heal. Winter 2017

heal

A publication of the Sheppard Pratt Health System • WINTER 2017

EMERGING from a Traumatic Past A long journey of healing leads to activism

PLUS THE RETREAT: RISE ABOVE CREATIVE THERAPY PRODUCES INSIGHTFUL ART AFRICAN-AMERICAN MENTAL HEALTH

In this issue.

WINTER 2017

4

6 4

3

Emerging from a Traumatic Past A long journey of healing leads to activism

African-Americans and Mental Health: Getting Past the Shame

6

The Retreat: R ise Above

9 Calendar 10

12 13

Healing Art

14 From Our Blog: Becoming Authentically ME: My Passion for Recovery

15 Meet Our Team:

In the News

Chanel Ross

12 Philanthropy On the cover.

Nancy Minadeo Flanigan opens up about her healing experience with The Trauma Disorders Program at Sheppard Pratt Photo by David Stuck CMYK / .eps

CMYK / .eps

Connect with us.

facebook.com/SheppardPratt

heal. is published three times a year by the marketing department of the Sheppard Pratt Health System, one of the nation’s top mental health systems. Sheppard Pratt provides compassionate solutions to help those suffering from mental illness and addiction recover and get back to their lives. Information provided is general in nature and should not be substituted for the medical advice of a physician. Please consult your health care provider for recommendations specific to your personal health, medical treatment, and medical conditions.

If you wish to have your name removed from the list of those receiving communications from Sheppard Pratt Health System, please email the marketing department at marketing@sheppardpratt.org or call 410.938.3133.

@SheppardPratt

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youtube.com/user/SheppardPrattHealth

Editor/Director of Marketing & PR

Jessica Kapustin

Outreach & Project Manager

Chelsea Soobitsky

Design, Production, & Editorial

Mid-Atlantic Custom Media

Cortney Geare, Jeni Mann,

Joshua Runyan, Liz Spikol

Contributing Photographers

Brian Glock, Camelia Montoy,

Jody Robinson, David Stuck

Contributing Writers/Editors

Kathleen Gallagher, Kristina Schiller

SHEPPARD PRATT

African-Americans and Mental Health: Getting Past the Shame BY LIZ SPIKOL THE FACEBOOK POST was plaintive, poignant, and unstintingly honest: “Its been difficult for me to find the words to what I’m about to share with you because I feel ashamed. Ashamed to be a leader and hero to so many while admitting I’ve been living a lie. It took me a while to get to this place of commitment, but it is something I have to do for myself, my family, my best friend/daughter and all of you, my fans.

Yesterday I checked myself into rehab for depression and suicidal urges.”

The words were written by recording star/actor Scott Mescudi, known by fans as Kid Cudi, in October 2016. It was an unguarded moment in a celebrity life that, until that moment, had been carefully orchestrated. But Cudi’s vulnerability drew enormous praise, especially in the African-American community. It even inspired the Twitter

PTSD, and other disorders in equal or

sometimes. And Sheppard Pratt Health

hashtag “#yougoodman,” which black

larger numbers than Caucasians, black

System is an excellent place to start.

men used as they shared their own

Americans are much less likely than

stories of mental health trouble. Twitter

white Americans to seek professional

the trauma that results from racism and

user Jeffery Allen wrote: “Black men feel

help for those problems.

disenfranchisement, and who are trained

anxiety. Black men feel depression.

In some cases, a search for

With clinicians who understand

to understand the challenges faced by

Black men feel sadness. Black men feel

help is thwarted by lack of access or

distinct minority communities, Sheppard

rage. Black men feel and that’s ok.”

health insurance. But just as often

Pratt has a wide range of options for

the reason for not getting treatment

those seeking mental health services.

magazine’s website noted, “sparked

comes back to cultural values such as

Therapy Referral Services (TRS) assists

a much needed conversation about

self-reliance and an understandable

callers in finding the appropriate care

masculinity and mental health in the

apprehension among African-Americans

provider for their cultural, medical, and

black community.”

regarding large white-dominated health

financial needs.

“Cudi’s revelation,” Essence

The reason that conversation was seen as “much needed” is because there

care systems.

