Newsletter 9-6-07

Hello again Appalachian Counseling. Thanks to those of you who gave me great feedback about this blogging format for our newsletter and other A.C. updates.

I've got a lot to pack into this edition, so away we go:

Kambra has a couple of things to pass along, and this first one is muy importante -

"I am taking on the new intake role for the western highlands contract. Which means I need information from all clinicians in the Hendersonville and Brevard offices. Please repsond to let me know the who, what, when, where, why, and how much regarding your current status. I am looking to place people easily and with the right fit for all, so that this can hopefully be a smooth process for everyone involved.

Please email me a quick blurb about where you are, who you see, what panels you are on, special areas of expertise, how full or open your caseload is currently, populations you serve, etc."

This next one is also important - to be filed under Fun Times:

LAAFF festival this Sunday Sept. 9th from 11am to 10pm. It's the annual Lexington Avenue Arts and Fun Festival, featuring all local and original artists and performers. IT'S FREE!! It's all along Lexington Avenue in dowtown Asheville, and there are multiple stages of fun performers and lots of fun activities. It is family-friendly! Rumor has it you will be able to soil a zombie (come see what that means. . . ) You can stop by Kambra and former App Counseling therapist Peyton Kinnaird's shared booth, where they will be selling some of their hand-crafted wares. It will be FUN. . . it's part of the name of the festival, for pete's sake. Check out arts2people.org for more details. See you there!

Wendy Taylor is working to create some fun and incentives:

I was perusing our employee handbook when I found something that was said to exist, but didn't. So, Jane asked me to make it exist. We need to start an incentive box committee. These folks will be in charge of finding incentives to put in a secure box at each site of Appalachian Counseling- for employee perks. Perks may include anything and everything (okay maybe not everything) from chocolate bars to movie passes to massage certificates, whatever we can drum up. If anyone is interested in being apart of the committee, please reply. OR if you have stuff to donate to the incentives box- please let me know. I will be emailing Gordon with our committee members' names

Hey... When am I getting that email?

Some training opportunities are coming up, and here's the skinny:

Jen Worthen invites you all to The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery AND Music, Level I Training…To be held this February, 2008 in the Triangle area, NC…Specific dates and location TBA…CEU credits available!! Email her for lots more information at jenwo@charter.net .

There are still 5 spaces available for the DBT introductory training next Wednesday, September 12 - email Nancy Mercer if you're interested: njmercer55@yanoo.com or call me at 713-6697.

All of the contractors are having meetings at their locations with Jane this week. The first was held last night in Hendo, and here's the schedule for the rest: The second will be in Brevard at Country Club on 9.6.07: Thursday night 6:30 PM; the third will be in Hendersonville on 9.7.07 Friday morning at 8. The fourth will be in Asheville 9.7.07 Friday afternoon at 12:30. All contractors are strongly urged to attend. It's about you and the future of our practice together.

The state has completed another evaluation of its mental health reform. While I could have saved them a lot of time and money by simply explaining the rampant suck factor in everything the state has done, they wanted someone else to break it down. Click here to read the August report. It's really interesting and important as we move toward the next phase of our broken system's evolution. Here's a little excerpt:

- In the rush to complete structural changes, the public partners have lost sight of the effect on consumers; There has been insufficient joint effort at resolving consumer access problems.

- The pace and number of changes have been too fast and numerous, especially during the last two years, resulting in instability and insecurity about the future.

Well, duh!

Broughton Hospital got docked $1,000,000 as "administrators failed to make adequate safety improvements after a patient’s death while being restrained."

The New York Times reports that Bipolar diagnoses for children have increased 40-fold from 1994 to 2003.

"Many experts theorize that the jump reflects that doctors are more aggressively applying the diagnosis to children, and not that the incidence of the disorder has increased.

But the magnitude of the increase surprises many psychiatrists. They say it is likely to intensify the debate over the validity of the diagnosis, which has shaken child psychiatry."
[...]
"Some experts say greater awareness, reflected in the increasing diagnoses, is letting youngsters with the disorder obtain the treatment they need.

Other experts say bipolar disorder is overdiagnosed. The term, the critics say, has become a catchall applied to almost any explosive, aggressive child."

That's it for another edition of the App Counseling Newsletter. As always, send your announcements, news, links, and whatnot to me via email, or just leave it in the comments here. Thanks for reading and let me know if there's anything I can do to improve this format.

Ciao!