Cape Counseling Newsletter • Winter 2012
Cape Counseling Behavioral Health Services ~ 128 Crest Haven Road, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210 Tel: 609-465-4100 Visit online at www.capecounseling.org or like us on Facebook
Traumatic Loss Coalition for Youth (TLC) By Chris Miller, Director of Access & Screening
CEO’s Corner……………
Greg Speed, CEO
Happy Holidays 2012-2013 By Greg Speed CEO It is hard to believe that 2012 is almost over. Even harder to believe is that I am about to enter my 32nd year as a CCS employee, 13 of which have been as the CEO. As I review the past year, and even more importantly, the past 32 years, I am guided by the belief that people with mental illness and substance abuse problems are some of our most vulnerable citizens.1 in 5 of us, will experience mental health challenges in our lifetime. As providers of behavioral health services, we have a responsibility to ensure that everyone receives quality services and is treated with respect and dignity. In 2012, there were several highlights that I would like to mention. CCS and other provider organizations became fully compliant with Medicaid certification. We received our full licenses with DMHAS Office of Licensing and made substantial progress with the development and implementation of our Electronic Medical Record, Anasazi. We are currently billing and scheduling appointments 100% through Anasazi. We have also made great progress with the Clinical design and future implementations roll out. We received final approval of 11 HUD vouchers for 2010 and initial approval for 6 vouchers in 2011, one of which will go to Family Promise.
The Traumatic Loss Coalition for Youth program provides trauma response assistance to schools following sudden losses due to suicide, homicide, natural disasters, accidents, and illness. The purpose is to ensure those working with youth from a variety of disciplines and programs have up-todate knowledge about mental health issues, suicide prevention, trauma response, and resiliency enhancement. The TLC’s other main responsibility is suicide prevention and training. The TLC is funded by the NJ Department of Children and Families, Division of Child Behavioral Health Services. It was formed in 2000 with a TLC Coordinator in every county. Coordinators provide meetings throughout the school year bringing together school personnel, mental health staff, juvenile justice personnel, law enforcement officials, social service agencies, and child welfare workers. The meetings are used for reviewing crisis events, identifying service needs, and providing professional development through educational presentations. TLC Coordinators work with their counties to develop Lead Response Teams (LRT). These teams are available to assist schools when needed following a traumatic loss event. The members are trained in the PostTraumatic Stress Management (PTSM) model. The training is held once a year in the state of NJ and is currently a two day training. Cape May County’s LRT consists of school personnel, mental health workers, clergy, firefighters, and law enforcement. Cape May County’s TLC has responded to several traumatic events in recent school years including, the sudden loss of teachers and students either due to natural causes or accidents. The LRT provide psychological first aid to staff and students as well as give evidence base recommendations to effective deal with the loss. Cape Counseling Services is pleased to offer this service to our community in times of crisis. If interested in joining the Cape May County TLC, please contact Chris Miller @ 609-465-4100 x 141 or cmiller@capecounseling.org
We were excited to open the doors to our Family Success Center in January 2011. The Family Success Center is a community gathering place where any resident can go for support, information and various services aligned to build upon a family’s unique strengths and help them face life’s daily challenges. We support families with a food bank, parenting skills training, housing related services, job training, financial/budgeting assistance and parent-child activities. At the Crest Haven site, we plan to partner with Genoa Healthcare and bring in an onsite pharmacy to assist our consumers with their healthcare and psychiatric prescription needs. The pharmacy should be fully operational by March 1, 2013. We were also very pleased to have Chris Miller & Dianne Breder, TLC Contined on Page 2
Trish Mediuch APN return to CCS as a provider in our Psychiatric Services department. Within our Outpatient and Recovery Department, we were fortunate to hire Evelyn North LCSW, LCADC and Stephanie Langley LPC, LCADC to help us prepare for a fee for service environment and continue to provide the highest level of clinical care. Our partnership with Cape Regional Medical Center continues to move in a very positive direction. We now meet with CRMC on a quarterly basis and discuss how we can best serve the community on an emergency/screening basis. If all goes well, we will be bringing in a new Children’s Partial Care building (36’x60’ modular) at the Crest haven site by the end of 2012. As 2013 arrives, CCS will continue to focus on opportunities to provide integrative healthcare (primary care and behavioral healthcare), additional Evidence-Based practices, and further collaboration with Jewish Family Services at our Family Success center. In the new fee for service world, it is my hope that CCS will not only ‘survive’ but experience the ability ‘to thrive.’ It is my hope that CCS is seen not only as the ‘Provider of Choice’ in Cape May County but also seen as an integrally important fabric of our community, whether it be through the services that we provide or the partnerships which have enriched us. We will continue to remain closely involved with healthcare reform, whether through our partnership with MHCA (mental Health Corporations of America) or NJAMHAA (NJ Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies). In closing, please take the time this holiday season, not only to receive gifts, but to give to others. Give not only material things. As one gets older, material gifts are less important. Give of yourself, your time, your presence, your prayers, and your love. Remember those less fortunate; remember those we serve and those who serve us in the military. If we do that, 2013 will be a wonderful year!
Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale By: Chris Miller, Director of Access and Screening Cape Counseling is moving forward with implementing a new agency wide suicide prevention tool, the Columbia- Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). The C-SSRS was developed by several psychologists and physicians at Columbia University. This particular tool is national and international public health initiative involving the assessment of suicidality, including psychiatric emergency departments, hospital systems, managed care organizations, community mental health agencies, primary care, clergy, schools, college campuses, US Army, National Guard, VAs, Navy and Air Force settings, frontline responders (police, fire department, EMTs), substance abuse treatment centers, prisons, jails, and juvenile justice systems. The C-SSRS is being endorsed by JCAHO Best Practices, NJ Division of Mental Health and Addictions, UMDNJ, and NJ Traumatic Loss Coalition for Youth. Several state trainings have been sponsored in an effort to get NJ Screening Centers to adopt this instrument. Continued on Page 3
Families F.I.R.S.T. Winter 2012 By Sally Barlow, Families F.I.R.S.T. Specialist Cape Counseling Services’ Families F.I.R.S.T. program continues to schedule many exciting events for the fall and winter season. On October 7th 2012 Families F.I.R.S.T. offered our annual day of respite to the families of Cape May County. This year we planned a bus trip to the Historic Smithville’s annual Octoberfest. A delicious brunch was provided for those who attended at the Smithville Inn. The families enjoyed shopping at all the interesting shops of which there are many. An enjoyable time was had by all. A second respite trip is scheduled for December 15th when Families F.I.R.S.T. is taking clients on a Holiday Shopping Trip to the Cumberland Mall and lunch is on us. There is a 3% sales tax at that mall which is a savings for shoppers. Happy Christmas shopping. Families F.I.R.S.T. continues to offer our monthly psycho-education series to our families. In November Steve Alfano, CCS’s Outpatient Counselor presented on the topic of “Self Mutilation: What is it and why is it different from Suicide?” The upcoming topic for December will be “Supportive Housing and Residential Programs”. A supportive housing representative and a residential program representative from Cape Counseling Service will be discussing the housing programs that exist in Cape May County. The discussion will include the type of housing, the specific eligibility, and ways of accessing supportive housing and residential homes. Other upcoming workshops will be scheduled each month throughout the year. These programs are open to anyone in the community who wants to attend. In addition, Families F.I.R.S.T. continues to have a “Problem Solving” support group that meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month from 6:00 to 7:30 pm, as well as a “Heart to Heart” support group that meets on the 3rd Monday of each month from 9:30 to 11:00 am for those with a spouse or significant other who suffers from a mental illness. Families F.I.R.S.T. offers a variety of services including support, advocacy and education to families affected by mental illness. For more information on any of these services or upcoming events please contact Kelly Magliocco @ 609-778-6136 or Sally Barlow at 609-778-6138. The Families F.I.R.S.T Program is always actively looking for new referrals to this program. The requirements are simply that a family has a loved one, age 18 or older who has a diagnosis of mental illness. We are here to offer education and support in the form of single family consultations, psycho-education workshops, support groups, referral/linkage to services and resources, advocacy, and planned respites.
