Digital Literacy Hub: Accessible Training in Using Technology for Recovery 

John Torous, M.D., and Erica Camacho from the Division of Digital Psychiatry at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) welcome individuals to join this empowering community. 

As COVID-19 has forced more and more care online, ensuring everyone has the skills, knowledge and, confidence to connect to digital care is more important than ever. In response, the Division of Digital Psychiatry at BIDMC offers a Digital Skills Education Hub: a consortium of mental health, social service, and community health organizations connected with the common goal of helping individuals use technology to meet their recovery goals.

News from the Cole Resource Center

We’ve been busy!  Our new online support group for young adults, Peer Connections, began meeting in May 2021. Congratulations to the 12 participants in CRC’s Workforce Development Program who accepted job offers in the first 7 months of 2021.  CRC responded to a record number of requests for resource referrals over the past few months and welcomed several new members to the Women’s Support Group.
 
Three members of the CRC Leadership Team (Emily Rhinelander, Maggie Tyler, and Susie Kennan) presented on May 21 at a webinar sponsored by the Resilience Project at Newton Wellesley Hospital, sharing their insights on the topic "Preparing to Launch: Supporting a Successful Transition to Post-High-School Life for Youth with Mental Health and Unique Learning Needs."  
 
The CRC Board of Directors welcomed two new members this spring:  Steve Lehrer from SBLehrer, LLC, and Alex Lee from the Social Services Department, Mass General Hospital.  We are also delighted to welcome two new family volunteers who have joined the CRC team:  Leigh Schwartz and Mary Barton-Lech. 
 
Many thanks to the generous donor of a $10,000 matching gift that inspired our June 2021 fundraising appeal and to the many supporters whose donations allowed us to earn the match in full. CRC now accepts gifts of appreciated stock. We are grateful to the Eastern Bank Foundation and the Town Fair Tire Foundation for their gifts in support of CRC’s work. Philanthropic support allows CRC to provide all its services and programs free of charge to our community.

Peer Connections at CRC

Maggie Tyler is Director of Resources at the Cole Resource Center.

“Connections” is the key word for our new support group, a weekly online gathering for peers aged 18-30 living with mental health conditions.  Our mission is to provide a safe space for sharing conversation and fun.  

From a Peer's Perspective

Recovery Beyond Measure

Danya Altman  is a mental health advocate, workshop leader, and entrepreneur.  She founded Bake it Till You Make it LLC and is the author of Mix, Melt, Mend: Owning my Story & Finding my Freedom.  Here she describes the process of opening her mental health home bakery during the pandemic while struggling with a depressive episode. 

Baking fuels connection, food tells a story, a bakery does both. While I wish the creation of Beyond Measure Bakery by Bake it Till You Make it LLC was as smooth as our buttercream frosting, that is certainly not the case. My experience has taught me that my best work comes from darkness. 

From a Clinician's Perspective

The Value of After-Care Support 

Kerry Walsh, LICSW, is Clinical Team Manager of the Behavioral Health Partial Program at McLean Hospital.

The COVID 19 pandemic has put a tremendous amount of pressure on the mental health system. Together over the past year and half we have been forced to isolate from one another, many have lost jobs, have increased stress at home and in their relationships. It has been a collective traumatic experience which has caused an increase in mental health issues and has shown a bright light on the importance of treatment and support services.

Did you know that there are (at least!)
8 Ways to Support the Cole Resource Center?

1. Forward this newsletter to others interested in mental health!
2. Refer people to our website
3. Donate to CRC online
4. Mail your check donation to:

5. Donate appreciated stock (for more information, email crcteam@coleresourcecenter.org)
6. Like us on Facebook
7. Make the Cole Resource Center your Amazon Smile Charity
8. Volunteer at CRC.

From a Clinician's Perspective

"Coping with Covid" - Britt Frank, LSCSW

In order to successfully manage the mental health challenges created by the chaos of 2020, we need to have a working understanding of trauma.

Trauma is not defined by the things that happen outside our bodies, but by the reaction to events inside our bodies. In other words, trauma is a physiological response and not a sign of inadequacy or weakness. These responses are part of our autonomic nervous systems and are not subject to logic, reason, or rationality.