The good news is that every time

Call TRS at 410.938.5000 between

is an unfortunate stigma around mental

a celebrity such as Kid Cudi — or Kanye

8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday

health issues in minority communities in

West or NFL player Brandon Brooks —

through Friday.

the U.S. that keeps people from getting

publicly acknowledges dealing with a

the help they need.

mental health issue, it demonstrates that

Even though African-Americans grapple with depression, anxiety,

even the strongest and most successful black men and women need a little help

sheppardpratt.org • heal.

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FEATURE/TRAUMA DISORDERS

EMERGING from a Traumatic Past

BY LIZ SPIKOL

A LONG JOURNEY OF HEALING LEADS TO ACTIVISM

N

ancy Minadeo Flanigan was a

There were three of them, and they took

fresh-faced 22-year-old when she

turns sexually assaulting her for hours.

Peace Corps. Her hometown newspaper

to be murdered, and that this was the

ran an article — “Erie Woman to Leave

last thing I was going to experience in

Monday for Malaysia” — along with

my life,” she recalls.

left Pennsylvania in 1964 to join the

a photo of her in a white high-collar shirt and a wide, warm grin.

A graduate of an all-girls Catholic high school and a Catholic women’s

The men attempted to smother her with a pillow, so she went limp to make them think she was dead. Then they left.

Nancy was taken to the village clinic.

weeks later, a doctor told her: “Well,

college, Nancy didn’t know much

“I was in a lot of mental and physical

Nancy, this is the best way this could

about the world beyond her cloistered

pain,” she recalls. “I could hardly walk

have ended. You never have to think

experience. She just knew that she

because of the violence. I had never

about it again. Don’t talk about it —

wanted to do some good. The Peace

had any sexual experience — I was so

just go on with your life.”

Corps seemed the ideal path.

sheltered — it was awful.”

At the beginning, the novice teacher

To make matters worse, Nancy soon

Nancy did just that — she got married, had children, and got a master’s

— who’d majored in speech pathology —

learned she was pregnant. The Peace

degree in social work. But she struggled

found the experience fascinating.

Corps told her she could only finish out

with depression, flashbacks, and trigger-

her second year if she got an abortion

induced breakdowns. When her sons

fishing village on the South China Sea,

— something she felt she couldn’t bring

were 6 and 8, her husband told her he

and it was so beautiful there,” she says.

herself to do.

couldn’t deal with her post-traumatic

“I was assigned to a very remote

“I taught hearing-impaired kids in an

“It had to do with not wanting to

symptoms and wanted a divorce.

“He said, ‘It’s been 10 years, and you

elementary school, in their language,

add violence to something that was

and I taught English to neighborhood

so violent,” she says. “I loved being

kids, and that was really fun. I was invited

alive. I love seeing flowers and snow,

to weddings and cultural events. I was

and I wanted to give this child that

what happened to their mother, and that

really a part of the community.”

opportunity.”

“your mom has mental problems.”

should be over this by now,” she recalls.

Her husband also told her sons

But it was not to be. The baby —

The boys were too young to

Nancy was awakened one night by a

a girl — was stillborn, and Nancy was

understand, but not too young to

hand on her shoulder and men’s voices.

devastated. At a postnatal checkup

retain the information. The effect of

But less than a year after she arrived,

4

“I was terrified that I was going

Nancy wears her people pin to represent her family.

heal. • Sheppard Pratt Health System

FEATURE/TRAUMA DISORDERS their father’s words would reverberate

concern for each individual. They worked

throughout their lives.

wonderfully as a team, and they’re

There is hope. There is a road ahead.

In fact, Nancy was so moved by

Nancy was in and out of a

just, they’re all mensches. They never

her care at Sheppard Pratt that when

psychiatric hospital in Pittsburgh for

made us feel less-than, or ashamed of

she created a memorial in honor of her

years, but the treatment never helped.

ourselves.”

late daughter to benefit an inner-city

This was certainly true when

There was no discussion of her traumatic

Catholic school in Baltimore, she paid

past. Instead, her symptoms were

Nancy unexpectedly found herself back

tribute to the people working at The

attributed to her divorce and living

at Sheppard Pratt a little more than a

Trauma Disorders Program.

in poverty. The staff was unkind, and

year after she finished her five weeks at

she found the whole experience of

The Trauma Disorders Program.

“The following fall, I was still

hospitalization “damaging.”

