Posted onMarch 10, 2021|Comments Off on Soteria Vermont – Sunday, April 18th, 2021
Pathways Vermont — Soteria House
Alternatives to Psych Hospitalization
Soteria House VT
Navigating Extreme States with Peer Support
Former residents and staff speak about:
History and mission of Pathways Vermont and Soteria
Philosophy and Values
Collaboration~~Philosophy in practice
Jason Young~~Soteria Services Team Lead. Jason has worked in therapeutic communities for 10 years and has been a team lead at Soteria Vermont since it opened in 2015. Jason is committed to finding creative ways to foster transformation within ourselves and within our organizations.
Katie Bourque~~Acting Mental Health Services Manager, Soteria Services Manager. Katie Bourque (she/her/hers) lives in Burlington. She has worked with incarcerated or formerly incarcerated individuals for over a decade. Katie has experience in numerous residential settings, including Soteria Vermont. Katie has recently focused on supporting people experiencing first episode psychosis/extreme states/non-consensus reality to re-frame crisis as opportunity. Katie identifies with an array of lived experiences, including: psychiatric labels, coming off psych medications, trauma, substance use, parental incarceration, and loved ones attempting or dying by suicide. Katie is a proponent of cognitive liberty, harm reduction, and the peer support movement.
Cameron Senecal~~ Cam was a resident at Soteria House in 2017. He is now actively utilizing intentional peer support to aid in the recovery of one individual at a time.
Eryn Sheehan~~Peer Resident Staff and Former Resident of Soteria. Eryn has experienced extreme states since childhood and made it into her 20’s before spiraling into a catatonic state. She is committed to being here in this place we share bridging her world and consensus reality.
Posted onNovember 16, 2020|Comments Off on 5 Wednesdays, 11/11-12/16/20: 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. PST
Understanding Anti-Racism & What It Has to Do with Rethinking Psychiatry
What is anti-racism about? How do we put it into practice, in our organization, our community and our movement for psych liberation? Join Rethinking Psychiatry for an in-depth facilitated study group of the book So You Want to Talk about Race, by Seattle author Ijeoma Oluo, over Zoom.
Meeting ID: 891 0688 3013 Passcode for audio/video: 2AibXa Passcode for audio only: 225522
One tap mobile +16699006833,,89106883013#,,,,,,0#,,225522# US (San Jose) +12532158782,,89106883013#,,,,,,0#,,225522# US (Tacoma) Dial by your location +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) Click here for international numbers.
We are NOT gathering at the Montavilla United Methodist Church building, due to COVID-19. We are so sorry we will miss you there.
For questions contact: RethinkingPsychiatry@gmail.com or message us on our Facebook Page.
Comments Off on 5 Wednesdays, 11/11-12/16/20: 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. PST
Posted onJuly 10, 2020|Comments Off on Come hang out with great folks and share your dreams for how we can find alternatives to corporate psychiatry!
JOIN US! To plan/plot/imagine what Rethinking Psychiatry will be next year.
Summer retreat? Consensus training? Anti-racism / anti-oppression study together? Continue putting on monthly events, or fewer, or bigger, or different? Collaborate with other groups?
Wednesday, July 15, 2020 7-9pm PDT
Click HERE to join! (You have to have Zoom downloaded first.)
Questions? Email us at RethinkingPsychiatry@gmail.com.
WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!
Comments Off on Come hang out with great folks and share your dreams for how we can find alternatives to corporate psychiatry!
Posted onMay 27, 2020|Comments Off on Peer Galaxy: Your Portal to Telephone and Online Peer Support & Wellness Activities
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020, 7-9pm on Zoom!
Laura Rose and Kevin Fitts introduce us to the galaxy of peer support and wellness events in the Peer Galaxy website!
Who is Peer Galaxy for? Anyone seeking recovery from pandemic stress, emotional distress, grief, mental health, addictions, co-occurring substance use challenges and/or trauma.
“We’re here when you need us, in real time, with free activities around the clock!”
Connecting with an individual having lived experience who can listen, understand, relate to and grow with us wherever we are in our journey is what we call PEER SUPPORT.