Consumer’s Story How has rainbow of hope helped me? Well I could write a book on it but I don’t think that you all would want to sit here and read the whole thing. There is a lot more that rainbow has helped me with then you might think. I got my therapy there and my group sessions. I made a lot of friends and learned a lot of life lessons. Let me start off on how I got into rainbow. I sat in the hospitals social workers office and we discussed my options. I didn’t mind the options that were on the table but I wanted to better myself. So I took the next step and said I wanted to get further treatment. A few weeks later, I had my interview with rainbow of hope. That was the only place that would even take me. My first day, I met a lot of people who were very nice, and a little scary. And from there it just got better. Any issue that I had, any Continued on Page 3
CCS currently has an agency focus group from staff of various departments, meeting to develop agency policy and implemental strategies for the C-SSRS. The goal is to implement this new instrument in 2013. Staff will be required to take an online course to be able to administer the tool. The training is administered through a 30-minute interactive slide presentation followed by a question-answer session. Those completing the training are certified to administer the C-SSRS, and will receive a training certificate. The training certificate is valid for two years. More information on the training and the C-SSRS can be found at cssrs.columbia.edu
Holiday Spirit is In the Air By Jasmine Hughes, Youth Development Specialist The School Based Youth Services (SBYS) Program at the Cape May County Technical High School has facilitated numerous activities geared towards giving back and spreading holiday cheer. SBYS is reviving the trend of the homemade gift with their widely varied Santa’s Workshops. Students can exercise their creativity and sign up for fun activities that include wreath making, duck tape art, sand blasting, wood working, they can even try their hand at chocolate making. Nurturing both student and community partnerships is a big agenda item for this program. They have recently pulled their many resources together and contributed over 750 lbs of food to the Family Success Center’s food drive in November. Their next big venture is “Teens For Jeans.” SBYS is asking for jeans in “gently used” condition to be donated now through February 8th, 2013. Other upcoming events include Veterans Bingo in collaboration with the American Legion. For more information on the SBYS program at Cape May Tech, or if you would like to partner for a project, please call: (609) 465-2161 ext. 683 or email nhiers@capemaytech.com
SBYS Program staff and students from Cape May Technical High School.
of the staff members were there to help me. For example, one day I was seeing the same person over and over again. A staff member was willing to chase this person around the yard for about 10 minutes and then she got tired. But I was distracted and didn’t even see the person for a few weeks. Staff dedication at rainbow is above and beyond. I participated in all group activities, did all that I was supposed to do. And despite how things looked at that time, I knew there was light at the end of the tunnel. I left rainbow of hope on exactly my 5th month. All of my goals that I have in life these staff members were there to support me, and they still are. I started off wanting to be a psychology major. But later on in my senior year I realized I wanted to help people. So I became an EMT and now I’m in paramedic school. There was a councilor there in the past that had a little impact on this. I would call back rainbow every week and tell them everything I’m learning. And they were always proud of me. No matter what positive thing that I do, they will always be proud of me. And every child that walks through that door, they treat like their own. With this letter, I am attaching my “this I believe” essay. It is about rainbow of hope. I hope this staff member remembers all of this because I didn’t use her name. I remember it like it was yesterday. I hope to get the essay published so all can read it and take it all in. When my essay is read ask yourself “What’s stopping you?”
Who’s stopping you? “Who’s stopping you?” I looked up at her and said “I don’t know”. That night I lie awake staring at the walls. I look at shadows walking around my room as I slump down under my blanket, despite how hot it was. I was afraid to face the fact that this was happening to me. I didn’t know that this was real. I was schizophrenic. Under my blanket, my mind is racing a mile a minute. I keep thinking that I am going to turn out like the main character in fight club or someone from Shutter Island. All these images in my mind are making me go into a sweat. Then I heard the best voice I have ever heard. It was a nice sweet voice. It whispered “who’s stopping you?” My therapist was a wonderful lady. Always held herself to a high standard and didn’t let any of us at this group home go without us functioning at the best of our ability. Whenever I had an issue, I could always run to her. I was in my junior and senior year of high school while in this group home. Being