“I’ve contributed 323 new books to the school,” she says. “One of them is in honor of the staff here at Sheppard Pratt.”

having trouble, and the triggering

That book is an alphabet book with each

on the road to recovery, first with a

factors always blindside me, which is

letter in a different quilt pattern. “I chose

supportive and trauma-informed

why they are [triggers],” she says. “I was

a quilt because quilts cover you and

therapist, and then with a five-week

having a hard time again, so I came back

protect you and give you warmth and

stay in the inpatient unit of The Trauma

in [to The Trauma Disorders Program].”

security, and that’s what these people [in

Disorders Program at Sheppard Pratt

It was hard for Nancy to come back;

The Trauma Disorders Program] did.”

in 2008, which she credits with providing

she felt ashamed, somehow. “I was so

her with insight into what was happening

upset that I came back in. I said, ‘I failed,’

the books, she continues to raise funds

to her, and with the tools to handle it.

and they said, ‘No, no, you’re just in for

to support the school as well — which

a tune-up.’” That way of contextualizing

is in addition to her activism around the

compassionate, nurturing, safe

the experience was very helpful. “A

long-term, intergenerational impact

environment,” she says. “One of the

tune-up, I liked that. It’s a very different

of trauma.

things I do a lot that I learned at

way of saying, ‘There’s nothing wrong

Sheppard Pratt is I ground myself. I say,

with you. It’s not you. This is a

men conquered my body, but not

‘Okay, I’m here. It’s Monday. It’s U.N. Day.

normal thing.’”

my spirit,” she says. “My baby’s life is

It wasn’t until 2003 that she started

“It’s an amazing, caring,

Nancy found much solace in

I’m in Baltimore. I’m safe.’”

Nancy is proud that, along with

“I can say now, those three

touching the lives of [other] families,

working with Patti Prugh, the senior

and that’s another way I’m taking control.

mindfulness tools could, in theory, be

art therapist for The Trauma Disorders

It’s part of my healing journey, and

picked up elsewhere. The enormous

Program. She kept all the artwork she

I love it.”

impact of Sheppard Pratt was a result of

created through art therapy and still

the employees, she says.

looks at it for inspiration. “It’s just colored

But as she points out, such

“It’s their attitude and the boundaries

tissue paper,” she says, marveling at

they set for a safe environment that’s a

how such simple art material could be

tremendous part of the healing — their

transformed into a powerful reminder:

The Art of Art Therapy On the surface, a piece of construction paper covered with scraps of colored tissue paper and glue may seem simple, even naïve. But it’s the role of the licensed art therapist to dive deeper and ask questions about what such work means. What did it feel like to make it? What does it represent?

How does it connect to larger issues? Together, as partners on a journey of discovery, artist and art therapist decode the hidden messages in the work, arriving at a deeper understanding of the artist’s inner landscape.

This exploratory therapy is especially useful to people who have trouble expressing their experience verbally, whether because it’s painful for them to do so or they simply don’t have access to the “right” words. Creative expression can be a non-threatening way to gain access to unconscious thoughts and motivations.

Artwork by Nancy Minadeo Flanigan

sheppardpratt.org • heal.

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THE RETREAT AT SHEPPARD PRATT

RISE ABOVE WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE RETREAT AT SHEPPARD PRATT, A UNIQUELY TALENTED ARTIST LEARNS TO MANAGE BIPOLAR DISORDER

BY BILL DONAHUE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAMELIA MONTOY AND JODY ROBINSON

After years of struggle, artist Sam Brown (shown here with his mother, Mary Odom, at his home in western Pennsylvania) used a six-week stay at The Retreat as a springboard to manage his disorder.

IT WAS AN OTHERWISE UNREMARKABLE DAY IN 2011, as Mary Odom

period for about six months, and I got

recalls, when the email from the psychiatric hospital in Australia

myself stable working at Starbucks and

appeared in her inbox. The email revealed a photocopied note from

learned a lot. Once I felt like I was back

her then 24-year-old son, Sam Brown, an itinerant artist who had been traveling abroad to share his brand of provocative, self-expressionistic art with the world. To her horror, the note suggested Sam had suffered a debilitating mental collapse and needed serious help.

on the path, I started thinking about what I really loved and wanted to do with myself.”

