Our Primary Concern is our Client .... 8 comments

16 Jan 2008 @ 14:31, by Gerald Vest Social capital means more than a buzz word, more than invoking the mantra: It takes a village to raise a child. It means being willing to ask: what does it take to build, to restore, to sustain that village? It means building an infrastructure of trust and reciprocity and engagement, often in situations where distrust and alientation hold sway.(No More Throw-Away People - Edgar S. Cahn) I am starting a group to organize and improve our mental health system in America and use the many scattered resources--organizations, professionals, patients/clients and others to help with the design and plan. This may sound like a very bold plan, but it is important for us to identify, organize and improve health systems when they are flawed, corrupt, and cause harm. I have been invited to work with our New Mexico professional organization(NASW-NM) to examine the impact of the DSM, Insurance Industry, Big Pharmas, psychiatry/psychology on our licensing requirements in my profession of social work. I have observed that the licensing boards that are appointed by the Governor determine the requirements for professional practice and for supervision, often without discussing them with the schools of social work and professional organizations. Consequently, these boards invariably determine the curriculum priorities that must be taught in order for the students to pass their exam requirments, perhaps without realizing the impact of their decisions. We have found that students who are taught psychiatric-psychological practices such as the DSM classification system (a flawed, unethical and unscientific program that classifies, codes and labels patients)as described in this log and several of my previous discussions, will pass the test. When special courses on the DSM are not included in the curriculum the student rate of failure is very high. However, why should our profession abdicate our valuable resources--ethics, values, skills, knowledge and best practice methods and replace them with questionable, unethical and irresponsible practices? Perhaps the answer to this question is that money, power and control rules. I believe that once our public clearly see these corrupt relationships that exist with the mental health-insurance industries, the Big Pharmas, psychiatry and all of the related professional organizations that we can get the suppport to improve the quality of services and ethical health practices for our consumers. It is very unfortunate that these organizations and professionals have forgotten or ignored our primary premise and principles we agreed to when choosing social work as a profession--the dignity and respect we hold for our clients, our primary concern for our client, community and society and, to 'cause no harm!' I am looking for persons interested in joining this group, provide case examples, secure colleagues and others with integrity, recruit others interested in helping to build a new or integrative health plan, and offer creative ideas that we can put into action plans at the local, state, national and global levels. All helping comments are invited for sure. Note: Later this week I will start my new career as a clinical social worker with the US Army, Ft. Bliss, Texas. I am hopeful that I can work with the reintegration program (Warrior Program) for soldiers and their families using 'integrative health practices' that I have discussed in my logs. Thanks to all of you who have supported and joined with us as NCN members and our Global Touch Project. Jerry

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Category: Medicine, Healthcare 

16 Jan 2008 @ 16:57 by mortimer : some military training... (ahg!)
Memorial Day weekend… I spent a day of sharing with a group of soldiers. I did not get many words in; instead they took turn telling their story. I sat and listened and watched and the (military) brainwash surfaced. Each one of these men brought me the same final message, they would say; "I owe my life to the military because they made me the man I am today"… those exact words.

At the end of the discussions, I thanked these men for their service in the military and for sharing their stories. And I agreed (confirmed) that they are not the same teen age punks that they used to be. The military has made great men out you soldiers but my last question is…. ‘’what will you do tomorrow, what will you become tomorrow. Is there any chance you might wake up tomorrow and decide to be a better man than you are today?’’

This group of soldiers approached me while on holiday leave; I was on the beach playing bamboo flute.  

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