I was reading about Catherine Zeta-Jones and her simi-public battle with Bipolar 2. I am glad too that she is one celebrity that has taken her mental health and recovery into her own hands. True, we don’t know the whole story, how long she has known, if this new, or an old issue just well maintained. Maybe the bipolar magazine BP hope will do a cover story about her in the coming months and we can get a better idea on what it is she really has.
People magazine is quoting publicist Cece Yorke, that Catherine Zeta-Jones is bipolar and that Jones recently went to the hospital for psychiatric treatment for five days. Cece says;
“After dealing with the stress of the past year, Catherine made the decision to check in to a mental health facility for a brief stay to treat her Bipolar II Disorder,”
Florida’s certified Child Welfare Case Managers (CWCM) and Recovery Peer Specialists (CRPS) must renew their credentials by October 31, 2010.
I just spoke to Jordon, at the Florida Certification Board and she told me the renew date has been extended till Tuesday, November 30th. Jordan said they have sent letter to all the Child Welfare Case Managers (CWCM) and Recovery Peer Specialists (CRPS). Yet, if were like me and did not get a letter ( I moved and forgot to update my info) you should contact them ASAP and re-new. Payments can be made over the phone with a VISA or Master Card. My fee was only $50.00 for CRPS and I did not have profe my CU’s. You may want to call and make sure you don’t need to do anything more then pay a little fee.
1st Renewal Approaches for Child Welfare Case Managers and Mental Health Peers
Certification is a mark of professional competency that indicates that the certified:
• Has met minimum education, training, and professional experience standards.
• Has passed a rigorous testing process.
• Maintains a current knowledge base by completing annual continuing education units (CEUs).
The FCB mails annual renewal invoices approximately 60 and 30 days prior to the renewal deadline. Invoices
for the October renewal period will be mailed in August and September. The invoice will indicate the annual
renewal fee AND whether or not the individual must submit to a CEU audit. If the invoice says “AUDIT: Yes”, the
certified individual must submit the invoice payment amount and CEU compliance documentation. If the invoice
says “AUDIT: No”, the certified individual only needs to submit the invoice payment amount; CEU documentation
should be retained for a minimum of 3 years in case of further audit or ethical investigation.
The FCB accepts CEUs from:
• an FCB-approved provider
• a state or national licensing board approved provider
• Florida Department of Children and Families events
• coursework completed at an accredited college or university
Your credential is an important mark of professionalism: don’t let it lapse! Renew as soon as you receive your
notice!
Here is how you can Contact Florida Certification Board
In 2007 Patrick Hedry (former E.D. of the Florida Peer Network), Mark Engelhardt, M.S., A.C.S.W. of USF Faculty - Department of Mental Health Law and Policy published a book called Common Threads Stories of Survival & Recovery From Mental Illness.
It has had wide exposure here in Florida and was sold from a few different website. You can also get a free copy of the book in PDF file. I want to pass this link on to you and encourage you to read it.http://www.samhcorp.org/publications/common_threads.pdf
Word is that Mark might write a new book and feature all new peers and their recovery stories. It that happens I’ll let you know when and who you should send them too.
Oh, I want to remind you that next month, May 2009 is Mental Health Awareness month. There are a few events going on. The biggest local is the Mental Health Humors Project Cartoon-a-thon. This years focus is on Mental Health Hero’s check it out.
Now that the Florida Peer Network has Rose Delaney, the new Executive Directorthings are picking up over there.
Here are the new board:
Board of Directors
Cindy Johnston President
Jim Winarski Vice President
Linda Rayner Secretary
Al Merren
Amy Peloquin
Diann Mayo
Michael Demers
Adam O’Connor
Ellen Peppler
Carolyn Wilson
Clint Rayner Ex-Officio
Rachael Todd Ex-Officio
Adam R. O’Connor
Clint Rayner
James Winarski
I’ll post the other FPN boardmember when I get their pic.
Hot Of the Press:
Florida Peer Network, Inc.
Attention: Contact Your Legislators!
Members, please help the Florida Peer Network get the word to the legislators (use the link before to find legislators in the House Health Care Appropriations Committee) and tell them how devastating these cuts will be to Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Contact them by email or phone. Let your voices be heard, what you have to say is important. Please contact others to make calls and send emails.