Invigorated by the idea of returning to his artistic passions, Brown went to Quito, Ecuador, to work with María Escudero, a photographer he had met at

“I

still struggle for the proper words as

formal psychiatric analysis, which, in

the Sculpture Studio at Wheaton College

to how it felt to read that,” she says.

turn, produced a troubling diagnosis:

in Norton, Mass. Together, the two artists

“I immediately switched to, ‘How do I get

bipolar 1 disorder, a form of mental illness

created “Trans-Meat,” an exhibition

there so I can bring him home?’”

characterized by episodes of mania —

featuring a series of visceral

typically accompanied by outbursts of

photographs that became “a huge deal”

son knew it at the time, Brown was

self-destructive behavior — and bouts of

in Ecuador, as Brown recalls. The

struggling with a serious illness. Upon

severe depression.

exhibition earned praise from critics and

Although neither Odom nor her

returning stateside to his home in the Pittsburgh suburbs, he received a

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heal. • Sheppard Pratt Health System

“I felt kind of defeated after that,” Brown remembers. “I entered a black

ample exposure through local news media — and it even acted as a catalyst

THE RETREAT AT SHEPPARD PRATT

for social change in the South

often have years of experiencing a

other “roadblocks,” such as feelings of

American nation.

chaotic life, and they don’t believe it’s

inadequacy resulting from years of

Then everything crashed.

something they can manage. They have

bullying over his distinctively colorful

As the exhibition was drawing

to learn more skills through things like

personality and issues surrounding

dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), which

gender identity. He also gained a deeper

to a close, Brown’s illness returned

understanding of his bipolar 1, confident

with a sudden fury, the medication to treat the symptoms no longer doing its job. Horrible panic attacks sent him

“Like Sam, a number

reeling, and in late 2015 he returned

of bipolar patients are

home to Pittsburgh, feeling more fragile

very creative. Many of

than ever. Even with his medication correctly adjusted, Brown had to endure a few more episodes before he and his supportive family reached an accord: He needed formalized evaluation and

them are not sure how much they want to treat their illness, because

observation in an environment staffed

they are afraid they will

by professionals who fully understood

lose their creativity, so

his illness.

A trusted therapist friend of his mother’s offered only one suggestion: The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt. There, among other residents who had arrived at some sort of crossroads — young adults unable to make the

the first step is showing them that [losing their creativity] will not happen if they receive treatment.”

accomplished professionals struggling

effectively would not hamper his boundless creativity.

“It’s important to offer an environment where people like Sam can feel safe to open up and talk about themselves and about things they might have hidden away from even themselves,” says Dr. Ross. “Often people are taught these areas are not acceptable, but here we’re truly delving into the whole person, including the parts that may be in the shadows. “[Brown] realized he is a wonderfully open and remarkably generous man, and he had a very positive effect on the people around him at The Retreat,” says Dr. Ross. “He had to shift his center of how he understood himself, to a more stable

transition to adulthood, adults failing to cope with significant life changes,

in the knowledge that treating the illness

— Dr. Don Ross, senior psychiatrist, The Retreat

place. Nothing new about him was created, but he learned to ‘own’ himself in a more solid way and was left feeling

with co-occurring disorders, such as a substance use problem paired with

can be very helpful in helping them be

more confident and balanced about

a serious mental health diagnosis, etc.

more capable and confident handling

his future.”

— he would try to heal.

day-to-day life.”

Like every patient who comes to

DBT and other forms of intensive

The Retreat, Brown participated in a form

the right place for him, Brown entered

treatment helped Brown learn how to

of nonverbal psychotherapy that utilizes a

The Retreat in April 2016, in the care of

manage his illness, as well as confront

rather familiar tool: art. At its core, art

After determining it was, in fact,

a team of medical professionals devoted to helping him overcome the illness.

The team included Don Ross, M.D., formerly The Retreat’s medical director and currently a senior psychiatrist.

“Like Sam, a number of bipolar patients are very creative,” says Dr. Ross.

Dialectical behavior therapy and other forms of intensive treatment at The Retreat helped Brown manage his illness, as well as confront other “roadblocks” that had been negatively affecting his life.

“Many of them are not sure how much they want to treat their illness, because they are afraid they will lose their creativity, so the first step is showing them that [losing their creativity} will not happen if they receive treatment. They

sheppardpratt.org • heal.

