Alternative Care Approaches: Honoring Authenticity & Vulnerable Expression

We are ...a community of mental health workers, clinicians, psychiatrists, current and prior users of mental health services, advocates, artists, and survivors of trauma and adversity, who are interested in exploring the link between personal and societal transformation.

Institute for the Development of Human Arts

Part of IDHA's Fall 2022-Spring 2023 virtual training series CROSSROADS OF CRISIS

<h3>To learn more, please visit: <a href="https://www.idha-nyc.org/crossroads-of-crisis" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.idha-nyc.org/crossroads-of-crisis  </a></h3><h3>*ASL and live closed captioning provided*</h3><h3>NOTE: 3 CE credits are available for this class. Learn more about CE credits at IDHA <a href="https://www.idha-nyc.org/ce-information" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here</a>.</h3><h2>Class Description</h2><p>Mainstream “crisis care” in the United States is often practiced along a narrow continuum of services, particularly involving hotlines and psychiatric hospitalizations. Many of these programs and practices rely on an overburdened emergency infrastructure and are ensnared with the carceral state – often creating further harm for a person in crisis, rather than healing. Meanwhile, a growing number of alternative tools and practices (e.g. respite centers, warmlines, and peer support) are available to care workers to support individuals and communities experiencing crisis, while simultaneously uplifting their safety, autonomy, and dignity. These offerings help cultivate containers where authentic and vulnerable expression around complex and nuanced human experiences is honored, including those of suicidality and self-harm.</p><p>This class will review and define what constitutes an “alternative” care approach, and discuss what these have to offer in a field that tends to respond to crisis by diminishing rights, autonomy, and choice. Deeply rooted in the value of lived experience, the wisdom offered in this session will be sourced from unfiltered perspectives from those who have firsthand experience being harmed while accessing clinical mental health services. Participants will leave this session with concrete strategies, tools, and possibilities to integrate into their life and work, particularly the power of peer support spaces.</p><h2>Learning Objectives</h2><ul><li>Define what constitutes an “alternative” or “transformative” mental health practice, locating the power of lived experience</li><li>Name the care approaches (e.g. peer support, crisis respite, warmlines) that exist to support people experiencing crisis, without compromising their autonomy </li><li>Demonstrate how clinical practices can contribute to further harm for those utilizing mental health services</li><li>Identify opportunities and approaches for mental health providers to engage in more affirming and supportive care practices</li></ul><h2>Faculty</h2><p><strong>Andres Acosta</strong> is a queer Colombian immigrant and US Navy veteran. He is a graduate of Valencia College and the University of Central Florida where he studied Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Andres was diagnosed HIV positive at 23 and is now devoted to the fight for HIV justice. He serves on the Central Florida HIV planning council and as the Chair of the community advisory board for the Phase 3 HIV vaccine trials in Orlando. He worked as the community relations manager for the Contigo Fund which is the largest funder of LGBTQ+ issues in Central Florida. He has lived experience with the mental health system and is diagnosed with bipolar II, struggles with depression, and has lived with bulimia since he was 14. He is now an education program specialist at the OnePulse foundation and a contractor for peer support space where he is leading the HIV stigma task force for Orange County.</p><p><strong>Gina Ali (they/she)</strong> is a queer non-binary, Muslim, Egyptian pre-licensed clinician and academic living on the occupied territory of Tongva land (Los Angeles, California). Gina's academic focus is in decolonial psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Their research highlights the functions of how both implicit and explicit coloniality as well as decoloniality exists within online technologies. Their focus has been on exploring oppressive algorithmic functions, liberatory online community building, and how our sense of self is bridged through a digital landscape. Gina runs @gigistherapyworld on TikTok and Instagram where they expand on the importance of deconstructing harmful ideologies in online mental health discourse. Gina is certified in both psychedelic-assisted therapies and EMDR. They are committed to utilizing an interdisciplinary approach which centers the wisdom of ancestral knowledge as well as an abolitionist and disability justice framework.</p><p><strong>Dandelion Hill </strong>is a Mad, Autistic, Asian American, Bisexual, Genderqueer peer supporter and abolition-centered social worker. They lean on their lived experiences as a survivor of trauma, childhood assault, and adulthood domestic violence as a compassionate framework as they engage with others in their care work. They are a co-founder of Peer Support Space, a collective centered around community care, a humble Advisory Council member of Blue Trunk Community Garden promoting community sustainability and food access, a parent, and enthusiastic gardener. Connect with them and their work on instagram @Dandelion.Hill</p><h2>What You Get</h2><p>Registration includes the 3-hour class session, an optional 90-minute discussion group one week after the live class (Sunday, January 22 from 12-1:30 pm EST), and access to IDHA’s School for Transformative Mental Health on Mighty Networks (our virtual learning community where you’ll have the opportunity to engage with other students and your faculty).</p><h3>Questions? Email us at contact@idha-nyc.org</h3>

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Alternative Care Approaches: Honoring Authenticity & Vulnerable Expression

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