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• Marie Connolly-Whitmore commented  ·  August 25, 2011 2:07 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  I am most concerned with HOW people get into the system of Mental UNHealth and the abuse in the first place AND why patients are not listened to right from the start ! Anything that is written or very briefly assessed from the beginning is twisted and assessments are done incorrectly which makes records holding information that is false about individuals. Their LIVES are affected in that quality of life is diminished for years ~~~~ years that cannot ever be regained! The injustice of it all just cannot continue !!/ MCW

• Victoria commented  ·  August 25, 2011 2:01 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  As a person who lived with severe symptoms of Bipolar Disorder, PTSD and anxiety, I advocate for people to consider using medications, counseling, spiritual support, and family support, if available, to recover and find their balance in life. I believe that the above guiding principles result in better outcomes for everyone - family, friends, "identified patient" and society as a whole. As a MSW candidate I affirm the social work values of dignity and worth of the person, value of relationships and integrity.

• Cicely Spencer commented  ·  August 25, 2011 1:53 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  I belive that if we practice having Mutual relationships with one another all that we deserve as an individual will follow. Such as: Respect, optimisum, and genuine relationships with others.
  Cici

• Dr. Abraham Rudnick commented  ·  August 25, 2011 1:36 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  Commendable, but the term insight in itself is problematic, at the very least as it is medicalized. Note that many if not all people, with or without mental health challenges, do not have full self-awareness, even after many years of self-exploration through various means (psychological, spiritual, and other). Perhaps the a high level of self-awarness involves awareness of the impossibility or at least difficulty of having full self-awareness.
  Also, the term capable is problematic, as in many jurisdictions the law recognizes and will probably continue to recognize incapacities, e.g., to write a will, or to manage property (e.g., as pertains to people with advanced dementia).
  Therefore, I suggest delete the terms capable and insight or replace them.
  Best,
  Dr. Abraham Rudnick

• Lorre Leon Mendelson commented  ·  August 25, 2011 1:32 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  This is a difficult concept for me. Recovery implies there is something to recover from and that is not my perspective. I see good health in all areas of our lives as important and prefer not to seperate mind, body and spirit. So, I support health and kindness in all areas. Best, Lorre

• Allan Slaughter commented  ·  August 25, 2011 1:23 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  A) For "optimism" substitute "hopeful orientation" or just "hope."
  b) Add "Resistance to force and profiling," since no one understands "calumny."

• Sally Zinman commented  ·  August 25, 2011 1:21 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  I agree with NCMHR's deifinition of recovery. I also beieve that people can and do recover. For some people it is an ongoing process; for others, and many others, it is an end result. I also think that the definition of recovery should include the services that support recovery in the mental health/substance abuse and other systems.

• Patricia Lefave commented  ·  August 25, 2011 1:09 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  I would like to see much less emphasis on what is 'wrong" with the psychiatrized individual and a whole lot MORE on what is wrong with societal groups as a whole. No one gets "ill" all alone in isolation. It often really DOES "take a village."

• Moss Bliss commented  ·  August 25, 2011 1:04 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  I think something needs to be in there about our connection to nature/deity, but this is a WHOLE lot better than TAC's "everything is biochemical, take drugs" approach.

• Linda commented  ·  August 25, 2011 12:52 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  With no proof at all that mental illnesses are diseases I believe that being different in any way should not be a signal that someone must be drugged for life. I believe that every human must be able to live a full life without movement disorders, suicides, homicides and all the other drug induced behaviors we read about all the time each and everyday. Choices should be what life is all about. If a choice is not the right one then the consequences will have to be met. It is not the right of the system to force drug humans and in my opinion....not even animals especially for experimental reasons.

• Colleen Sondrini-Cooper commented  ·  August 25, 2011 12:52 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  Each one of us has the right to respect, dignity, freedom and a right to choose out own direction...our path of recovery. I am grateful to have an opportunity to support others on their path of personal discovery for 22 years. My support for others came to me through my own path of discovery with supports and not feeling that I should ever be held back. I do not believe in illness but instead in understanding that we are people with lived experiences. Full endorsment for the RLC's Guiding Principles.

• Colleen Sondrini-Cooper commented  ·  August 25, 2011 12:51 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  Each one of us has the right to respect, dignity, freedom and a right to choose out own direction...our path of recovery. I am grateful to have an opportunity to support others on their path of personal discovery for 22 years. My support for others came to me through my own path of discovery with supports and not feeling that I should ever be held back. I do not believe in illness but instead in understanding that we are people with lived experiences. Full endorsment for the RLC's Guiding Principles.

• Edward L. Knight PhD CPRP commented  ·  August 25, 2011 12:50 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  TAC is manufacturing misinformation. Aaron Beck MD perhaps the most respected psychiatrist and mental health researcher in the country in his 2006 book Schizophrenia summarizes the lack of evidence for the biological evidence for mental illness. After 100 years of research there is no evidence for anatomical, genetic or physiological differences between labeled and non labeled people. another excellent summary of the lack of evidence is bio researcher R Walter Heinrich in his 2003 book In Search of Madness.

• Edward L. Knight PhD CPRP commented  ·  August 25, 2011 12:49 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  TAC is manufacturing misinformation. Aaron Beck MD perhaps the most respected psychiatrist and mental health researcher in the country in his 2006 book Schizophrenia summarizes the lack of evidence for the biological evidence for mental illness. After 100 years of research there is no evidence for anatomical, genetic or physiological differences between labeled and non labeled people. another excellent summary of the lack of evidence is bio researcher R Walter Heinrich in his 2003 book In Search of Madness.

• marg commented  ·  August 25, 2011 12:40 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  Everyone has challenges in their life, no one knows what the other person is dealing with. We all deserve the opertunity to reach our full potential, whatever that may be. We all have the right to decide how we reach our potential, the route for one may not be the route we prefer to take.

• William M. Cole commented  ·  August 25, 2011 12:18 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  The ability to grow and learn are basic abilities of all living beings. Respect is an additional courtesy that all human beings are deserving of, regardless of diagnosis, percieved capability, or disability.

• Chrys Muirhead commented  ·  August 25, 2011 12:04 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  Everyone has the potential to lead fulfilling lives and should be encouraged to do so - mental ill health is not an excuse to take away a person's potential or to make decisions on their behalf - we need to keep levelling the playing field so that we all have the same opportunities, shoulder to shoulder, sharing the load.

• spiritual_emergency commented  ·  August 25, 2011 12:02 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  Part of the reason it's necessary for us to speak so loudly is because we speak for the people who were told they could never recover and we know what that did to our sense of hope.

  It's challenging and not everyone is going to get as far as they might hope, but we all have the ability to move past, move forward, move beyond. No one else can do it for us but there are many things that can help.

• Charles Hughes commented  ·  August 25, 2011 11:56 a.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  My sentiments exactly

• Karen Lowe commented  ·  August 25, 2011 11:50 a.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  I am a recovering person. I work at a human service agency, where workers who have lived experience with a mental health challenge are valued as important, and as good as other so-called normal workers. I fully believe in the RLC's guiding principles, and that recovery is possible for everyone. We are human and deserve human rights, just like anyone else.