming a perpetual
“patient.” I had no tools, no frameworks, with which to redraw the maps
in my mind. This is the power of psychiatric brainwash.
On that couch, I had a transformative experience. It was one of
those inexplicable moments in which you transcend yourself and see
things in a completely new way. I clearly saw two paths ahead of me:
one path worn and familiar, the path of the “mental patient.” That path
was sterile and without life, without color—a concrete path. The other
path was bumpy, muddy in places, obscured with brilliant wildflowers
and overgrown trees. It was lush and challenging and it beckoned me.
Suddenly, for the first time in my life, it occurred to me that I had a
choice—at that point in time I could decide that I was no longer going to
consume what they were offering. In that moment, my entire life
changed. With my rejection of the system that had long killed my spirit
and numbed my mind with drugs and psychobabble, I stepped on to a
new path—a path uncertain but filled with possibility. It was a long,
hard, lonely road decolonizing my mind. Every time I had an extreme
emotion or heard a voice that scared me, I thought that maybe I was
wrong and they were right and that I needed to go back to their system.
But slowly, I discovered that I could survive extreme emotions, I
could work with voices. Amazingly, I noticed that without psychiatric
intervention, I could emerge out of emotional distress relatively
quickly. Every time I had this experience, it fortified my identity as a
sensitive human being on a very human path. Messy perhaps, but far
more beautiful than the sanitized, manicured path psychiatry would
have had me tread.
When I ceased to be a “patient,” I began to live again. I discovered
new identities, identities that nurtured my spirit and allowed me to
dream big. Lover, student, truth seeker, writer, human rights activist,
artivist—and most recently, mother.
I have gotten feedback from many people that when they got a
psychiatric label, it was a relief because it gave a name to what they
had been experiencing. I don’t discount the importance of having a
framework with which to make sense of our experiences, but does it
really have to take a psychiatric diagnosis to validate your life
path Who wants to be defined by a so-called illness How
empowering is that These labels shut down understanding. They
reduce the mystery and complexity of our experiences into a diagnostic
category that impedes healing. These terms colonize us, and foster
dependency on a system to “fix” us. After all, if it is an “illness,” we
have no control over its course, and must hand our power over to
others who do.
Let’s reject that sort of colonization and declare our
independence. Let’s embrace and claim the beauty and pain, the full
spectrum of our experiences. Together, let us break down the walls of
isolation that would have us thinking that we are the only ones who
have gone through extreme states, or have heard voices that
delighted and scared us. That we are the only ones who have wanted
to die.
I have found great validation of my experiences, not from any
psychiatric label but from friends in and out of the “mad
movement.” They have shown me that I’m not alone. I’ve talked
about my extreme states and have had friends say, “Oh, you heard
voices You thought you were the Messiah I’ve been through that
too, and here are some of the things that have been helpful to
me.” Through skill-shares and educating myself on alternatives to
corporate psychiatric schemes, I’ve discovered many nonpharmaceutical,
non-invasive ways of healing my body and spirit. I
feel part of a community of people who struggle to stay afloat in a sea
of toxic culture.
Today, I have tools with which to rebuild when I am broken. Today,
I also appreciate the brokenness and the cracks that let the light in.
I contrast these experiences to being in the hospital – we could
have been of great support to one another, but we were isolated by
the oppressive structures that were always monitoring us. There was
the ever-present threat of being put on restriction if staff got wind that
we were getting too close to someone or (gasp!) starting to love
another “patient.” Most conversations were regulated and moderated
by the keepers of the ward. Conditioned by psychiatry, I learned not
to let anyone in, and I remained isolated and ashamed.
In my mid-twenties I discovered the mad movement, and with it a
whole slew of other labels: ex-patient, psychiatric survivor, consumer,
user, consumer/survivor, and the oh-so-compelling acronym “c/s/
x” (consumer/survivor/ex-patient). These terms, while all partially
accurate, still define us primarily in relation to an oppressive system.
Perhaps those of us who have been labeled, and deeply wounded by
those labels, are especially sensitive to the ways in which language
can limit us and liberate us.
The “consumer” flag perhaps troubles me the most. It is the
passivity implicit in the term that disturbs me. Yes I can be an
“educated consumer,” an “informed consumer,” but in the end,
“consumer” implies that I am not an entirely active agent in my own
destiny. They are selling, and I am buying.
It’s also true that I was once a “patient,” and I am a “survivor of
psychiatric abuse.” That is an important part of my history, and as a
result, I have dedicated my life to fighting for the rights and dignity of
others who suffer psychiatric abuse.
But I need to go beyond even these labels.
I don’t know if I want to define myself as the survivor of bad things
that happened to me. I want to use my story, and our collective
stories of oppression and liberation, to fight the soul-killing institutions
and human rights violations that persist in the name of “treatment,” but
at the same time I believe that we can dedicate an equal amount of
energy to envisioning and creating a world that is safe to go crazy in,
or better yet, a world that does not drive people to madness.
Using our unique life stories, talents, and gifts, we can each find
a way to move beyond confining language and to embrace conceptual
frameworks that will revolutionize our realities, individual and
collective. Personally, I find the language of human rights to be
extraordinarily liberating. The human rights paradigm recognizes that
we are all people desirous of basic freedoms and safety. It matters
not if we are “well” or “ill,” “normal,” or “disordered.” Article 5 of the
Universal Declaration on Human Rights says: “No one shall be
subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.” Human rights language affirms our basic humanity and
demands a world in which we take care of each other and treat one
another with kindness and respect.
Ultimately, decolonizing our minds is about being open to unknown
possibilities. It is about releasing the need to label and process every
facet of the human experience. We are far more complex and magical
than any label can capture – when we embrace this, our horizons
literally extend into infinity.
SOURCE: www.beyondmeds.com