The consumers at Key Point Health Services (Harford PRP) had the opportunity to participate in this years HCC Art Exhibit to celebrate 21 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under the direction of Liz Tutino, Consumers were able to submit their personalized artwork and have it displayed at the Harford County Community College. The Harford County PRP of Key Point Health Services, along with other entries from The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region’s inclusive recreation program as well as by the Harford County Cultural Arts Board. Consumers were very excited to see their work displayed and this experience has not only increased their self-esteem and confidence, but it has allowed them to see that creativity is abundant in their lives.
Harford County Community College Art Exhibit to celebrate 21 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act
12 JulApplebee’s Flapjack Fundraiser Breakfast to support S.P.I.N. Inc.
20 JunPlease Support S.P.I.N. Inc, Applebee’s Flapjack Fundraiser Breakfast
S.P.I.N. Inc., commonly known as Support Peer Independence Now, located in Aberdeen, MD is a supportive group of peers that gather together to participate in a variety of activities, support groups with varied topics of interest, and programs that allow for consumers to hold one another accountable and to enrich their lives despite their illness, by providing an open door for recovery to take place and for Independence to become a reality in the lives of those who are active participants.
On Sunday, June 26th, 2011, S.P.I.N. Inc. will be having a fundraiser from 8am-10am at the Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar at 991 Beards Hill Road, Aberdeen, MD 21001. This event is all you can eat, so please come with an appetite.
For more information, tickets can be purchased at the door or at the S.P.I.N. Inc office located at 19 Franklin Street, Aberdeen, MD 21001 (Across from Aberdeen library)
Contact Number for tickets:
Tickets are: $5.00
443-327-7810
Please support such a good cause. It is greatly appreciated! See you there!
Staffing Update
10 JunLiz Tutino has been promoted to the position of residential manager for our Harford County residential program. We look forward to working with her in her new role and are very glad she is still nearby!
Monika Butke has joined us as a new full-time rehabilitation counselor effective this week. Monika brings with her some fantastic experience in behavioral and educational plan creation. In addition to her mental health background, she packs strong capabilities in the MR, substance abuse, and forensics areas. She has a master’s in forensic psychology with a concentration in substance abuse from John Jay College of Criminal Justice / CUNY.
Wanda Moore is gradually stepping into her new role as a part-time counselor with the PRP during late June. Since her hire as a driver several weeks ago she has spent every spare moment when not driving helping out in the computer lab, in the community room, and with classes. More on her background and experience here.
Thanks for the Tickets!
2 Jun
The City of Aberdeen occasionally helps out social service agencies with Ripken Stadium baseball tickets.
Several Key Point clients and employees are very happy right now that we will get to go to an Iron Birds baseball game one lovely Saturday evening this June.
We’d like to thank Scott Hunsinger and the city for making this a happy place to live and do business!
– Michael
New SP Crisis Walk-In Clinic
28 AprAnyone who has dealt with a difficult or somewhat clueless emergency room will be very happy to hear that the mental health experts at Sheppard Pratt are opening a Crisis Walk-In Clinic (CWIC) effective in early May. Hours will be Monday through Friday 10:30am to 10:00pm with weekend hours promised.
More information available from Bonnie Katz at 410-938-3154 and bkatz@sheppardpratt.org
A rather bad scan of their flyer is attached — best we have at the moment.
Click on the image to enlarge.
Qigong Returns Friday May 6th
28 Apr
We are pleased to announce that the Harford County PRP will be resuming Qigong (Tai Chi) classes this coming Friday May 6th!
Ramon Martinez with Heaven Mountain Gongfu will be returning with some newly developed forms that maintain the power of the art while simplifying the coordinated movements for our population. He has also put together a DVD of the main forms that we can utilize on off-days with classes as needed.
Ramon is becoming increasingly well-known in the area with ongoing classes 
at Cecil Community College, Perry Point Veteran’s Center, and the Maryland Fencing Club.
He is also the Baltimore Marital Arts Examiner and his periodic column can be found here.
For those readers wondering what Qigong is and how it is of proven benefit, please reference the several excellent articles and videos available in an old blog post I did on this subject a few years ago. You can access this information here.
Our past series of articles discussing Qigong in whole or in part are located here.
