Who Dares to Teach Must Never Cease to Learn.

 This is the third in a series of three essays exploring recovery from mental illness, the stigma associated with mental illness and the work that we do to support recovery and reduce the stigma experienced by those we serve. 

Over the past three weeks I have shared with you some of the recent research on the stigma associated with mental illness.  Understanding this research has helped us to understand why all of our efforts at community education were largely unsuccessful in reducing the negative attitudes often expressed by the New London community.  So if education does not work in reducing the negative attitudes that are often expressed about those with mental illness what, if anything, will?

Recent research has suggested that stigma is reduced when those with mental illness are integrated into the community.  Further, focusing on skill development and improving and highlighting the strengths of those with mental illness also result in long-lasting stigma reduction.  Put simply, focusing on recovery and helping clients develop and maintain the skills they need to integrate into the community will, across time, lead to stigma reduction. 

So who in our agency has the greatest impact on stigma and  who can do the most to improve the lives of these we serve.  I suggest to you that  it is those direct service staff who work with our clients daily helping them to learn new  skills, maintain existing skills and  support community  integration. 

The importance of a highly competent and caring teacher, or case manager, or recovery specialist, or rehab specialist or employment specialist in assisting a client in learning a new skill became very clear to me a few weeks ago.   Perhaps you, like me, have forgotten how difficult, anxiety provoking and just plain scary it can be to do something you have never done before.   When was the last time you attempted something you never wanted to do or had never done before?  Putting myself in such a situation has given me insight into what our clients must face on a daily basis and a renewed appreciation for the work of our line staff.  Let me tell you about learning how to ski!

 Now just to be clear, I have never wanted to learn how to ski- I always thought it was dangerous and I really don’t like snow or being cold.  When Michael, my oldest son invited me out to Vail, Colorado I was not aware that he had arranged skiing lessons for me.   When I expressed my significant reservations about his plans I imagined the worst, being cold and wet all day, broken bones, embarrassment at my total lack of skill etc, etc.  With all the impatience of youth, Michael assured me that skiing was a skill I really should learn, that I had really waited too long and that there was no time like the present-  does this sound like what we tell our clients?  Well needless to say I was not at all convinced and considered giving the whole thing up until I met “Bones” Corsetti.    Bones Corsetti, was my ski instructor. For an entire day, Bones worked with me and 6 other beginner skiers.  He is perhaps one of the most gifted and generous teachers I have ever met!  And while I have spent much of my professional career teaching people how to teach. I had forgotten what it was to be a “student.” And I had forgotten what our clients must experience on a daily basis as they struggle to recover.

What made Bones so special? Clearly it was his unconditional positive regard for those he taught and his ability to encourage.  As we waited at the bottom of the mountain for all members of the class to arrive he got to know each of us and connected with who were.  Then it was time to go up the mountain-  OMG 10,000 feet up-  what a long way to fall! Once at the top of the mountain all I could imagine was careening from the top to the bottom  in some type of awful out- of -control fall.    But Bones continued to reassure that all be would be fine and that we would have the best day of our lives.  What then happened was nothing short of amazing.  As the absolutely worst student in the class, and I do mean worst,   Bones gently guided, encouraged, corrected and modeled how to ski.  He recognized what I needed to be successful- he skied backward so he could hold my hands,  skied immediately if front of me, skied next to me so I could mirror his movements, etc., etc .  And there was a never ending dialogue that encouraged, instructed and corrected.   And all of this was done with the utmost kindness and humor. Just amazing!   So by the end of the day I had actually ALMOST skied all the way down the bunny slope without falling!  But perhaps, more importantly, as a result of Bones I am already planning on another trip out to Vail-  I am ready to try again!.  So thank you  Bones-  you not only taught me a bit about skiing  while I had a genuinely good time-  you also helped me to understand what the people my agency serve  experience as we  teach them to live more fully in the  community!!

So hats off to all direct service staff, staff that on a daily basis encourage, teach and support recovery and community integration.   Your work is and continues to be some of the most important work that we do.

Be well!

Gail 

"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn."        John Cotton Dana, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cotton_Dana