Check This Out

Posted on 08/12/2010 | 6 Comments

Her name is Laura Burke, and if you do not know her or what she does already, you will by the time you finish reading this blog. But before you go any further, check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23a18HKYLW4. Ok, so here we go.
 
Recently it was my privilege to present Laura with the first ever youth award in the Champions of Mental Health Awards history. And she is a worthy recipient. She has worked hard to get well and to stay well. She takes her challenges head on and addresses them. She does not look for pity or solace she looks for recognition of her strengths. In short, she fell down, she got up, she dusted herself off and she began all over again. Kudos!
 
I am not sure if this is what the legion of resilience researchers are talking about or not. It seems that not a day goes by that I do not read about a new program or a new direction that will transform the lives of young people by enhancing their resilience. Usually this is achieved (or more properly said to have been achieved without the solid evidence we need to critically determine the outcomes) by some kind of learning of how to be resilient, taught no doubt by a well meaning and well paid human services provider.
 
And what about people like Laura. How did she become so resilient? Maybe she had it in her all along. Maybe everyone does. Maybe we need to work at ensuring environments support the development of that. Maybe we need allow young people to fall down gently, so that they can learn to stand up, dust themselves off and start all over again.
 
--Stan

What people are saying?

Kelly S said...

Great post! I believe that everyone has resilience in them. It takes a bit of time, though, to find out how to harness one’s strengths. Sometimes people rebound due to their anger at being treated like a second class citizen (the “mentally ill”). Sometimes it takes a skilled individual to guide a person out of deficit-based thinking into concentrating on their strengths.

Mental health treatment needs a bit more “rah, rah, rah” a la Tony Robbins to encourage people to bounce back. I would like to see more of that.

Having goals and focusing on one’s strengths (I believe) is the most important part of the recovery process.

Comment made on December 09th, 2010

Jenn said...

Awesome post! Thanks so much for sharing!

Comment made on December 22nd, 2010

Georg said...

When we treat people with cancer, we see a person with cancer.  When we treat people with diabetes, we see a person with diabetes.  When we treat people with mental illness, we often see the mental illness and not the person.
How do we change that?

Comment made on January 28th, 2011

Karen said...

Before my son became ill with schizophrenia, I would walk big circles around the mentally ill.  I would say silently in my head “Wow, watch out for the loonie toon!”  I would think how dirty, crazy and scary they were and try to steer clear of them.  Not once did I think of their Mother, Father, Sister or Brother. Not once did I think of them as a loved one suffering.  Not until my heart was shattered by this illness, did I realize the lack of government funded supports and medical research, the lack of public, police and addiction services education on this life destroying BUT TREATABLE illness. We need our mental health/police and addictions services working as an integrated & educated team to help our sick loved ones get on their road to recovery NOW.  I have never been a religious person…but over the last four years of my young son’s life I have prayed everyday…....it has become my only source of HOPE.  George, I bet none of the parents of children with diabetes have even thought for a split second maybe it would be better if my child/teenager, loved one were dead just to end MY pain, loss and frustration.  I know parents at the NSSS have confided similar thoughts to me. I could be wrong but I doubt it.

Comment made on January 29th, 2011

Lorraine said...

Hi Stan & Friends,
I work at the Department of Education, NS, and actually had this site forwarded as we have been working with Stan regarding this resource for a while now. Congrats on the launch of this new resource for teachers and anyone who is seeking information on mental health!! 
As I browse the site I think of my loved one and what he is going through and how this site will assist in breaking down the age old stigmas attached to mental illness. I was immediately impresed with the easy flow of information, video clips, side bars and the many affirmations of the importance of seeing the person with strengths and not only seeing the person with deficits. I am reminded of the importance of having goals and focusing on strengths.
Maybe persons with a mental disorder do not know their strength…or have forgotten them. They too need positive affirmations and for that I am grateful to be able to give!

In short, love the site! Great work Stan and team! I will certainly share this site with my son and family.
PS. I will be talking, long distance on Feb 9, 2011.

Keep up the great work! Hope I enter the image below correctly…here I go…
Lorraine

Comment made on January 31st, 2011

Comment made on February 10th, 2011

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Recent Comment

This is a great set of comments and rings very true. 

I totally agree that scientists (just like everyone else) have their biases and foibles.  After all, scientists are human beings too!  But science is different than scientists. 

The scientific method is the most objective frame that we have by which to evaluate and predict.  Science is not about finding truth.  It is only about being less wrong most of the time.  The scientific method (experimental design and mathematics) gives us the ability to test what we believe.  The scientific method is not used to prove something is correct, on the contrary, the scientific method is designed to prove that something is not correct!  It is designed to test what is called the “null hypothesis”.  It takes ideas that come out of left field (or wherever else they come from) and puts those ideas to an independent test.

t does not drive our beliefs.  It does however challenge our beliefs.  In that way it is self-correcting. Of course scientific inquiry and understanding lives within a wider social context.  That is one of the great features of science. 

But gravity is gravity, social context notwithstanding.  And thus it is nasty, brutish and long.  As Brecht said, (something like this) - the purpose of science is to save us from everlasting error.

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