Peer Galaxy is brand new and already in April 2020 the PeerGalaxy Calendar featured: * 1,500+ opportunities, * 50+ per day on average, * including 9 telephone peer support lines * operating up to 17 hours per day, * 7 days per week, * 18 hours per day, from 6am – 12am, * some organizations employing dozens of peer support specialists at once, * all accessibility friendly with their new accessibility tool!
Visit the PEERGALAXY CALENDAR to find live telephone and online peer support, virtual groups, special events and wellness activities almost any time of the day–and if there is nothing live, there are videos you can access. Also check out the COVID-19 RESOURCES.
A small sample of PeerGalaxy events include support groups, chair yoga, Tai-Chi, breathwork, guided art, ecstatic dance, and the Surviving Race Project-at the Intersection of Injustice, Disability and Human Rights.
Laura Rose
Laura Rose is a lady of many hats with a long career of providing creative and technical business services in the public and private sector. Developer of PeerGalaxy, Laura Rose has served as a consultant for many of Oregon’s peer run organizations, programs, and other nonprofits at the local, statewide, national and international level. She has been recognized as a dedicated consumer and family advocate who informs public policy, budgeting, and systems improvement at every level.
Kevin Fitts
In addition to his responsibilities as Executive Director of the Oregon Mental Health Consumers Association (OMHCA), Kevin Fitts serves on the State of Oregon Consumer Advisory Council (OCAC), State of Oregon Addictions and Mental Health Planning and Advisory Committee (AMHPAC), Unity Center for Behavioral Health Advisory Committee, Multnomah County Adult Mental Health and Substance Abuse Advisory Council Executive Committee (AMHSAAC), and “A Home for Everyone” Coordinating Council. There are other committees and boards, too, but you get the general idea. Kevin has a lot of energy and a lot of knowledge from a variety of roles in mental health services over the years.
Streamed Live!
There will NOT be an in-person meeting this month. We are truly sorry. Please take care of yourself and each other.
Wednesday, June 3, 2020, 7-9 PM
Rethinking Psychiatry will livestream this event starting Wednesday, June 3, 7-9pm, and will post the recording on Rethinking Psychiatry’s YouTube channel, website and FB after.
TO ATTEND LIVE: there is NO NEED to sign up for a Zoom account (but you can and it is free).
However, YOU DO NEED TO DOWNLOAD THE APP OR GET IT FROM THE PLAYSTORE. (It only takes a couple of minutes.) You will be directed there once you click the “HERE” link, below.
NOTE ON CONFIDENTIALITY FOR THE EVENT:
Participants’ names will be viewable to one another for the live event. If you do not want your name seen, sign up with a pen name (ex. Happy Camper, or Lucky Dog) or “rename” yourself (click on the participant list once in the event).
Participants will enter the event with their videos turned off, and have the choice to keep them off to remain anonymous to one another for the live event, OR turn them on and be seen by one another.
NO PARTICIPANTS will be seen on the recording that we will post either way.
Participants can submit questions by chat if they don’t want to be heard on the recording OR “raise their hand” and we will unmute them to ask a question.
*********
To join the event (we recommend doing this a few minutes early):
Click HERE to join via internet on any device with internal or external webcam and mic. Meeting ID: 881 7564 1129 Paasword: 410117 OR Call 253-215-8782 to join by phone in OR or WA, audio only. (For numbers for other locations, click HERE.) Meeting ID: 881 7564 1129 Paasword: 410117
We are NOT gathering at the Montavilla United Methodist Church building, due to COVID-19. We are so sorry we will miss you there. We will have the recording up for viewing after the presentation.
For questions contact: RethinkingPsychiatry@gmail.com or message us on our Facebook Page.
Posted onApril 14, 2020|Comments Off on Our Collective Mental Health during the Covid-19 Pandemic–May 6
Streamed Live!
There will NOT be an in-person meeting this month. We are truly sorry. Please take care of yourself and each other.
As our collective mental health takes a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, let’s gather to discuss how to manage this struggle with harm reduction techniques and radical mental health perspectives in mind.
We will consider ways to meet ourselves where we’re at rather than feel pressured to perform productivity & wellness
We will discuss ways to ground ourselves in our values and practices of mutual aid to support our collective well-being in this challenging time.
