tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239140084937897595.post6651013141224265802..comments2023-10-19T10:26:30.108-04:00Comments on Yin and Yang: Summertime GratitudeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239140084937897595.post-85908327200282534252012-07-16T16:19:18.756-04:002012-07-16T16:19:18.756-04:00Hi Kate,
One thing I forgot to mention,- the hosp...Hi Kate,<br /><br />One thing I forgot to mention,- the hospital has its own security personal. I think most do. So if you anticipate the worst case, at least at a hospital you can get someone in uniform to escort an irate mentally ill person out of the building. Again, we've never come close to having to call security at our peer support, but at least we know it is an option.<br /><br />And I don't know why I said personal safety is not a primary issue, because of course it is. Its just that in many, many ways the police and the mentally ill don't mix - countless mentally ill persons have been shot dead because their psychosis made them act strange or slightly threatening. Police use guns on threats, they usually don't try to talk people down. At least that's the history around where I live. <br /><br />Its best if you start the group with a co-leader, if you can find one. That way you always know you have someone at your back, hopefully, with common sense who you trust. Might give you more of a sense of security. <br /><br />Also, our group starts with everyone reading a statement about confidentiality and treating each other with respect. The basic format of the group is very valuable to newcomers, it can be the first thing discussed. For us we round table reading each printed "point" on a re-usable laminated piece of paper and I do know the last point is "violence in any form is not tolerated. If you are violent you will be asked to leave the group for the evening" - or something like that. The person who first started peer support in my town did so totally on her own, like you, and created this list of rules by going online and finding out rules that other peer support groups function by. You could do the same.<br /><br />All my love,<br />KarenKaren May Sorensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14436905322393073250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239140084937897595.post-23316200077241374402012-07-16T06:01:30.158-04:002012-07-16T06:01:30.158-04:00Hi Kate,
Great to hear that you are enjoying your...Hi Kate,<br /><br />Great to hear that you are enjoying yourself so far this summer!<br /><br />Our peer group meets at a hospital. Hospitals are great places to meet and they don't carry the weight of stigma that a courthouse might carry (dangerous mental illness - criminals), in fact most hospitals host a variety of support groups. Churches too are great places for support groups without stigma. Both hospitals and churches can be approached by the ordinary (and usually scared) mentally ill person and seen as a place of refuge and compassion. I don't get much sense of compassion from the court or police - just the feeling that you better behave or else. Plus most mental illness nowadays carries dual diagnosis with drug addiction, and these people won't want to come near the legal system. Not that they will be high or drunk at group (in my group this has never happened - and we have had plenty of dual diagnosis people). The biggest hurdle in peer support isn't the scary, out of control mentally ill person that dominates group, its the timid mentally ill person that has to get up the courage to go to group. First time I went to group I took my husband for support, couldn't do it by myself. I just remembered that health centers, especially that give services for the mentally ill are also safe ground. <br /><br />Most of all you want the person coming to peer support group to feel welcomed, respected and in a universal sense, loved. Personal safety comes second.<br /><br />All my love,<br />Karen<br /><br />ps. for the scary dominating mentally ill person that disrupts a peer support group a simple talking to by the leader or group together usually puts them in their place. They usually leave when confronted. A police man is not the person to talk to someone who is disruptive. That is a social, not criminal issue. Paranoia is the big contributor to a disruptive person's actions. He or she is actually afraid and acting on the defensive, no matter how antagonistic they seem. The bullies are usually crying on the inside. Its their defenses that make them so disagreeable.Karen May Sorensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14436905322393073250noreply@blogger.com