Hey, Winter!

All of us are thinking about how to keep our spirits up through the winter months this year. We asked our CRC volunteers to tell us what keeps them going. Staying connected was a common theme in their responses. Some highlights:

Poem

"Presents" - Hannah Brooks
We are gifts to the world with bows neatly tied,
We are gifts to the world wrapped, plain paper on every side.
We are gifts to the world waiting to be opened one day,

Making Connections at a Virtual Job Fair

Emily, a member of the Barkin/Whitman Workforce Development program, recently attended her first virtual Job Fair and found it an exciting and rewarding experience. Susie Kennan, our Workforce program director, spoke with Emily about her preparation for the event and her experience there. 

Susie: How did you hear about the Virtual Job Fair?  Was this a new event for you?

Emily:  I learned about it in Job Club [the Workforce program’s online meeting space]. Actually, this was my first time attending any career fair and I was a little nervous.

Poem

"The Dance" - Jade Nicole Beals
Sometimes you want to muffle 
the loud voice of day
beneath bed covers
but why not
peel them back 
like an undressing of a sheet of winter ice?
Why not stand on your unsteady feet 
and half-smile?

Resource Recommendations

Recovery Story: Anne Whitman

Anne Whitman, PhD, CPS, is Chair, Metro Boston Recovery Learning Community; Consultant, Southeast Recovery Learning Community; and Senior Peer Consultant, MGH Center of Excellence for Psychosocial and Systemic Research. With Evie Barkin, Anne founded the Cole Resource Center in 1993. 

At the age of 33, I was running education programs at Harvard Business School (HBS), married, and mother of a new baby daughter. Shortly after I gave up nursing my daughter, I began to feel that my house and HBS were under electronic surveillance so I asked the Dean to bring in the police to investigate. I was fired from my job, became embroiled in a bitter divorce and lost custody of my daughter. I sat home with the phone never ringing filled with shame and guilt and having lost all hope I could rebuild my life.

Workforce Development: Making Connections

Susie Kennan is a member of the CRC leadership team and the Director of the Barkin/Whitman Workforce Development Program. Her coaching and the online Job Club that she created have benefited more than 30 program participants since she started as Workforce Coach last December.

Seeking volunteer career guides
Are you willing to share your work experience to help others?  Please consider supporting the folks in our Workforce program by telling us about what you do and about jobs in your field.  

From the Peer Perspective

"Portrait of a Leaf" - Jade Nicole Beals

Jade Nichole Beals is the author of Moonflower, a collection of her poetry. Jade’s poems celebrate the beauty in everyday life and the wisdom found in dark and light moments.

Portrait of a Leaf

Late afternoon,
I did not clench
the bough when
...

From a Clinician's Perspective

"The Three R’s" - Mathieu Bermingham, MD

Dr. Bermingham is a specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry. He is the current President of the NAMI Massachusetts Board of Directors.

The reopening of schools and businesses in Massachusetts is the latest challenge to our collective mental health. We all respond emotionally to the prospect of getting back out into society. It’s important to understand that those responses differ across a wide spectrum.

From the Family Perspective

"The Gift of Support from Others" - Anonymous 

I joined the Moms’ Compassionate Care support group last year while my daughter was in the middle of a manic episode that ended up lasting 6 months. I was getting lots of conflicting advice from medical professionals, doctors, therapists, law enforcement, interventionists and many people who really didn’t understand what I was going through as a mother. At that moment, when I was at my wit’s end, I was referred to Joanne at the Cole Resource Center.  After trying everything imaginable to get my daughter help to no avail, I was falling apart. Joanne made me feel like I was not alone. She not only listened, she shared her story and pain as well.

Our New Leadership Team 

Referrals to Resources
Maggie Tyler, Resources Director

The core activity of the Cole Resource Center is providing referrals to resources for members of our community.  We are not clinicians; rather, our expertise derives from our knowledge of health care resources.  As people with lived experience ourselves, as family members or individuals affected by mental health conditions, we are able to listen carefully to identify a persons’ needs and direct them to relevant information.  Along with Brian Scott, McLean’s Peer/Family Navigator who is based at CRC, we have four Family Navigators who do this work.  We are supported in this by several talented college interns who help us research information on specific resources.