Staff Changes
19 AprThere have been several staffing changes recently. We have bid goodbye to long-time kitchen manager Kevin Barnette and lead driver Bill Doehing. Both staff members served well and for years. Kevin was always friendly and willing to help out. Bill’s kind but no-nonsense leadership of the driving pool keep the van routes, maintenance, and appointment transportation flowing smoothly. Kevin also taught a long-running nutrition class, helped with drug & alcohol (MISA) class, and ran numerous field trips with clients. Bill put together a very well-received short-term class on the history of boxing last year. They will be missed.
Our new kitchen manager Farrell Foy II joined us 3-29-11 most recently from Sodexo as a cook via stints as an ice cream shop owner and limo driver after a long career in law enforcement. Wanda Moore has joined us as a part-time driver who also
has significant experience as a café worker, residential counselor, and secretary. Wanda is showing quite a bit of interest in client interaction beyond driving and we are starting to utilize her with the ACHIEVE class and as a computer lab monitor.
University of Baltimore Career Panel
19 Apr
I was delighted to participate in a University of Baltimore career panel sponsored by Psy Chi last Thursday night entitled “Where do you go from here? A panel discussion exploring postgraduate careers, educational paths, and possibilities in Psychology”.
Several professors were on the panel to answer student questions about the best ways to apply to graduate schools and what types of programs fit desired career paths. I was able to answer questions on terminal master’s degrees for those looking to go directly into counseling, as well as outline the sorts of career options and salary ranges available to students and bachelor’s-level graduates.
I was approached by a small handful of students afterwards about job and internship opportunities. I hope that University of Baltimore can become more of a recruiting source for staff in the future. The school has both undergraduate and graduate programs of interest.
Thanks to Psy Chi student president Simone Bolton, John Gasparini, Dr. Gasser, Dr. Farley, and Dr. Johnson for coordinating and participating in this event.
Negative Thought Patterns & their Association with Addictions
19 Apr
At the Harford PRP, Melissa Potemra is the instructor of the Mental Illness & Substance Abuse (M.I.S.A) class, which is held on Mondays. Alcoholism and Drug Addiction are major conditions that not only affect the abuser, but their entire family and friends as well. Addiction in and of itself has plagued our society and caused some major challenges. When it comes to thinking and thought patterns, I have recognized just how powerful a persons thinking can be. Positive thinking is empowering, motivating, and increases self-esteem, while negative thinking is distorted or black and white thinking. Changing your thoughts can lead to different emotions, which produces different outcomes.
Some helpful resources:
http://addictionrecoverybasics.com/how-to-change-negative-thinking-in-addiction-recovery/
MENTAL HEALTH & EXERCISE
4 Apr
You will be surprised to find what exercise, fitness, and balanced eating habits will do for you! Researchers have discovered that exercise and physical activity is an essential activity that impacts a number of psychological, emotional, physical, and mental issues such as obesity, depression, anxiety, stress, and depression. Exercise has also been found to alleviate symptoms such as low self-esteem and social withdrawal.
One study found that short workouts of 8 minutes in length could help lower sadness, tension and anger along with improving resistance to disease in healthy people.
Meditation and yoga, though more nontraditional, also lend themselves to using the body to achieve optimal levels of mental health.
For the last several months, a small group of consumers at the Harford PRP volunteered to participate in the ACHIEVE program, sponsored by Johns Hopkins Hospital and National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The ACHIEVE Healthy Lifestyles Trial is a weight loss study for people with severe mental illness. It involves a multi faceted weight loss lifestyle intervention which includes group exercise classes, behavioral weight management classes and individual weight loss counseling sessions, at Psychiatric Rehabilitation Programs across all of Maryland. Several PRP participants have volunteered to participate in this study and will be gathering together 3 times per week to work toward weight loss and an increasingly healthy lifestyle. The consumers at Harford PRP are doing an amazing job and have maintained interest and participation in the program since the beginning.
Sources:
“Mental Health Benefits of Exercise” was written by Jennifer C. Panning and published in the Find Counseling.com (formerly TherapistFinder.net) Mental Health Journal in November, 2000.
Guszkowska M.. Effects of exercise on anxiety, depression and mood [in Polish] Psychiatr Pol.2004;38:611–620. [PubMed]
Here is a video that further explains how exercise and nutrition can have an impact on Mental Health.