The Florida Peer Network would like to “Pay It Forward” with the help of Disney. Disney is offering a free ticket for volunteering for one of their volunteer organizations. We are hoping our members will help us get some tickets for foster children in the park area. What we would like you to do is go online to www.disneyparks.com and sign up to volunteer for a day. All you need to do is put in the zip code where you live and they will give you a list of what is available to do. Once you volunteer you will be given a certificate from Disney for a free pass to the park. We are hoping you will “Pay It Forward” and donate it to our cause. If you have any questions please send me an email at info@floridapeernetwork.org or call 850-274-1288.
Thank You,
Rose Delaney, Exec. Director
DSM-5: The Future of Psychiatric Diagnosis
David Kupfer, M.D., chair of the DSM-5 Task Force, which is in charge of the DSM revision process, noted that draft changes to the DSM will be posted on the DSM-5 Web site in January 2010.
Comments will be accepted for two months and reviewed by the relevant DSM-5 Work Groups in each diagnostic category. Field trials for testing proposed changes will be conducted in three phases. For information about the revision process and to make comments visit www.DSM5.org.
The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society whose physician members specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses, including substance use disorders. Visit the APA at www.psych.org and www.healthyminds.org.
Currently serving as the president of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), Peter Ashenden is a dynamic keynote speaker, a member of several mental health boards and committees, and acted as both a commissioner of the Certification Commission of the United States Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (USPRA) and the executive director for the Mental Health Empowerment Project (MHEP).
Simply put, Ashenden is quite the force to be reckoned with in the mental health education and advocacy world and, as cliché as it sounds, I pretty much felt like I was in the presence of greatness when I was able to speak with him last month about the DBSA’s involvement with Blueprint for Hope, the recently launched campaign the DBSA, ABC’s Paige Hemmis, and the University of Louisville’s Dr. Jesse H. Wright hope will help people develop their own “blueprints” for treating and managing depression.
Ashenden credits an “uninformed public” as being one of the biggest problems with mental health care today, so it’s really no surprise the DBSA was eager to get on board with Blueprint for Hope:
“We knew it was going to be a very important campaign. We’re creating ways for people to develop plans […] ways people can support that plan.”
Of course, this isn’t exactly a new mission for the DBSA. Founded in 1985, the DBSA is the nation’s largest consumer-run mental health advocacy organization with 17 state organizations, more than 400 chapters, and close to 1,000 support groups across the country.
Peter Ashenden has been diagnosed with several mental illnesses. He was institutionalized and given no hope for recovery. In August 2007, he was the keynote speaker at the Georgia Mental Health Con
The Florida Certification Board offers three levels of Recovery Peer Certification and each one has it own mentoring support benifits to providers. Here is the info from there site.
The Certified Recovery Peer Specialist - A (CRPS-A) provides peer mentoring and support to individuals who are consumers of mental health service systems and achieves resiliency and recovery as defined by the individual consumer. The CRPS-A must be a true peer; this means that the peer specialist is also a consumer of public or private mental health services.
The Certified Recovery Peer Specialist - Family (CRPS-F) credential provides peer mentoring and support to families that include at least one child diagnosed with a mental illness before his or her 24th brithday. The CRPS-F must be a true peer; this means that the peer specialist must be a first-degree relative or primary caregiver of a child diagnosed with a mental illness.
The Certified Recovery Peer Specialist (CRPS) credential is for those persons who posess competency in both family and adult peer mentoring. The CRPS must be a true peer; this means that the peers specialist must be a consumer of private or public mental health services AND is a first-degree relative or primary caregiver of a child diagnosed with a mental illness.
You may apply for this credential in one of two ways:
Option A
Download the Application Portfolio from the link below. Instructions to complete the Application Portfolio, the Recovery Peer Specialist Application and Mandatory Forms are included in the link below. Print, complete and mail the required forms to the FCB.
Option B
Contact the FCB at (850) 222-6314 to request an Application Portfolio for $15. All documents will be mailed to you and must be returned via the U.S. mail.
There is a $100 Certification Fee ($125 for the CRPS level) that must accompany your application. Please make sure your Application Portfolio is complete. Certification Fees are NON-REFUNDABLE. The current FCB Code of Ethics can be found here.
Mental health recovery is a journey of healing and transformation enabling a
person with a mental health problem to live a meaningful life in a community
of his or her choice while striving to achieve his or her full potential. Individualized and Person-Centered
Self-Direction
Holistic
Non-Linear
Peer Support
Empowerment
Respect
Strengths-Based
Responsibility
Hope
I’ll post the other FPN boardmember when I get their pic.