Dr. Karen Hixson , LPC
Karen Hixson has been a mental health counselor in Portland, Oregon since 2002 with a focus on social justice and anti-oppression based perspectives. She has also been organizing with her local mental health comrades in Empathy Riot! since the 2016 election.
Rethinking Psychiatry will livestream this event starting Wednesday, May 6, 7-9pm, and will post the recording on our website and FB after.
TO ATTEND LIVE: there is NO NEED to sign up for a Zoom account (but you can and it is free).
However, YOU DO NEED TO DOWNLOAD THE APP OR GET IT FROM THE PLAYSTORE. (It only takes a couple of minutes.) You will be directed there once you click the “HERE” link, below.
NOTE ON CONFIDENTIALITY FOR THE EVENT:
Participants’ names will be viewable to one another. If you do not want your name seen, sign up with a pen name (ex. Happy Camper, or Lucky Dog).
Participants will enter the event with their videos turned off, and have the choice to keep them off to remain anonymous, OR turn them on and be seen by one another.
NO PARTICIPANTS will be seen on the recording that we will post either way.
Participants can submit questions by chat if they don’t want to be heard on the recording OR “raise their hand” and we will unmute them to ask a question.
*********
To join the event (we recommend doing this a few minutes early):
Click HERE to join via internet on any device with internal or external webcam and mic. Meeting ID: 897 4495 9016 Paasword: 958018 OR Call 253-215-8782 to join by phone in OR or WA, audio only. (For numbers for other locations, click HERE.) Meeting ID: 897 4495 9016 Paasword: 958018
We are NOT gathering at the Montavilla United Methodist Church building, due to COVID-19. We are so sorry we will miss you there. We will have the recording up for viewing after the presentation.
For questions contact: RethinkingPsychiatry@gmail.com or message us on our Facebook Page.
Posted onMarch 18, 2020|Comments Off on Wednesday, April 1, 2020, 7-9 PM
Transcending Oppression
Streamed Live from Seattle!
There will NOT be an in-person meeting this month. We are truly sorry. Please take care of yourself and each other.
How the mental health & legal systems keep other oppressions in place.
The interlocking nature of all oppressions.
Learn another tool to address, dismantle and transcend oppression.
Eleta K. Wright , MSW
Born
into an Air Force family stationed in Japan, Eleta spent her early
years outside the American racial landscape–only to be thrust into
it as her family traveled to the northwest from the American south
days before the assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
Eleta credits this early life experience for the formation of her life avocation: The building of bridges across difference. From her early teens, she has been dedicated to reaching across aisles, healing wounds, and reacquainting people with their latent humanity. Eleta’s approach to liberation work addresses multiple axes of oppression, paired with an approach that centers healing and reconciliation.
During a career that has spanned three decades, she has brought this approach to organizations such as: Washington State University, Seattle Rape Relief, Alternatives to Violence of the Palouse, New Beginnings, and the Black Church Project. She served as the chair of the Racial Justice and Heterosexism Awareness Committees at Washington State University, President of the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and was a founder of Black Men Against Domestic Violence in Snohomish County. Currently she serves on the Healthcare for the Homeless Network Governance Council and is a member of the leadership team of Liberation United Church of Christ, Seattle.
Rethinking Psychiatry will livestream this event starting Wednesday, April 1 (NOT fooling!), 7-9pm, from the Seattle area, and will post the recording on our website and FB after.
TO ATTEND LIVE: there is NO NEED to sign up for a Zoom account (but you can and it is free).
However, YOU DO NEED TO DOWNLOAD THE APP OR GET IT FROM THE PLAYSTORE. (It only takes a couple of minutes.) You will be directed there once you click the “HERE” link, below.
NOTE ON CONFIDENTIALITY FOR THE EVENT:
Participants’ names will be viewable to one another. If you do not want your name seen, sign up with a pen name (ex. Happy Camper, or Lucky Dog).
Participants will enter the event with their videos turned off, and have the choice to keep them off to remain anonymous, OR turn them on and be seen by one another.
