1/26/12. New York City. Eileen LaMourie, MS, OTR/L, Team Captain of OTs Walk With NAMI and MNYD Board member, moderated the evening for 80 students, clinicians, educators and family members who came together at Beth Israel Hospital’s Podell Auditorium for the 5th Annual Mental Health Taskforce & MNYD NAMIWALK Pep Rally. Kristen Sullivan, student coordinator for SUNY Downstate Medical Center’s Master’s in Occupational Therapy program, warmed up the audience with the first of many spirited cheers of the evening.

Eileen reminded the audience of the Mental Health Taskforce mission: to promote advocacy, innovation, and nation-wide support for OTMH practitioners. The Mental Health Taskforce’s collective goal is to build strong alliances for OTMH practice by direct community involvement with consumers, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association. They actively network in support of mental health practice at a district, state, and national levels.  In keeping with these objectives, the OTs Walk with NAMI 12-week walking project provides an Internet-accessible, evidence-based wellness intervention supporting recovery, and integrating aspects of the SAMHSA’s 10 X 10 initiative. SAMHSA’s 10 x 10 Campaign which   Margaret (Peggy) Swarbrick, PhD, OTR, CPRH, helped spearhead is designed to reduce in 10 years by 10 years, the life expectancy of people with mental illness. The campaign promotes many ways wellness can improve quality of life and increase life expectancy for people with mental and substance use disorders, including increased physical exercise programs such as the OTs Walk with NAMI protocol. Learn more at:

• http://www.promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov/10by10/default.aspx

Ariel Hurwitz, Walk Assistant for NAMI-NYC Metro, spoke about the upcoming 6th annual NAMIWALK NYC, to be held on May 12 at the South Street Seaport. She reminded the audience of the role NAMI plays in advocating and providing free services made possible by the funds raised the Walk.

Emily Raphael-Greenfield, EdD, of Columbia University's Programs in Occupational Therapy, introduced the Step it Out! Group, designed by graduate students Konju Briggs, Kathi Ice, Lisa Jasienowski, Emily Querna, Marianna Sica, Roman Tetelbaum, Lauren Winterbottom, and Wesley York. The Columbia students described and demonstrated their inventive movement communication project. Everyone was up and enthusiastically out of their seats “stepping it.” This protocol, and others, can be found on the OTs Walk with NAMI web page.

In the September 2011 Mental Health Special Interest Section Quarterly, Dr.  Raphael-Greenfield published “Hard-wired for groups: Students and clients in the classroom and clinic”. This work had been presented at last year’s rally. Several of CU student drummers from that presentation returned this year to support their classmates.

Under the guidance of Anne Scott, PhD and Renee Ortega, MS, COTA/L, R-DMT, four groups of Long Island University’s OT Students described their Community Wellness Group programs. Jennifer Gallo, Oksana Myhaluk, and Anatoly Pikman presented on their work at East NY Clubhouse: Stress Reduction and Assertiveness Training.  Mostafa Ahmed, Tiffany Chang, Ellina Shtaif, and Jamila Yahya presented their BCS Metro Club PROS: Healthy Eating and Lifestyle: A Multisensory Approach program. Stepheleniece Calixte, Nirron Ingwer, Vyacheslav Glukh, and Rona Mahpour presented their work at the Metro Club BCS: Nutrition and Diet for Wellness. Yocheved Wasser and Ruchama Rosenfeld presented their League Education and Treatment Center: Stress Reduction and Wellness group.

Kaitlin Olivieri, of Columbia University and Ariella Sarf, of Touro College, presented Walking towards a Brighter Affect and Healthier Lifestyle. This project was part of their graduate Level II fieldwork under the guidance of Mabel Martinez-Almonte, OTR at SUNY Downstate, Psychiatric Department of University Hospital. To support their group, they designed a consumer brochure, which will be posted on the OTs Walk with NAMI web page.