7

THE RETREAT AT SHEPPARD PRATT

therapy helps residents become aware of

it helped him and it helped connect the

possess a lot of special gifts,” he

thoughts and feelings that are affecting

whole community.”

continues. “Being able to manage it with

them in ways of which they may be

medication allows you to explore the

Brown completed his six-week

unaware, according to Terry Wilpers,

stay at The Retreat in May 2016. In the

magical qualities while keeping a firm

an art therapist at The Retreat.

months since, he has been in a state of

foot on the ground. It might sound

“constant movement, without any firm

strange, but I now see that the world is

Sam,” Wilpers says. “From the get-go he

geographic roots”: spending time with his

truly a wondrous place to have bipolar.”

was very free with his expression, and he

mother in Sewickley, a suburb of

was very verbal about what his pieces of

Pittsburgh; traveling to Europe; catching

her son back. More so, she’s happy to see

art were showing. He was doing a lot of

up with friends and family members; and,

“good things” starting to coalesce around

abstract pieces, and I think the turning

of course, working on his art.

him. As of late August, he had found a

“I saw a big transformation with

point with him came when one of my

His mother, Mary, is happy to have

nice apartment of his own and a job

“There’s a lot of hope in the story

colleagues, [art therapist] Christy

of bipolar 1,” says Brown. “When I was

doing what he loves at the Arthur Murray

Bergland, challenged him to direct his

diagnosed, I thought the world had

Dance Centers in Pittsburgh.

Photos of living spaces at The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt.

“When he came home from Australia [in 2011], it was almost like having to re-parent a young child,” she says. “He had totally lost touch with all

“ When I was diagnosed, I thought the world had ended. ... I now see that bipolar 1 allows me to see

the people who knew him and could say, ‘Sam, you’re way off base.’ I wish I had known it at the time, how someone who

the world in a way most people can’t, and I feel

graduated magna cum laude could be

genuinely blessed.” — Sam Brown, former resident of The Retreat

acting this weird, acting not like himself, but now I know it was the illness.

“It’s amazing how far he’s come,”

energies to representational work. So he

ended. I had this chronic illness I thought

she continues. “I know he’s stable, and

started doing portraits. He made many

I would always have, and I thought I had

I know how capable he is. Even in the

portraits of his fellow residents, and they

ruined my life due to my own choices.

last few days, it seems like all that

were absolutely marvelous.”

I now see that bipolar 1 allows me to see

suffering has turned itself around, and it

the world in a way most people can’t,

looks like a promising, exciting future

and I feel genuinely blessed.”

for him. He’s so ready, and I’m really

“He was very engaging, very dynamic, and he added another layer of connection and relationship building,”

“For other people who are being

she continues. “I think [art therapy] was a

diagnosed [with bipolar 1], I would tell

very positive experience for him, because

them to feel hopeful and that they

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heal. • Sheppard Pratt Health System

proud of him.”

Mark Your Calendar!

For a complete listing of events, continuing education classes, and lectures, visit sheppardpratt.org/calendar-events.

PHILANTHROPIC EVENTS Annual Care for Kids Benefit Saturday, April 1, 2017 The 25th Anniversary Care for Kids Benefit will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore. All proceeds will benefit Sheppard Pratt’s pediatric patients and students.

EDUCATIONAL CLASSES Dick Prodey Lecture Series Sponsored jointly by The Kolmac Clinic, Sheppard Pratt Health System, and the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence of Maryland (NCADD-Maryland).

A FREE, eight-class series held Wednesday evenings at The Conference Center at Sheppard Pratt from 7 to 9 p.m.

Call 410.938.3900 for information.

Turning Point: Physician Wellbeing and Implications for the Future of Medical Education and Practice January 25, 2017 Joan M. Anzia, M.D., Residency Program Director & Vice Chair for Education

CONFERENCE EXHIBITING American Psychoanalytic Association National Meeting January 18-22, 2017 — New York City, NY

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral

13th Annual Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health Conference

Sciences, Northwestern University/

March 14, 2017 — Baltimore, MD

Feinberg School of Medicine Psychotherapy Networker Scientific Facts Not Fads: Recent Research on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Dissociative Disorders

March 23-26, 2017 — Washington, D.C.

February 8, 2017

Brain Injury Association of Maryland Annual Conference

Richard J. Loewenstein, M.D., Medical

March 23-24, 2017 — Timonium, MD

Director, The Trauma Disorders Program, Sheppard Pratt Health System Paths to Psychosis: A Precision Medicine Perspective

National Association of Social Workers, Virginia Chapter — 2017 Annual Conference March 24-25, 2017 — Williamsburg, VA

February 22, 2017 Raquel E. Gur, M.D., Ph.D., Director,

Wednesday Lectures @ Sheppard Pratt

Neuropsychiatry Section, Department

We offer a lecture series at The

of Psychiatry, Children’s Hospital of

Conference Center at Sheppard Pratt

Philadelphia and Penn Medicine

most Wednesdays from 12 to 1 p.m. to support continuing education of medical and mental health professionals.