in there held me back from accomplishing my goals in life, for the moment. When she said those three words to me, I knew that I had to step it up. There was no more time for the bullshit that I was doing. I came in a wreck and I wanted to come out on top, a success story. I was at every group that was held, in every therapy session I was able to attend. When it came to the point where she asked me what I wanted to do in life, I told her it might not ever happen. I want to be a pre hospital nurse with a paramedic license. So she said to me, those three words I now know and love. “Who’s stopping you?” Every time I was about to go to bed, after I brushed my teeth and washed my face, I stared in the mirror and asked myself “who’s stopping me?” The day came that I left the group home. I said my goodbyes to the other residence as they went off to school wile I waited for my dad to come and pick me up. I almost cried when I left that place because they were my family for 5 straight months. They were there from the good times, where I was getting straight A’s in school, and the bad times when I got put back in the psych ward. No matter what, they never gave up on me. And I thank them for that. As I walk toward the 2001 Chevy impala, I turn and say to the ranch style house in the pouring rain, “nobody is stopping me”. I still call my group home back every once in a while. I still talk to my therapist and to be honest, I sometimes shed a tear. Who says you can’t
Spreading Generosity To The Cape May County Family Success Center While Practicing D.B.T.… By Lisa Polite, Rainbow of Hope Program Manager Every month the Rainbow of Hope team comes together for an all staff meeting. For our December team meeting we decided to bring donations to help support the Family Success Center. Staff voluntarily brought in many items that were given to Allison Raisch, Program Manager at the Family Success Center, so that she could take them back to the FSC Food Pantry. Over twenty team members brought in items on that day. One of the skills we teach our residents during our dialectical behavior therapy groups is ACCEPTS. This is an example of a distress tolerance skill – a skill that anyone can use when they are becoming distressed. The overall idea is that each letter represents a way in which a person can distract themselves from what is upsetting to them. The “C” stands for “Contributes.” Anyone can do this by contributing to other people. There are so many ways that we contribute to others each and every day. By taking the time to help someone out or do something nice for someone else, we are also helping ourselves to feel better. We would like to thank Allison for allowing us to donate the items to her program!
I still call my group home back every once in a while. I still talk to my therapist and to be honest, I sometimes shed a tear. Who says you can’t be a schizophrenic and be a pre-hospital provider? Nobody, do you know why? Because nobody is stopping me! This I believe.
By Seth
1.7 Million Teens are Homeless. The #1 item they requests from shelters is a pair of Jeans
A “TEENS for JEANS” Campaign will run at Cape May Technical High School until February 8th, 2013 Sponsored by the SBYS Volunteer Club DoSomething, Aéropostale and P.S. from Aéropostale have partnered with over 1000 homeless shelters across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Your jeans will be donated to a homeless shelter in your local community. Homeless shelters often have a greater need for large sizes, but we will be happy to accept jeans of all sizes or brands for this campaign. All of the jeans should be in good condition.
Cape Counseling Staff Respond to Hurricane Sandy By Greg Speed Like so many other caring individuals throughout our state, CCS staff responded to the needs of many Hurricane Sandy victims following the October Hurricane. Other than some minor damage at the Lily Mae Apartments in Wildwood and flooding at the Agency’s Park Place Residential Home, Cape Counseling weathered the storm with little damage. During the height of the hurricane, Greg Speed worked at the Upper Township Middle School shelter serving the needs of a number of individuals transferred the Wildwood and Ocean City area. In the aftermath of the storm, a number of Cape Counseling staff have been instrumental in assisting the County at the FEMA Center located in the basement of the Cape May County Library. In particular Kathy Reeves and Eleanor McBride have spent many hours providing supportive listening services to the individuals coming in to register with FEMA and the Small Business Association for damages which they occurred as a result of Sandy. The CEO has continued to work collaborative with Pat Devaney, Human Services Administrative during the recovery process and would like to extend sincere appreciation to both Kathy and Eleanor for the volunteer efforts in the past five weeks.
Grand Prize will be awarded to the school that collects the most jeans: A $10,000 grant, Aéropostale hoodies with your school’s name on it, and a party! When you donate your jeans at Aéropostale, you'll receive one 25% coupon for each pair of jeans you donate. (When SBYS Volunteers drop off jeans, we will receive coupons).
