Welcome to Part 2 of our educational series on Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT). For those of you unaware, AOT is a hot-button issue right now considering that the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, which drastically increases funding toward
AOT: An Introduction
Welcome to the nine-part series on Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) by your friend Kate at the Colorado Mental Wellness Network. The purpose of this series is to shed some light on why it’s still important to be talking about AOT
All 50 states now report us to NICS. Thanks NH!
New Hampshire has officially decided to conform to public pressure and start reporting the big scary people with mental illness to the National Instant Criminal Background Checks System (NICS) so that they are flagged as ineligible to own firearms. I emphasize the
Gun violence hysteria + lime green wristbands = ???
I write about gun violence and mental illness too much, I know, but other people write about it too much too. So there. Recently we experienced the largest mass shooting in United States history at an Orlando nightclub. The gunman
Why the Media is Holding us Back!
by Amanda Kearney-Smith The media is everywhere – online, t.v., magazine articles, newspaper, social media, etc. So you really can’t ignore it! Unfortunately the media often gets it wrong when it comes to mental health. And even more unfortunate is
U.N.I.T.E to End Stigma Week Three: Inclusiveness
By: Amanda Kearney-Smith The acronym U.N.I.T.E¹ comes from a campaign to end stigma that started in Canada. It stands for UNITE = Understand, Nurture, Include Others, Talk, Embrace. Over the last three weeks we’ve elaborated on the “U” and “N” this week we’ll
UNITE Against Stigma Week One: Knowledge Really is Power
By Amanda Kearney-Smith Last week we discussed the acronym U.N.I.T.E (http://www.theravive.com/end-stigma/) as a campaign to end stigma that started in Canada. The “U” stands for “understand” and so this blog focuses on using knowledge as a powerful tool for breaking down
Reducing Stigma Continued…
By Amanda Kearney-Smith I’ve heard many times that “stigma does not have an impact on people seeking treatment. Its no longer an issue.” – I think that people confuse improving attitudes about mental health with total acceptance. For those of
Together We Can Do So Much
By Amanda Kearney-Smith, Executive Director People often tell me.. “You don’t seem depressed” or “It doesn’t seem like your illness affects you” or “I’ve never seen you struggling”. I think people are surprised to hear that I’ve battled bipolar disorder
What is a Wellness Plan?
At The Network we offer “wellness planning workshops” to anyone who is interested in creating a personalized wellness tool. What does that mean? Well, there are a lot of wellness tools out there, just do a search for “wellness tools”