NO PARTICIPANTS will be seen on the recording that we will post either way.
Participants can submit questions by chat if they don’t want to be heard on the recording OR “raise their hand” and we will unmute them to ask a question.
*********
To join the event (we recommend doing this a few minutes early):
Click HERE to join via internet on any device with internal or external webcam and mic. Meeting ID: 913 057 419 OR Call 253-215-8782 to join by phone in OR or WA, audio only. (For numbers for other locations, click HERE.) Meeting ID: 913 057 419
We are NOT gathering at the Montavilla United Methodist Church building, due to COVID-19. We are so sorry we will miss you there. We will have the recording up for viewing after the presentation.
For questions contact: RethinkingPsychiatry@gmail.com or message us on our Facebook Page.
Rachel Levy presents ~ Beyond the Buzzwords: What does Trauma-Informed Care really mean?
How can organizations and individuals be truly trauma-informed?
______
Rachel Levy is a social worker who works for a crisis line in Portland. She has always been passionate about social justice issues, and she believes strongly in the need for more person-centered and holistic options for mental health care. Rachel has been a member of Rethinking Psychiatry for nearly a decade. She has written several articles for Mad in America, here.
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Wednesday, March 4, 2020, 7-9 PM 232 SE 80th Avenue, Portland, OR 97215 (Montavilla United Methodist Church)
Posted onJanuary 14, 2020|Comments Off on Mental Health and Prisons
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Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Braunwynn Franklin presents:
What does being mentally altered look like in prison?
Who gets prison, who gets mental health treatment, and who gets real help?
There is hope with work!
Braunwynn Franklin
Braunwynn Franklin has been a peer specialist and advocate for more than 10 years. She has a heart for social justice change in the prison/justice system and supporting people to gain a better quality of life mentally, spiritually and physically. She has a Bachelors Degree in Healthcare Administration and is a native of Detroit, Michigan.
Braunwynn facilitates NAMI Peer-to-Peer groups and is a Master Trainer in the Living Well with Chronic Disease from Stanford. Braunwynn is the Co-Champion of the Trauma-Informed Systems Committee of the Oregon Consumer Advisory Council.
Wednesday, February 5, 2020, 7-9 PM 232 SE 80th Avenue, Portland, OR 97215 (Montavilla United Methodist Church)
Posted onSeptember 19, 2019|Comments Off on Intentional Peer Support (IPS) & Trauma – Oct 2, 2019
Danielle Grondin & Rosemary
Intentional Peer Support & Trauma with Danielle Grondin Danielle will guide us through an interactive session on Intentional Peer Support and how we can understand our experience of trauma with mindfulness and self-care. This session will be useful for working with our own experiences and for providing support to others when trauma is a part of our lives.
Danielle Grondin is honored to be part of the peer movement. Her schooling focused on Sociology and Civic Leadership, while her lived experience illuminated the strengths and shortcomings of our current systems of care. Danielle has been in educator roles for over a decade and is passionate about social justice, intersectionality, sustainability, and holistic healing modalities. As the Director of Training at FolkTime, Danielle specializes in Intentional Peer Support. She is also trained as a Youth & Young Adult Peer Support Specialist, a Hearing Voices Facilitator, and a Certified Yoga Instructor. Danielle is a pet parent to two fuzzy animals, loves the outdoors, and enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends.
Rosemary is honored to also be part of the peer movement. Her schooling focused on being too cute and cuddly for words, and not barking too much, but just enough. She enjoys filet mingon, chasing squirrels, and having her belly rubbed.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019, 7-9 PM 232 SE 80th Avenue, Portland, OR 97215 (Montavilla United Methodist Church)
Rethinking Psychiatry is rethinking psychiatry, creating community, educating and activating for choices. We are part of a larger movement working to promote healing and choices in and beyond our mental health care system. We are an all volunteer organization made up of people with lived experience, professionals, family members, and other allies. We receive no funding from, and do not promote, any religious organization, government entity, corporation, or drug company.
RESOURCES
Harm Reduction Guide to Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs
Click here.
Published by the Icarus Project & Freedom Center
Rethinking Psychiatry's Alternative Mental Health Resource List