Anyone is invited to join, please visit sheppardpratt.org/education-training/ for more information.

Culturally Informed Care and Populations of African Decent: Challenges and Opportunities March 8, 2017 Kenneth M. Rogers, M.D., Chair, Behavioral Health Services & Psychiatry,

Predicting and Tracking the Transition to Psychosis in Clinical High-Risk Individuals: Findings from the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study

Greenville Health System

January 11, 2017

Lloyd I. Sederer, M.D., Chief Medical

Daniel H. Mathalon, M.D., Ph.D., Professor

Officer, New York State Office of

of Psychiatry & Biomedical Sciences,

Mental Health

Some Secrets of Mental Health Care March 22, 2017

Throughout the year, Sheppard Pratt Health System exhibits at a number of conferences and community events. Make sure to stop by our booth if you plan to be at any of the above.

University of California

sheppardpratt.org • heal.

9

IN THE NEWS

Welcome to Our New Vice President and Chief Financial Officer WE ARE EXCITED TO WELCOME RAY DZIESINSKI to Sheppard Pratt as our new vice president and chief financial officer (CFO). Ray joins us from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he served as chief financial officer of clinical services. Previously, Dziesinski was CFO and chief treasury officer for Children’s Medical Center of Dallas.

“Dziesinski brings to Sheppard Pratt Health System more than 35 years of unparalleled financial experience, including leadership roles at nationally renowned health care organizations,” said Dr. Harsh K. Trivedi, president and CEO of Sheppard Pratt Health System. “With the current complexity and pace of change in health care, I am confident that Ray will be invaluable as we look to broaden our services to meet the needs of those we serve.”

Dr. Steven S. Sharfstein Receives Prestigious Award for His Contributions to Psychiatry THIS PAST NOVEMBER, the Institute of Living’s C. Charles Burlingame Award was presented to our very own former president and CEO, Dr. Steven S.

A New Hospital in Howard County

Sharfstein. The award, established in 1988 to honor the legacy of C. Charles Burlingame, is presented annually in recognition of outstanding leadership and lifetime achievement in the field of psychiatry.

WE ARE EXCITED to share that the state

Congratulations, Dr. Sharfstein!

health planning agency approved Sheppard Pratt’s application to build a new hospital in Howard County, Maryland. This new campus will greatly enhance the patient experience, provide access to behavioral health services for those in Howard and Anne Arundel counties, as well as the Greater Washington, D.C. area, and refine our clinical programs in a contemporary and therapeutic environment. This will begin a new era of mental health care for us, and one that will greatly benefit our community.

Dr. Steven Sharfstein (left) and Dr. Hank Schwartz (right), psychiatrist-in-chief for Hartford Hospital’s Institute of Living, at the 2016 C. Charles Burlingame, M.D. Award reception.

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heal. • Sheppard Pratt Health System

IN THE NEWS

Supporting Ellicott City AFTER MASSIVE FLOODING destroyed many homes and businesses in Ellicott City this past August, we knew we had to offer our support.

We quickly developed a fundraising campaign, where 100 percent of the money raised went to support the victims of the flood. Through this fundraising initiative, we raised more than $11,000 and presented it to the Ellicott City Partnership, a non-profit that is dedicated to restoring Old Ellicott City.

Baltimore Magazine Honors Our Top Doctors THREE DOCTORS from Sheppard Pratt Health System were recently honored by Baltimore Magazine as 2016 Top Doctors in the greater Baltimore area. Congratulations to Drs. Harry Brandt and Steven Crawford, co-directors of The Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt and Dr. Sunil Khushalani, medical director for the adult service line.

And Then There Were 12: The Forbush School at Anne Arundel South Becomes Our 12th Day School WE’RE EXCITED to share that the Special Education Program has a new Type II school, The Forbush School at Anne Arundel South, operated out of Central Special School in Edgewater, Maryland. For more information, call 410.938.4747.

Dr. Harry Brandt

Dr. Steven Crawford

Dr. Sunil Khushalani

sheppardpratt.org • heal.

