Welcome to our blog!

Journey Of Hope MN, a faith-based support group for those impacted by mental illness, will use this blog to share thoughts and interesting articles regarding mental illnesses, treatments, and resources both within the Rochester MN community and online.

For now - here's a thought for the weekend:

Stamping Out Stigma in the media

It is so exciting to see mental illness candidly in the media. Progress is being made regarding stamping out stigma. Some examples we noticed in September include...

Article in Wall Street Journal regarding treating anxiety with exposure therapy
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323475304578503584007049700.htm

What it is like to live with schizophrenia
http://www.lhj.com/health/conditions/mental-health/symptoms-treatment-schizophrenia/?page=1

Temple Grandin, a best-selling author, who has autism and is a doctor of animal science and professor at Colorado State University, autistic activist, and consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior. She also created the "hug box", a device to calm autistic children. The subject of an award-winning biographical film, Temple Grandin, in 2010 she was listed in the Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world in the "Heroes" category. (See following link for more details about her).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Grandin


She was the featured author of the week in "The Week" news magazine. Here's an excerpt from her interview. . . . she argues that "young people with mild autism should be encouraged to have jobs. "I'm seeing too many kids that are really talented and on the high end of the spectrum going nowhere," she says. "They haven't learned how to work." In her view getting more autistic people into the workforce will benefit everyone, since their pattern-spotting tendencies have already led to countless innovations. So many have special talents, she argues. "Who do you think made the first stone spear?' she says. "It certainly wasn't the social yakkity yaks around the campfire."

Randy mentioned that a German company is hoping to hire the next generation of innovators by hiring 650 autistic people. Autistic people have the ability to "think outside of the box."
http://news.msn.com/world/german-company-seeks-to-hire-650-autistic-people

There has recently been significant advances in treatment for PTSD http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jun/05/science/la-sci-ptsd-gene-20130606

Twin Cities Public Television, in collaboration with Health Partners and NAMI is working on a yearlong project, "Make it OK." The goal is to help stamp out stigma and provide information. "If we all talk more about mental illnesses, we'll understand more. When we understand more, we'll make it ok ." At least five broadcasts and event surrounding them will occur between October 2013 through July 2014. We'll keep you posted as we learn more details and how Journey of Hope can be involved.
http://makeitok.org/

Compassion Counseling Center - Fall Startup on Sept 2, 2011

CCC will resume counseling Thursday September 2, 2011 after Summer break during August. 

The program which began in May, provides assistance to individuals struggling with life issues, regardless of their ability to pay. Call the counseling center office at 507-208-8822,  email counseling@calvaryefc.org, or click here  for more information or to make an appointment.

Congratulations, Faye!

We are very blessed by the announcement that the NAMI Volunteer of the Year award winner is Faye Wendland.  Faye and her husband, Curt, were the founders of our Journey of Hope support group. 
The nomination form had a restriction of 150 words.  What a monumental task it was to describe Faye in such few words!   Here's one example letter of nomination below.   Congratulations, Faye!

Faye Wendland is a nurse committed to maximizing every opportunity in her
professional and personal life to stamp out stigma, provide education, and
encourage individuals living with mental illness to maximize their potential .
Faye -promoted depression screening for disease management patients.
-speaks at churches, meetings, and schools.
- launched and facilitates a FaithNet support group, which grew to four
groups and is spreading to four other communities.
-helped launch and volunteers weekly at Compassion Counseling Center ,
which provides free lay counseling for struggling individuals
-answers countless calls from families in crisis, pointing them toward NAMI
-is an enthusiastic supporter of the NAMI walk annually.

Compassion Counseling Center opens May 20

The doors open on Rochester's new faith based counseling center May 20th.  Thirty four volunteers have been involved in intensive training since this past September to become lay counselors and provide assistance to individuals struggling with life issues, regardless of their ability to pay. Call the counseling center office at 507-208-8822or email counseling@calvaryefc.org  for more information or to make an appointment.

Journey of Hope's first hosted event!

About 60 people filled the room at Calvary Evangelical Free Church as Journey of Hope hosted it's first event last Sunday evening. Area psychologist Roger Eichman presented "Effective Mental Health Management", a comprehensive overview of how the relationship between our thinking, our feelings, and our behaviors impacts our lives.

You can see more pictures by clicking on "Gallery", to the left.

 

(Effective Mental Health Management slideshow)

Invitation

Journey of Hope 

Invites you to a Presentation

"EFFECTIVE MENTAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT"

Keeping Balance When Life Gets Out of Control

Come join us as Roger, a local psychologist, shares keys to developing a deeper sense of personal wellness as well as more effective social interactions within our families during challenging times.

Guest Speaker:

Roger Eichman, MS, LP

Center for Effective Living

Sunday, January 31, 2010

7pm-9pm

Room 210

Calvary Evangelical Free Church

5500 25th Avenue NW

Rochester, MN