Since March, when we began working remotely from our homes, the volume of requests that we have received has increased from all sources (phone, email, website, clinician referrals).  We published a special page of resources relating to mental health during the pandemic on our website within two weeks after our offices closed.

Support Groups
Emily Rhinelander, Programs Director

After our offices closed in March, we began offering the CRC Support Groups via Zoom.  Attendance has increased over the past four months.  Our support groups, run by trained facilitators, offer participants the invaluable opportunity to share immediate concerns and to give and receive support from others in similar situations.

There are now 61 mothers attending our Mom’s Compassionate Care groups regularly.  Since the Covid-19 outbreak, we have welcomed 9 new members and more of our mothers are attending one or two groups a week.  Starting in September, we will add a third group which will meet on Saturday mornings in order to meet this demand.

We currently have 35 members of the Men’s Peer-to-Peer group which meets twice per week.  The group addresses the unique experiences of men with serious mental illness (SMI).  Focusing the group in this way helps to build trust and community, making it easier for men to join.  Since moving online, we have welcomed 2 new members and attendance has become more consistent.

Workforce Development
Susie Kennan, Workforce Development Program Director

Most people find changing jobs and looking for work to be really stressful.  Individuals in recovery from a mental health experience face special challenges in seeking to re-enter the workforce.  CRC supports people through career transitions through our structured 5-step Workforce Development program which includes one-on-one job coaching.  But, how best to support program participants during a pandemic when job opportunities are reduced and in-person meetings are suspended?  You move online, which is what I did in late March.

Since January 2020, 29 people have been helped by Workforce Development, with our active roster growing from 13 at the start of the pandemic to 22 at present.  In early April, I created an online Job Club for Workforce participants with meetings twice a week, each meeting followed by emailed notes and links to articles and videos.  An estimated 130 attendees have taken part in Job Club meetings over the past three months.

CRC: Supported by Community
Ellen Faran, Finance and Operations Director

The Cole Resource Center, a very small nonprofit, continues to thrive, even with our activities reduced as necessitated by the pandemic.  How does this happen?  Through the enthusiastic participation of skilled volunteers and the financial support of our many generous donors.  All of us who engage with CRC believe that access to resources, practical coaching along the path of recovery, and the empathetic support of others who have travelled the same road can make all the difference to both individuals and families affected by mental health conditions.  Ours is rewarding work.

Successful Pilot of Peer Integration Program
Joanne Grady-Savard, Executive Director Emerita

Can it be demonstrated that including Peer Mentors on in-patient treatment teams provides positive results for psychiatric patients?  An unqualified “Yes” is the answer from the year-long pilot of our Peer Integration program, a partnership of CRC and McLean Hospital.  In this pilot which concluded in June 2020, two Peer Mentors joined the treatment teams of two McLean units, charged with providing recovery-oriented, person-centered, rehabilitative care to McLean Hospital patients and their families.  Their impact was deemed positive from all perspectives.  I am pleased to report that the two Peer Mentors have each been hired by McLean to continue their roles.  The pilot program team will share its research results with the larger mental health community in the interest of furthering peer integration.
 

Letter from the Executive Director

CRC "Resources for Spring 2020"

Our current distanced environment adds new challenges for all of us who face mental health challenges.  The Cole Resource Center has responded by creating a new webpage that refers you to resources that we believe you will find helpful during the Covid-19 pandemic:

https://www.coleresourcecenter.org/crc-resources-for-spring-2020

We want to express heartfelt gratitude to the health care workers on the frontlines of this crisis and to the many state & local workers who continue to do their jobs to provide services for our communities.  While many of our resource referrals focus on the challenges of sequestering at home, a consistent theme – which applies to everyone – is caring for each other during this time. 
 

Please Support the Ongoing Work of the Cole Resource Center

For many of us working at the Cole Resource Center, the end of March 2020 brought home the reality of the spreading coronavirus as we began to hear of many in our community taking care of sick family members, fighting the illness themselves, or dealing with serious economic setbacks.  We stepped up our efforts in facilitating larger support groups, providing individual coaching to more people in severely challenging situations, and assembling custom selections of referrals to resources.