11

SHEPPARD PRATT HEALTH SYSTEM PHILANTHROPY

You make great things happen when you give.

With nearly 700 participants, the 3rd Annual Sheppard Pratt Stride, presented

by Sodexo, raised more than $70,000 — a new record for the health system.

The Stride was held on Saturday, October 8, at Sheppard Pratt’s Towson campus and included an inaugural 5K in addition to the annual one-mile walk and festivities.

The funds raised help to support our mental health and special education services.

Thank you to our sponsors, the Stride committee, volunteers, and our wonderful participants for making the 3rd Annual Sheppard Pratt Stride the most successful yet.

PRESENTING SPONSOR

2017

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heal. • Sheppard Pratt Health System

GOLD SPONSORS ABM American Office East Coast Ambulance & Wheelchair Service

SILVER SPONSORS

ENTERTAINMENT SPONSOR

Adler Display, Inc. Complete Healthcare Staffing, LLC Foley & Lardner, LLP Quest Diagnostics, Inc. Wegmans

The Entertainment Playground

Sheppard Pratt’s annual Care for Kids Benefit will take place Saturday, April 1, 2017. This will be a very special Care for Kids Benefit, as we raise funds to support our students and celebrate the event’s 25th anniversary! For more information, or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Allison Calvert at 410.938.4025.

HEALING ART

The Healing Power of Art Art therapy — whether painting, drawing, journaling, or writing poetry — helps people to express themselves and become aware of thoughts and feelings by creating art that may be difficult to access through verbal processing alone. In this series, we’ll share some of the creations our patients, students, and residents have designed.

Cry Out

Pieces of Me

BY: LIV

BY: LIV

Aches and pains of depression, the highs and lows of Bipolar;

Sounds ringing in my ear;

Wanting to die, wanting to live,

Sights blinding me with fear creeping over me

Wanting it to end, wanting to begin again.

Senses consuming me, eating me Alive

Feeling the shadow cast over me, afraid the lights will go out,

Feeling so much sadness and anger emotions I can’t control.

Feeling out of control, never on stable ground.

Don’t know where to go, feel like I’m dying;

Spinning, spinning, spinning, spiraling out of control, down, down, and down

I don’t understand, can’t comprehend, messages sent, but it is incoherent, unreadable, unlovable, untouched.

SO wake up from the somber sleep

Disabilities are such a hurtful word;

Wipe the tears from your eyes,

You talk over me;

I know you been crying, wash away the dirt from yesterday

You patronize me,

You have nothing to fear

You diminish me into nothingness.

Believe in someone, something, anything, just believe.

I see evil, but never speak it, plugging my ears so I never hear it.

I’m not Evil I’m AUTISM

Hope is the only four letter word to describe you because you’re worth hoping for and believing in Things will change as do your emotions, They create waves; So build a levee

Liv is an 18-year-old student at The Forbush School at Glyndon-Hannah More. Poetry has helped her to begin to heal and find her inner strength.

sheppardpratt.org • heal.

13

THRIVE. A BLOG BY SHEPPARD PRATT

From Our Blog: Becoming Authentically ME: My Passion for Recovery I WAS A VERY ANXIOUS, self-conscious kid, who for some

I no longer feel like a

reason believed I had to be good … or else. I had severe

“fake” waiting for the

separation anxiety and was afraid of everything. I had no

proverbial “they” to

self-esteem. Then in middle school, I discovered “gateway

figure me out. I am

drugs,” and realized that getting stoned took away that anxiety

comfortable in my own

and self-consciousness. I clearly remember the moment in

skin. I am able to

time when I “found the answer” to my shyness. Fast forward

tolerate painful feelings,

10 years, and I can also remember the moment in time when

even unbearable

I realized that I was an addict.

grief. I am able to

I had been going to a 12-step program for about a year

walk through fearful

before the first step — admitting that I was an addict — worked

situations and know that

me. I didn’t go to meetings because I thought I had a problem.

I will be okay. I am able

On the contrary, I thought I was “fine” because I went to work

to trust and am trust-

every day, paid my bills, took care of my daughter and was, you

worthy. And, most

know, “functional.” Truth be told, I went to meetings because

importantly, I am able to have meaningful, healthy relationships

my friend was on the “pink cloud” of happiness that many

where honest and open communication is the norm.

experience in early recovery, and I wanted to see what all the excitement was about.