Christmas A gentle brush of the Christmas tree touching me Sending shivers down my spine I greet the Snowman with a smile Then I gave him a kiss and he melted Maybe it is his touch that made me melt Under the Christmas tree has toys and lids to open You are a present Santa every night I wish to see you But Christmas I’ll imagine you A poem written by “C” a 14 year old youth at the Rainbow of Hope Psychiatric Community Residence
Family Success Center Replenishes its Food Bank With a Donation from Cape May County
Cape Counseling Services 13th Annual Holiday Gathering 2012
By Greg Speed
By Cathy Leahy
Greg Speed CEO and Pat Rocanella, Family Success Center, Family Resource Advisor, gladly accepted a most generous donation of food and personal items from the County Freeholder Board at their 12/11/12 meeting. Through the leadership of Freeholder Kristine Gabor, Freeholder for Health and Human Services, Pat Devaney, Human Services Administrator, and Lenora Boninfante, County Communications Director, the County employees collected 30 large boxes of food and personal items. The Family Success Center was chosen as 1 of 2 recipients for this generous gift. The other recipient was St. Maximillian Kolbe Parish (Church of the Resurrection in Marmora and St. Casmir’s Church in Woodbine). Each recipient will receive 15 boxes of food on Wednesday, 12/12/12. Freeholder Gabor indicated that the County wanted to help families in Cape May County who might have been impacted by Hurricane Sandy. While there was recognition that Counties north of us incurred much more damage, Cape May County has become a respite for many families from Ocean County. Pat Rocanella indicated that the food bank within the Family Success Center typically lasts only 2 weeks at a time before it needs to be replenished.
Cape Counseling Services held its 13th Annual Holiday Gathering on December 11th, 2012 at the Wildwood Golf & Country Club. It was a wonderful day of celebration and togetherness. We had a delightful breakfast buffet with omelet station followed by an Awards Ceremony. The CEO, Greg Speed honored some of our staff with Years of Service Awards for 5, 10, 15, 25 and 30 years. Greg Speed, our CEO, was the only recipient of our 30 Years of Service award. He was presented a beautifully engraved Crystal by our Board President, Tina Wagner. Tina addressed the staff, sharing some wonderful things about our CEO and the incredible work ethic that he has and his dedication to Cape Counseling’s Mission and consumers. Our other Years of Service staff were presented with a Certificate or Plaque, a Years of Service pin and a CCS engraved gift. The CEO also acknowledged our 2012 Employees of the Month, who received applause and a commemorative pin. Next the CEO awarded our 2012 Manager of the Year who was Melissa Bailey, our PACT (Program for Assertive Community Treatment) Program Manager.
CCS thanked the Freeholders and County employees for their generosity. The food drive is now going to the public. Food receptacles will be placed in most public places like libraries, senior centers and county offices to collect food and personal items through March 2013.
Pictured (l to r) Freeholder Leonard C. Desiderio, Freeholder Vice-Director M. Susan Sheppard, Freeholder Director Gerald M. Thornton, Greg Speed, CEO of Cape Counseling Services, Pat Rocanella, Coordinator of the Family Success Center of Cape May County’s Food Pantry, Chris Blake, Coordinator of the Food Pantries for Maximilian Kolbe Parish servicing residents in Woodbine and Upper Township, Freeholder Kristine Gabor and Freeholder Will Morey.
Michael Laffey from the Cape May Country Park & Zoo was present to accept a check for $210 dollars that Cape Counseling Services raised at its 2012 Annual Staff Appreciation Lunch Event held on September 28th, 2012. This check was gratefully appreciated by Mike he and thanked CCS for the wonderful service that we offer to the Cape May County community. Because it was our Annual Holiday gathering, we were also able to have some fun with great giveaways for our staff. Everyone was given a ticket upon arriving to the event. Tickets were then pooled together for a “Day Off Drawing.” Ten lucky staff received an additional day off at their choosing. We also gave away 20 Christmas Turkeys and some wonderful centerpieces that our Rainbow of Hope children made. The children spent a lot of time and effort on these centerpieces and they were beautifully put together and gratefully appreciated by those who won them. The last fun giveaway was a 50/50 drawing. The $800 pot was shared between the winning staff person and Cape Counseling Services’ Family Success Center to stock their food bank and hopefully help a lot of needy families in our Cape May County Community have a much happier holiday. Thank you to our Staff Appreciation Committee, Sandra Donley, Cathy Leahy, Michelle McPherson, Doreen Richmond, Jackie Finnegan, Louise Olden, Kelly Magliocco & Teri Gilroy, who organize all or our events at Counseling Services and of course, to Cape Counseling Services for sponsoring the holiday gathering. Events such as this certainly boost agency morale and open the door for staff to have some fun together.
See Pictures from the event below.
Cape Counseling Services 13th Annual Holiday Gathering 2012
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