As a nonprofit, continuing our work depends primarily on your philanthropic gifts. Covid-19 has interrupted our fundraising efforts such that private donations are ever more important at this time. Please, if you are able, give generously. Donate securely online by clicking the Donate button below.

Letter from the Executive Director

Spotlight Event on Mental Health Care

Bridging Trends in Mental Health Care

Progress is underway.  At the Cole Resource Center’s latest Spotlight event, three expert panelists from different perspectives cited promising initiatives that are proposed or already working to improve our state’s mental health care systems.

From a Family Perspective

"Dynamic Factors in Recovery" - Ellen Faran

Families welcome the new emphasis in mental health care on treating the whole person.  After all, it is the whole person, not their symptoms, whom we know and love!

From a Peer Perspective

"Marijuana and Me" - Daniel Sullivan

Some lessons are hard learned. For decades now, I’ve had to learn and relearn the fact that marijuana is not good for me. Supporting evidence? Well, two things just seem to follow each other. Marijuana? A trip to the hospital ...

"Yoga and Mental Health" - David Snebold

From firsthand experience I can vouch for the benefits of practicing yoga at least twenty minutes a day, most days of the week. Personally, I deal with various types of mental health challenges and yoga has really helped as a sort of “reset button” for my symptoms.

"Alone, Surrounded By People" - Anonymous


How can a person look at a picture time and again, without seeing it?
Or listen to a word, a phrase, a song, without hearing it?
How can someone be alone, while surrounded by people?
We’re human.
We manage.
No one is more blind than the man who thinks his eyes wide open.
No one is more deaf than the woman who herself on listening.
And in the middle of a crowd can be found the loneliest person in the world.
Always running, always hiding.
Trying to protect yourself
The only way you know how.

From a Clinician's Perspective

"Why Patience is a Virtue" - Cynthia Garrett, Licensed Mental Health Counselor

I have always struggled with patience. This makes perfect sense considering we live in such a “now” age, where waiting is considered a hassle or inconvenience. Patience, however, is absolutely essential for living a positive and present life. 

Upcoming CRC Spotlight Event:  October 30, 2019

Bridging Trends in Mental Health Care: Policy, Brain Science, & the Cost of Care.  A panel discussion with Marylou Sudders (Secretary of Health & Human Services); Tony Dodek, MD (AllWays Health Partners); and John Torous, MD (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center). 
Boston Public Library, Wednesday, October 30, 5:30-7:30 pm
Seating limited.  Please RSVP to info@coleresourcecenter.org

Letter from the Executive Director

From a Clinician's Perspective

"Accept" - Cynthia Garrett, Licensed Mental Health Counselor

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” Charles R. Swindoll Life is beautiful every time you’re able to accept something that has gone wrong. When you can connect with feeling good on the whole, even though things aren’t going your way, you know emotional freedom. What more could you ask for?
 

From a Peer Perspective

"The Legacy of Dr. Cole" - Ken Gustin

The Cole Resource Center is named after Dr. Jonathan O. Cole. This article is about him. I first met Dr. Cole in the autumn of 1984. At the time, I was twenty years old and he was one of the chief psychopharmacologists at McLean Hospital.  

"The Maybe" - Gabi Womble

A hook. It is the beginning of the story. It captures the reader’s attention. The protagonist at the highest or the lowest point in their story. The character’s heroic acts enveloping readers into the book. But, writing this piece, right now, I can say I start in the middle. In the grey area as some call it.
 

Approaches to Holistic Wellness

"Diet and Mental Health" - David Snebold

We have learned a lot recently about the positive effects of diet on a person’s mental health. Research studies have shown the importance that diet can play into one’s state of mind and functioning.

New Resources

Newsletter Archive: The CRC newsletter, Resources for Resilience, is now available for viewing on the website. Our issues from September 2018, November 2018, and January 2019 are currently posted.  We expect to continue adding new issues soon after they are released to our mailing list. To receive the newsletters via email, please sign up here.
 
