PEI partners with NAMI to implement In Our Own Voice

IOOV is a new universal prevention program that provides a mental health education program developed by National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in which two trained consumer speakers share compelling personal stories about living with mental illness and achieving recovery. IOOV is an opportunity for those who have struggled with mental illness to gain confidence and to share their individual experiences of recovery and transformation.

Throughout the IOOV presentation, audience members are encouraged to offer feedback and ask questions. Audience participation is an important aspect of IOOV because the more audience members become involved, the closer they come to understanding what it is like to live with a mental illness and stay in recovery. IOOV presentations are given to consumer groups, students, law enforcement officials, educators, providers, faith community members, politicians, professionals, inmates and interested civic groups. The goal of IOOV is to meet the needs of consumer-run initiatives to set a standard for quality education about mental illness. The quality education comes directly from individuals who have been in the position of experiencing social stigma.

The program intends to: 1) offer genuine work opportunities that make a difference in the community, 2) encourage self- confidence, reduce self-stigma and increase self-esteem in presenters/educators, 3) carry a message of hope and focus on the message ‘Recovery is possible.’ Recovery is the point in someone’s illness in which the illness is no longer the first and foremost part of his or her life, no longer the essence of all his or her existence - this is the time when work on self- stigma is most powerful. The project in Stanislaus County will recruit persons in recovery from diverse cultural backgrounds to make the program linguistically appropriate and to better address the complex ideas of stigma and mental illness that exist in their communities.

For more information about IOOV or to schedule a presentation, contact the NAMI Stanislaus

NAMI Stanislaus
500 N. 9th Street, Suite D
Modesto, CA
(209) 558-4555

BHRS PEI partners with four community-based youth leadership programs

BHRS has partnered with four community-based efforts to support their youth leadership development efforts. The partnerships include the (1) West Modesto King Kennedy Community Collaborative and Project Uplift Mentorship Program, (2) The Bridge and Sierra Vista, (3) Hughson Family Resource Center, (3) and the Center for Human Services and Patterson School District.

LRP is a school-and/or community-based program for youth ages 14-19 that enhances internal strengths and resiliency, prevents involvement with substance abuse and violence, and helps youth avoid school failure and involvement with juvenile justice. Specific activities include resiliency groups, adventure and outdoor activities, community service opportunities, conflict resolution, social skills training and peer mentoring. Individuals who are the focus of this program will be involved in its development. When fully implemented, the LRP programs will provide services to over 400 youth.

For more information about PEI Youth Leadership efforts, please contact Jeff Sabean, MFT, at (209) 541-2555.

Mental Health Services Act PEI funds New Prevention & Early Intervention Programs for Elderly

The Area Agency on Aging was recently awarded funding from Stanislaus County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services (BHRS) to implement three new programs aimed at “Prevention and Early Intervention” of depression in older adults.

Many people have bouts of mild depression, but as we age and are faced with changes in health, loss of loved ones, and other challenges, that mild depression can become more severe. Signs of depression may include depressed mood and loss of interest, alterations in sleep, appetite, and energy. Depression often goes unrecognized and untreated leading to a lower quality of life and inability to live independently.

Many seniors at high risk live alone and are self-isolating. These seniors are the most difficult to reach, as they often have transportation issues and are resistive to seeking help. Now help will be available in their homes. PEARLS (Program to Encourage Active and Rewarding Lives for Seniors) is a 19-week individualized program where a PEARLS counselor visits at risk seniors in their homes to offer help by teaching problem solving techniques, and encouraging increased social and physical activities.

Senior Peer Counselors are trained volunteer counselors who regularly visit older adults who are having trouble overcoming difficulties, or facing significant change in their lives. The Peer Counselors are seniors themselves. The volunteer counselors attend an initial training and are supervised by a professional clinician. The volunteer Counselors help connect seniors to services, help them learn to cope, and support them during difficult times.

Senior Center Without Walls is a phone based program with offerings similar to activities you would find at a senior center. Once registered, each senior will receive a monthly calendar of events. All they have to do is call in to join in group discussion, fun games and quizzes, storytelling of travel adventures, or join a discussion on current health topics. They offer a book club, support groups and much more.

Without Walls is a non-profit program sponsored by St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and Episcopal Senior Communities. Although the program is based in Northern California the toll-free number is accessed from anywhere in the state. The Area Agency on Aging is adding some telephone reassurance to the program with monthly phone calls to participants. The hope is that even those that really can’t get out of their homes regularly can still be socially engaged by joining this program.

The Area Agency on Aging is working with local Family Resource Centers to help implement the programs and to provide clinical supervision. The goal is to have all three programs up and running by this July.

For more information or to learn about volunteer opportunities call the Senior & Caregiver Information Line (209) 558-8698 or toll-free (800) 510-2020.

PEI hosting TPS training today

PEI is hosting a Teaching Pro-Social Skills training today and tomorrow. Teaching Pro-Social Skills (TPS) is a comprehensive psycho educational skills program designed for aggressive children and youth at risk of or experiencing juvenile justice involvement. Based on the Aggression Replacement Training, TPS and its component procedures are (1) skill streaming – which teaches a curriculum of pro-social, interpersonal skills, (i.e., what to do instead of aggression), (2) anger control training – to teach youth what not to do if provoked, and (3) moral reasoning training – to promote values that respect the rights of others and help youth want to use the interpersonal and anger management skills they are taught. Aggression Replacement Training was first employed and evaluated in schools and delinquency centers in 1978. Since that time, an extended series of studies has demonstrated its skill learning, anger control and recidivism reducing potency. The U.S. Department of Education’s Expert Panel on Safe, Disciplined and Drug Free Schools has recognized Aggression Replacement Training as a promising program. The U.S. Department of Justice, the American Correctional Association, and the Home Office, United Kingdom have also designated it as a model program.

BHRS is providing training and support to our community partners to implement TPS in their communities. These community partners are already working with youth in groups or individually, and have accepted BHRS’s offer to train and support them in the implementation of TPS through their exisiting efforts. Through this projsct, BHRS expects to increase the capacity of existing community programs to meet the emotional health and wellness needs of their youth.

For more information about the TPS programs and future training opportunities in Stanislaus County, contact Jeff Sabean, MFT, at (209) 541-255.

Creating a "help first" behavioral health system.

Imagine for a moment a future in which mental health professionals primarily focus on emotional health and wellness and partner with communities to support emotional health. A substantial amount of their time and efforts would be spent defining the parameters of wellness, emotional and behavioral health; identifying resiliency characteristics of people associated with healthy outcomes, and understanding the process of the underlying issues. Resiliency research suggests that, in effect, the focus would shift from unwanted developmental outcomes that go for years without being addressed (fail first) toward defining, identifying, and enhancing wanted outcomes (help first). We believe that we are in a position to leverage this future into existence.


Inspired by the BHRS mission statement, “In partnership with our community, our mission is to provide and manage effective prevention and behavioral health services that promote the community’s capacity to achieve wellness, resilience, and recovery outcomes” and an approved MHSA PEI Plan based on this mission statement, BHRS has set out to create, with our community, a different approach to behavioral health and emotional wellness in Stanislaus County. To be successful, we will need to permanently shift away from the traditional approach to communities based on what’s “wrong” or “at-risk”. We believe we can take substantive steps towards building a “help first” system where the mental health professionals are “primarily focused on mental health and wellness” and there is genuine partnership with communities.