I didn’t think I had a problem, but I listened. I was moved

Recovery is an everyday, ongoing process. It is more than remaining abstinent and going to meetings. Twelve-step recovery programs are just that – 12-step programs. The

by the level of honesty with which people shared their life

steps may be intimidating or off-putting at first, but given the

histories out loud and in public. I related to the feelings that

chance, they provide a conduit for self-exploration and

drove people to use or keep using, and eventually came to

meaningful change.

accept what I did not want to be true — that I was an addict.

There’s more to the steps than meets the eye. Don’t let the

I have been clean ever since. I am amazed by the changes that

fear of opening up about your past, or skepticism about a new

have taken place within me and in my life as a result of staying

belief system keep you from exploring an opportunity that just

clean and working a program of recovery to the best of my

might save your life. What have you got to lose?

ability, one day at a time, for more than 28 years now.

I struggled with the realization that I was an addict. I was

Like what you’ve read? Check out our blog at

ashamed and horrified, because at that time, I believed in the

sheppardpratt.org/blog for more great posts from

negative stigma that surrounds addiction. But today, I am proud

our staff, patients, and community members.

to be a recovering addict. In fact, I am grateful for my addiction, because without it, I would not have found 12-step recovery.

Recovery has given me a life that I could never have imagined

Denise Connelly is a licensed clinical social worker and certified

for myself and has afforded me the opportunity to help others

addictions counselor at The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt. She

who struggle with addiction.

I find it difficult to describe my passion for recovery in a single paragraph, as the changes in my life have been monumental. As a result of working the steps and practicing them to the best of my ability, I have become authentically ME.

14

heal. • Sheppard Pratt Health System

holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from the University of Maryland.

MEET OUR TEAM

Chatting with Chanel Ross COMMUNICATION IS KEY, SAYS THE ASSISTANT BEHAVIORAL SPECIALIST AT THE FORBUSH SCHOOL AT HUNT VALLEY

A Baltimore City native, Chanel Ross is an assistant behavioral specialist at The Forbush School at Hunt Valley, a 12-month special education day school that is part of Sheppard Pratt Health System. Employed with the school since 2012, Chanel shares her passion for learning with the students she works with.

Q. Tell us about your role as assistant behavioral specialist for The Forbush School at Hunt Valley.

Q. What do you find challenging about your job?

A. As an assistant behavioral specialist, I work

that it’s not that a student is not able to do

with middle school-aged students who have

something; it’s just that they’re not able to

various complex intellectual and behavioral

do something in the manner in which we

disabilities, including autism. I partner with

expect. They learn in their own ways. It’s really

the schools’ behavioral specialists to look at

remarkable when you realize, “Oh, when you

individual behaviors and determine why

do this, it really means this.” You have to spend

a student acts a certain way.

time and get to know each child.

Q. What do you love most about

Q. Why are you passionate

your job?

about special education?

A. Communication. What I’ve learned is

A. Seeing progress. Before I was in this

A. My grandma was a special

position, I worked with students with

education teacher. I used to go to

dangerous, hard-to-manage behaviors.

school with her and found it so

So, I would spend time with a student to figure

interesting that I could read to kids

out what works and what doesn’t, and how

that were older than me. In high

he/she can best tell me what it is they need.

school, I had the opportunity to

We built mutual respect. I could wrestle with

focus on child care. Now, I’m

a kid all day long and at the end of the day, he

working on my bachelor’s degree

or she would smile at me and still want to

in special education.

give me a hug.

Q. What is your plan for the future?

Q. What message do you have for a parent with a child with special needs?

A. My goal is to start my own recreation/ development center. I’m from Baltimore

A. Communicate with the school and with

City, and when I was growing up, we

your child’s teachers as much as possible.

had recreation centers everywhere. In the

When the parents are involved, the

last eight years, I feel like all of the rec

behavior plans work better. These kids need

centers have disappeared. I’d like to focus

consistency and when we’re not consistent

on recreational leadership to help build

across the board, that’s when you see things

up the community and give back. I want to

not working. Finding out what changes are

make community service part of my

needed in the home, or telling the school

every day.

when we should be doing something differently, can make all the difference.

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84

Patients from

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states and countries served

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Share Your Story With Us Share with us your memorable story from your time with Sheppard Pratt, and help us fight stigma.

Please contact us at 410.938.4466 or share@sheppardpratt.org.