Online Resource Library:  CRC works hard to provide our community with current reference information.  We will now be offering this service online!  In our Resource Library you’ll find a selection of material including links to other mental health organizations and recent articles about mental health.  We’ll do our best to keep the Library updated frequently.  And this new online collection does not replace the printed copies of articles that are still provided outside of the CRC office near the McLean cafeteria; choose your preferred browsing environment!

From a Peer Perspective

"Spring" - Anonymous

Close your eyes and smell the sweetness of spring. Feel the warmth of the sunlight on your cheeks, almost like a subtle hug. Spring exists in the children’s books as a symbol of a new beginning and the raw presence of joy.

"Masking and Unmasking" - Anonymous

I was good at masking. Too good. I look back and see photos of myself, a happy smile plastered on my face. That’s what everyone saw, and as much I wanted someone to notice I was suffering, it needed to stay that way.

CRC Activities

• CRC at NAMI Mass Advocacy Day
• Cole Resource Center team at NAMI Walk!

Approaches to Holistic Wellness

"Meditation and Mental Health" - David Snebold and contributions by Kevin Gimbel

Meditation has been found to have benefits for many different aspects of mental health. Mindful meditation is a semi-common practice that is focused on concentrating on neither the past nor the future but on the present. It usually involves sitting in a very comfortable position and paying attention to your breathing.

"Interview with Priyadarshi Khare on Meditation" - David Snebold and contributions by Kevin Gimbel

David Snebold dives into the topic of meditation through this interview with Priyadarshi Khare. Khare leads meditation sessions at the weekly meetings of DBSA (the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance) at McLean Hospital.

CRC Activities

* Save the date! We are planning now for March 21, 2019, our next Spotlight series event. Truth Be Told: Substance Abuse and Mental Health
* We have four ongoing support or mentor groups meeting regularly.
* SO MUCH MORE!!

Letter from the Editor

This issue features a roundup of CRC activities and articles about the correlations between sleep and mental health and the benefits of community for emotional recovery. There’s also a clinician perspective about McLean Hospital’s Patient and Family Advisory Council and, as always, a note from Joanne, our Executive Director.

Letter from the Executive Director

At the start of a new year, I always reflect upon the prior 12 months to help me set my goals for the next. This is an activity I have done for the last 18 years. I love it! With gratitude and grace, I value lessons learned and use this to fortify my plans for the coming year.

From a Clinician's Perspective

The McLean Hospital Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) was established in 2010 to serve as a forum to promote excellent patient and family-centered care. By communicating the perspectives of patients and their families regarding the care experience at McLean, PFAC works in an advisory role to enhance the care experience across the hospital’s treatment settings.

From a Peer Perspective

It is my firm belief that community is the most effective and essential component of recovery. Diet is important. What we put in our body affects our physical and emotional well-being. Exercise promotes blood circulation, which carries healing nutrients to all parts of the body. Meditation helps soothe the racing mind, reducing stress levels. Medication is used to combat our strongest symptoms. All of these we know greatly contribute to our mental health wellness.

Approaches to Holistic Wellness

Getting a good night’s sleep helps us all function day to day. It is paramount in promoting good mental health. There is a direct correlation between sleep and mental health illness. It is worth noting that many people who experience issues with schizophrenia, anxiety, ADHD and other brain disorders have a great deal of trouble falling asleep. Only fewer than 20% of people diagnosed with a mental health disorder do not have sleep issues. Good sleep hygiene is vital in dealing with mental health and mood disorders.

From the Executive Director

If Truth Be Told

Approaches to Holistic Wellness

From a Peer Perspective

From a Peer Perspective

Letter from the Editor

I’m very excited about the November edition of “Resources for Resilience.”
In this issue, we provide some personal accounts of mental health challenges and talk about the effect of exercise on emotional well-being. Continue Reading

Introduction to Resources for Resilience

Approaches to Holistic Wellness

Peer Perspective

Family Perspective

Volunteer Insight

Letter from the Editor

The main goals of the Cole Resource Center are to increase patient and family access to therapy and reverse stigma in the community. We also educate the public about mental health and provide emotional support to patients, their families and friends. Read More