Response after crises is important - www.icareguam.org

PDN Article: Sept 28, 2013

The inclement weather last week seems to make one wonder if a major storm is heading our way. It has been over 10 years since we had typhoon and for many of us that have experienced several typhoons or supertyphoons, vivid memories resonate on how difficult life could be without running water, electricity and other conveniences for weeks. We count our many blessings each time we are spared from a storm heading to our area.

We empathize with people in the Philippines, Japan, Palau and other countries that suffered recently due to major flooding and storming weathers.

When a supertyphoon hits our island, employees at Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center know quite well what they are expected to do, aside from their personal and familial responsibilities. As first responders to the agency's clientele and vulnerable others out in the community, the staff conducts outreach after the storm to locate where their clients are and ensure their safety, as well as their psychiatric and related needs, are taken care of.

Once the severity of the destruction has been assessed to require a major recovery effort beyond the island's capability, we become a presidentially declared disaster area. The center then is expected by FEMA and SAMHSA to submit a grant application for the Individual Service Program within 14 days after the presidential declaration.

The Individual Service Program provides federal funding for Guam to hire or contract crisis counselors, professionals and paraprofessionals to conduct outreach in the community to individuals who are most affected by the disaster -- those with special needs, underserved special populations, the homeless and at-risk populations, as well as to those who are temporarily living at various shelters throughout the island.

Prior to the grant award, the first wave of mental health crisis responders are the social workers and other employees of the center. This work may take up to a month or more before the grant is awarded and contractual arrangements are set up with community partners. Crisis counselors are then recruited and trained ready to canvas the island in search of children, families and individuals in need of immediate assistance.

Purpose and goal

The purpose of the outreach crisis counseling is to help individuals and communities manage stress and recover from the challenging effects of natural and human caused disasters.

This is accomplished through partnerships with community providers in service delivery through a public health and education approach, assessing individual emotional needs, other tangible needs, providing them stress management skills, and referring and connecting people to services.

The primary goal of a crisis counseling program is to reach out to people in need, conduct immediate assessment and provide supportive intervention to empower the individuals and regain some normalcy in their lives.

Outreach crisis counselors are often paraprofessionals who get trained in various intervention skills, such as relation and engagement skills, stress management, active listening, assessment and data collection. Outreach crisis counselors are paid out of the Individual Service Program grant funds throughout the duration of the grant period.

It is important to establish ahead of time a pool of individuals -- trained, or not trained but interested in doing this type of outreach work -- who are ready to respond once the need arises. If you think this is something for you, come in to the I Famagu'on-ta office and register yourself to be on the list to be trained to assist others in need.

Annie F.B. Unpingco, LCSW, is administrator of I Famagu'on-ta at the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center.

Collaborative problem solving works - www.icareguam.org

PDN Article:  September 14, 2013

One of the stories in the recent musical production of "Fidgety Fairy Tales," " The Frog Prince," is about collaborative problem-solving. Collaborative problem solving is an approach for resolving conflict in a collaborative manner. This model of problem solving was developed by Ross W. Greene in his book, "The Explosive Child."

The collaborative problem-solving approach is an invaluable reference and a recommended reading to all parents and adults working with children/youths who are struggling to find a comfortable level of self, and who may express themselves through aggressive, defiant or erratic physical or verbal display.

The model provides a compassionate, accurate understanding of the child/youth behavioral challenges and a non-adversarial effective approach for reducing challenging behavior, improving communication, repairing relationship, and improving the quality of life of explosive children and those who care for them.

Greene's major tenet as to why kids have challenging behaviors is that the challenging explosive behaviors of the child are the result of neurologically based skills deficits. The child lacks the cognitive or thinking skills and should be corrected by parents/adults collaborating with the child/youth in how to problem solve -- not by parents or adults imposing their will on the child/youth.

Through this collaborative approach, the dialog between the child/youth and the parent/adult helps to get deeper in exploring what is causing the behavior and explore a probable course for action. The approach teaches skills in problem solving as well as help prevent reoccurrence of the challenging behaviors.

Some common challenging explosive behavior: temper outburst, whining, crying, pouting, sulking, withdrawing, screaming, swearing, hitting, spitting, kicking, throwing, breaking, lying, stealing, etc.

One of the greatest benefits of Greene's book is the case examples. There are numerous "scripts" in which the approach is illustrated in different situations; school setting, family setting and in treatment facility settings. The examples provide the reader with excellent demonstrations of the model.

The book provides a practical and easily understood guide for treating explosive children and adolescents. It is well written and easy to follow for both professionals and parents.

Actually, the collaborative problem-solving approach is for people in every relationship. It can work very well between adults; with parents, couples, friends and others. If everyone incorporates this approach into everyday life, our world would be more humane. It takes commitment and time to solve a problem genuinely.

Annie F.B. Unpingco, LCSW, is administrator of I Famagu'on-ta at the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center.

The Muses - www.icareguam.org

Production aims to reduce stigma - www.icareguam.org

PDN Article: August 31, 2013

Children's fairy tales offer us opportunities for teaching and learning values, morals and life skills in pleasant and natural ways, and when delivered through a musical performance, tend to have an enjoyable and resonating effect.

This is what we hope "Fidgety Fairy Tales" will have for those who attend this upcoming musical production, made possible through funds from the Guam Council of Arts and Humanities Agency, Youth Enhancement Support Inc. and grant funds of Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center for I Famagu'on-ta, Child Adolescent Services Division, and donations from the community to offset the cost. The play is also co-produced by Greenlight Media Production, under the esteemed director, Ernest Ochoco.

The fairy tales that will be musically performed are; "Hansel and Gretel," "The Princess and the Pea" and "The Frog Prince." Each story contains positive messages and portrayals of children with mental health conditions and some of the common symptoms of the conditions, as well as appropriate ways to manage the conditions.

The "Fidgety Fairy Tales" musical will be performed by a delightful cast of talented young people and community members, both with and without mental health challenges. In addition, the audience will get to enjoy a pre-show performance by some of the cast on selected musicals from Disney classics.

The cast has been rehearsing for two long months, with much dedication and commitment in showing up in the evenings and working harmoniously, learning from each other. Some of the young people even bring their homework to work on while waiting for the rehearsals to begin.

Goal is awareness

Public awareness and social marketing is the goal of this project, to help the public learn more about children's mental health with the goal of embracing children with mental health issues, so that the associated stigma will be reduced. Children and adults with mental health challenges would be more open to receiving treatment and services for their conditions, as they would with most health conditions, if not made to feel shamed or blamed.

"Fidgety Fairy Tales" was written for the Minnesota Association for Children's Mental Health by Matt Jensen and Mayra Hart of Minnesota. The plays have been performed in the states of Minnesota, Montana and Wisconsin, at a conference in Washington D.C., and, of course, our territory of Guam. Each location produced the play slightly differently, adding its own unique versions.

For those who attended Guam's first "Fidgety Fairy Tales" back in 2009, the fairy tale stories were; "Little Red Riding Hood," "The Handsome Prince" and "Rapunzel." It was very well-received by our local community and all age groups. It will be a hit again.

"Fidgety Fairy Tales" will be held at the Guam Hilton Resort & Spa, Micronesian Ballroom from Sept. 6-8. You can purchase tickets at Bestseller Bookstore at GPO or the Micronesia Mall, Faith Bookstore, Carmen's Cha-Cha-Cha, and at the I Famagu'on-ta office in Hagåtña.

Annie F.B. Unpingco, LCSW, is administrator of I Famagu'on-ta at the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center.