9605 Medical Center Drive, Ste 280 • Rockville, MD 20850 • Phone ~ 240-403-1901 • Fax ~ 240-403-1909 • www.ffcmh.org SAMHSA’s ¡Recovery ¡Support ¡ ¡Initiative: ¡How ¡does ¡it ¡ apply ¡to ¡ ¡children? ¡ ¡ The National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health endorses the general premise of SAMHSA’s # 4 Initiative – Recovery Support. We ascribe to the philosophy that full recovery is the goal for all adults who incur a physical, mental or emotional injury or challenge brought on by either internal or external forces or both. In order to reach that goal, each adult person deserves the information, assistance and support to alleviate symp- toms associated with their diagnoses to improve their own health and wellness. Adults need tools to eliminate or mitigate barriers to a meaningful life and happiness in their community of choice. Parents also need similar tools to increase the protective factors in their children’s and youth’s development of resilience. This involves support and assistance in four domains: SAMHSA wording FFCMH suggested wording Promote health and recov- Promote wellness and increase resilience for ery-oriented service sys- individuals to decrease or eliminate symptoms Health tems for individuals with or of behavioral disorders. in recovery from mental and substance use disor- ders. Ensure that permanent Ensure that permanent housing and supportive housing and supportive services and a living wage is available for indi- services are available for viduals with or in recovery from behavioral Home individuals with or in re- health disorders. Parents of children and youth covery from mental and who experience behavioral health disorders substance use disorders. need to be able to earn a livable wage and have respite services. Increase gainful employ- Increase gainful employment and educational ment and educational op- opportunities for individuals with or in recovery Purpose portunities for individuals from behavioral health disorders. Promote hope with or in recovery from and success of children, youth and adults who mental and substance use have experienced behavioral disorders. disorders. The National Family Voice for Children’s Mental Health
9605 Medical Center Drive, Ste 280 • Rockville, MD 20850 • Phone ~ 240-403-1901 • Fax ~ 240-403-1909 • www.ffcmh.org Promote peer-support and Promote peer support and social inclusion for Community the social inclusion of indi- adults, parents with children and youth and the viduals with or in recovery inclusion in the community of individuals with from mental and substance or in recovery from behavioral health. Promote use disorders in the com- the effective community based services for munity. children, youth and emerging adults. SAMHSA’s Recovery Support Initiative identifies ten guiding principles in these domains that support recovery: • Person-driven (FFMCH suggest adding family-driven and youth guided for children under 21) • Many pathways • Holistic • Supported by peers • Supported through relationships • Culturally-based and influenced • Trauma-informed support • Involves individual, family and community strengths and responsibility • Based in respect and • Emerges from hope. Often not discussed in these principles is the need of parents and children, youth and emerg- ing adults. Before children become adults, they need the support, love and skills given to them by their parents or loving adults. Those adults are integral to children, youth and emerging adults becoming adults who can manage their own life. As an integral part of their child’s or youth’s services, parents need to have • Practical parenting techniques to address both the needs of the family and the child, • Health promotion skills, • Information about the physical, emotional and environmental causes and remedies for trauma, behavioral or mental health or substance use disorders, • Safe neighborhoods and natural support for themselves and for their children, and • Community-based services for their child or youth or emerging adult experiencing emotional, behavioral (including substance use) or mental health disorders. RECOMMENDED BLOG CONTENT The National Family Voice for Children’s Mental Health
9605 Medical Center Drive, Ste 280 • Rockville, MD 20850 • Phone ~ 240-403-1901 • Fax ~ 240-403-1909 • www.ffcmh.org SAMHSA’s proposed recovery definition is a good framework for adults; however, it is too narrow if applied to children, youth and emerging adults. Half of adults with mental illness experienced onset of that illness prior to age 14 1 . People in recovery are just as likely to be parents as the general population. 2 Increasing resiliency skills and promoting protective factors are integral to children and youth becoming adults not debilitated by their experiences with emotional, behavioral (in- cluding substance use) or mental health symptoms or disorders. Two additional guiding principles are needed to include the support of people who parent children and youth. • The principle of family driven/youth-guide needs to be added to consumer-driven and • Family supports for parenting of children. Parents of children also need to have • Peer parent support services • Practical parenting techniques to address the needs of the family and the child, • health promotion skills, • Information about the physical, emotional and environmental causes and remedies for trauma, behavioral or mental health or substance use disorders, • Safe neighborhoods and natural support for themselves and for their children, and • Community-based services for their child or youth or emerging adult experiencing emotional, behavioral (including substance use) or mental health disorders. Resiliency skill building and the promotion of protective factors by parents, while called prevention and wellness, are the framework for ensuring sound mental health in adults. Ef- fective parenting skills, resiliency skill building, trauma-informed care and positive loving role-models prevent some mental health disorders or keep them from getting worse. Maslow’s model, included in SAMHSA’s proposed definition, does not adequately repre- sent that people need benefits from all five stages concurrently. In addition to basic health and safety needs, children and youth still require daily doses of belonging, esteem and love 1 ¡ ¡ ¡ National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2009). Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behav- ioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities. Committee on Prevention of Mental Disor- ders and Substance Abuse Among Children, Youth and Young Adults: Research Advances and Promising Interventions. Mary Ellen O’ Connell, Thomas Boat, and Kenneth E. Warner, Editors. Board on Children, Youth, and Families., Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The Na- tional Academies Press. 2 Hart, P. (2001) The face of Recovery . Peter Hart Research Associates. 4 1-14. The National Family Voice for Children’s Mental Health
9605 Medical Center Drive, Ste 280 • Rockville, MD 20850 • Phone ~ 240-403-1901 • Fax ~ 240-403-1909 • www.ffcmh.org needs. Parents fulfill those levels of needs for children and youth. The skill building and support provided by parents must be a part of the health care rubric for children’s mental health. Parenting learning effective parenting skills, resiliency skill building, and how to increase protective factors is parallel to parents learning nutrition, exercise and physical cri- sis intervention for a child that has childhood diabetes. Specific changes to the adult definition of recovery: • Change “mental and substance use disorders” to “behavioral health disorders” • Define the health domain as “Promote wellness and increase resilience for individu- als to decrease or eliminate symptoms of behavioral disorders” • Define the home domain as “Ensure that permanent housing and supportive services and a living wage is available for individuals with or in recovery from behavioral health disorders. Parents of children and youth who experience behavioral health disorders need to be able to earn a livable wage and have respite services.” • Define the purpose domain as “Increase gainful employment and educational oppor- tunities for individuals with or in recovery from behavioral health disorders. Promote hope and success of children, youth and adults who have experienced behavioral disorders.” • Define the community domain as ”Promote peer support and social inclusion for adults, parents with children and youth and the inclusion in the community of indi- viduals with or in recovery from behavioral health. Promote the effective commu- nity based services for children, youth and emerging adults.” More information about the certification program can be found by calling 240-403-1901 or at http://www.ffcmh.org or ffcmh@ffcmh.org. The National Family Voice for Children’s Mental Health
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