Jennifer Dulek, Senior Occupational Therapist at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital’s Psychiatric Recovery enter, described one successful effort she had in helping a client participate in the NAMIWALK.  She read an article that has been published by St. Luke’s in their departmental newsletter, and by NAMI NYC-Metro.  This short piece captures the purpose of all our interventions, that of social inclusion, hope, and recovery. He wrote:

“I arrived at South Street Seaport at 6:30 AM, having taken the M15 bus from 116th and 2nd Ave. When I arrived, people were already there, and NAMI Staff put me to work. Everyone I encountered was smiling, which caused me to respond with a smile. The day was a bright, clear, sunny day that makes one glad to be alive and a part of New York City at its best. DJ’s set up their equipment and the crowd grew; delegations from different hospitals and organizations arrived, all to raise awareness of mental illness. Soon Jeni arrived with her perpetual smile and good vibes. I saw others such as my psychologist and my peers who were walking too. It felt good to be helping a worthy cause. It reminded me that people can change the world for the better. It was announced that this was the largest NAMI Walk ever and it was a wonderful feeling to be a part of something I search for: community. And the positive feeling lingered long after the walk was over, and in my heart I felt hope”.

Caryn Shore, recent SUNY Downstate graduate, MNYD and NYSOTA board member, was the final speaker.  She used herself as an exemplar of how students can engage actively in their professional organization at the district, state, and national levels. She reminded them that this evening’s event could be the first of their careers in building communication and sharing a strong commitment to their profession. To capture the energy of the evening, she led the group with a final cheer.

P.S.  The project had a shout out from our Hong Kong OT Facebook friend, Mayie Tsang, CPH OTII.

For more information and joining this project, visit OTs WALK with NAMI at

• http://www.downstate.edu/CHRP/ot/nami.html
  

Become a Facebook Group friend and NAMI Star at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5876819365

Suzanne M. White, MA, OTR/L.
Clinical Associate Professor
SUNY Downstate Medical Center
College of Health Related Professions
Occupation Therapy Program
Chair: Mental Health Taskforce of MNYD & NYSOTA MHSIS
 

Time: Wed, 03/14/2012 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Join us for the next MNYD Research Forum. Karen Rosten, Jim Hinojosa, Tsu-Hsin Howe will be discussing:

"Handwriting Clubs: Assessing Intervention Effectiveness in Elementary Schools."

 

Karen Rosten of NYC Department of Education, and Jim Hinojosa and Tsu-Hsin Howe of NYU OT Department investigated "Handwriting Clubs: Assessing Handwriting Intervention Effectiveness in the Natural Context of an Elementary School," and will report on their study.

Karen and Jim are the recipients of a $500 MNYD Research Grant given to undertake this study.

Light refreshments will be served.

Questions? Please contact Mary Donohue at MaryVDonohue@gmail.com

Directions:

East of Washington Square Park South. Take E, C or A trains or Lexington Line and walk toward Washington Square Park. Bring ID to show security guards.

• President - Doris R. Obler, MSW, OTR/L     doris.obler@liu.edu
• Vice-Chairperson - Charles Gray, OTR/L     gray122@aol.com
• Treasurer - Heather Muterspaw, OTR/L     hmute@yahoo.com
• Secretary - Mary Shea, MA, OTR, ATP     mshea@kessler-rehab.com
• Board Member - Nora Goldberg, OTR, CHT     ngoldberg@siuh.edu
• Board Member - Suzanne White, MA, OTR/L     Suzanne.white@downstate.edu
• Board Member - Eileen LaMourie, OTR     lamoureaux1968@gmail.com
• Board Member - Jennifer Cress, OTR     jcress25@hotmail.com
• Board Member – Caryn Shore, OTS     carynshore@gmail.com

Special Interest Group and Committee Chairs:

• Legislation - Jeffrey Tomlinson, MS, CSW, OTR     jefflt@prodigy.net
• Research - Mary Donohue, EdD, OTR     maryvdonohue@gmail.com
• Research - Nancy Finklestein-Klein, OTR     NFKline@aol.com
• Mental Health - Suzanne White, OTR     Suzanne.white@downstate.edu
• Public Relations - Charles Gray, OTR     gray122@aol.com