Archive for category: Behavioral Health

We all want to be treated with dignity, including those who have ongoing mental health issues.

This truth led Joel Slack, mental health advocate, to found the RESPECT Institute, which trains individuals with mental health illnesses to share their personal stories of recovery with public audiences. The goal is to foster a better public understanding and remove stigma of mental health challenges, including substance use.

The RESPECT Institute started in Kansas City in 2010 with Trena Fowler, Rehabilitation Director at the Center for Behavioral Medicine; Kellie Sullivan, Director of Crossroads Group Home; and Ruthe Workcuff, Case Manager at Swope as the facilitators. Ruthe continues to work as a facilitator training program participants; Trena & Kellie are now advisors.

RESPECT Institute speakers provide inspiration and hope. They knock down the stigma behind mental illness with each group they present to.

“These speakers are willing to share their stories to help others who may encounter similar obstacles,” said Mark Miller, Executive Vice President of Behavioral Health at Swope Health. “Swope Health is proud to support the RESPECT Institute.”

Ruthe has been an associate with Swope Health for more than 30 years. She has been featured in various magazines (including the September issue of Our Health Matters) and been on numerous panels.  What she does the best is make care visible.

RESPECT speakers are available to present to large and small groups — high school classrooms, civic organizations, church groups, hospital groups, auxiliaries, law enforcement and emergency personnel, mental health professionals and advocacy groups. If you would like to become a speaker or have a speaker to come to your organization to share their story, please contact Ruthe Workcuff at RWorkcuff@swopehealth.org or 816-599-5291.

An example of a RESPECT speaker and her story:

Ms. Adrian grew up in poverty in Chicago, Illinois. She had an alcoholic mother and a heroin addict father. It was so bad she ran away from home when she was 13 years old. Being out on the streets led her to trouble with the law and going to prison several times. Adrian didn’t realize that she had a mental health issue. At her last prison stay in Iowa, she got help with anger management and learned tips on re-entering the population. She got tired of going in and out of prison. Adrian learned that she could not mix street drugs with her mental health prescriptions, and that she needs to stay on her mental health meds. She has now been clean and sober for 22 years. She is planning to leave Kansas City to go to Texas where she has a son in prison. Adrian plans to volunteer at the Salvation Army to work with homeless women and share her story to help others.

The young man appeared a reluctant participant in the Swope Health arts program, led by Carolyn Graves, artist and Community Support Specialist, in the Adult Community Psychiatric Rehabilitation Program.

The art program is a way to teach coping skills to individuals overcoming substance use or other behavioral health issues. Most of the other day program participants were chatty and engaged, especially as Carolyn continually challenged her class to try new techniques of artistic expression.

But throughout four-day-a week Zoom classes, this young man stayed silent as he worked, answering with a nod or shrug only. After speaking with the young man’s mother and Community Support Specialist, Carolyn understood that the silence was a behavior of his choosing, not caused by a physical limitation.

When the art program resumed in-person sessions, the young man came to class but remained silent.

Until one day: while Carolyn was intently explaining a technique known as Aboriginal dot painting, he turned to her and said, “I got it.”

Carolyn considered it a breakthrough – and one more example of the healing influence of art.

“Art is a great coping skill,” Carolyn said. “It literally diverts your attention from yourself to focus on something bigger. Art has a fundamental power of expression.”

The art program offers a safe space for participants to learn new skills – whether drawing, creating with papier-mâché, coloring or painting – while sharing time and experiences with others. The class is set up for no more than 16, to allow Carolyn plenty of time with each participant. There are no demands on the participants, other than engaging their own creativity.

Carolyn Graves demonstrates how to use newspaper in the first step of creating a papier-mâché heart decoration.

Carolyn shows a finished wall hanging of her own design.

Carolyn noted her silent student has begun becoming more expressive, while also taking greater pride in his work. “Best in class,” she says.

His mother is delighted at the progress. She said he has indicated an interest in visiting museums and she is starting to imagine him working, perhaps in a framing studio.

“He has come so far,” she said. “I’m amazed and so grateful for this program.”

If you’d like to support the art therapy program, visit the Swope Health Amazon Smile Wish List page to donate supplies. 

Each year, more than 41,000 people die by suicide, leaving grief-stricken and broken-hearted family, and friends, and community members in their wake.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) designated September as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a time to call attention to the issue of suicide. At Swope Health, suicide prevention is a regular part of the conversation between associates and patients.

Suicidal Thoughts

“Suicidal thoughts can affect anyone at any time,” said Carla Lee, Patient Community and Education Specialist at Swope Health. “These thoughts can come to anyone, at any age, regardless of gender, social or economic status. But that doesn’t mean it’s normal.”

Suicidal thoughts are a signal indicating more serious behavioral health conditions, she said. That’s why Swope Health associates are trained in the latest proven techniques to identify issues early, encourage treatment and take steps to help prevent suicides.

QPR

One technique is QPR – for Question, Persuade and Refer. The QPR Institute was established to teach this approach, which is accredited by the National Registry of Evidence-Based Practices and Policies, an agency of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

The QPR Institute compares its program to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or the Heimlich Maneuver, both of which are widely taught and empower individuals to help save thousands of lives each year. People trained in QPR learn to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and perform an emergency mental health intervention.

Kevin Hines

A second program at Swope Health introduced caregivers to Kevin Hines, who attempted suicide in 2000 by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge. Remarkably, he survived, and his story gained widespread media coverage, including stories on ABC, CNN and The Today Show. He now advocates for suicide prevention and has successfully lobbied for the installation of a net to prevent future suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Hines has appeared at more than 5,000 high school and college campuses to share his talk, “Triumph over Adversity: The Kevin Hines Story.” He has written a book (Cracked Not Broken: Surviving and Thriving After a Suicide Attempt) and launched a non-profit organization that provides funding and education for suicide prevention. In 2019, he released a documentary, “Suicide: The Ripple Effect.”

His message is simple and consistent: “Suicide is never the solution.”

Carla agrees.

“Place your hand over your heart. Can you feel it?” she asks. “That is called purpose. You are alive for a reason, so do not ever give up. Remember, I care. Swope Health cares.”

If you are having suicidal thoughts, please contact Swope Health at 816-923-5800. Or call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Crisis Resources

• If you or someone you know is in an emergency, call 911
• If you are in crisis or are experiencing difficult or suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273 TALK (8255)
• If you are uncomfortable talking on the phone, you can also text NAMI to 741-741 to be connected to a free, trained crisis counselor on the Crisis Text Line.

Why care? is part of the National Alliance on Mental Illness campaign to encourage support for the one in five adults who experience mental illness each year.