heal
A publication of the Sheppard Pratt Health System • WINTER 2017
EMERGING from a Traumatic Past A long journey of healing leads to activism
PLUS THE RETREAT: RISE ABOVE CREATIVE THERAPY PRODUCES INSIGHTFUL ART AFRICAN-AMERICAN MENTAL HEALTH
In this issue.
WINTER 2017
4
6 4
3
Emerging from a Traumatic Past A long journey of healing leads to activism
African-Americans and Mental Health: Getting Past the Shame
6
The Retreat: R ise Above
9 Calendar 10
12 13
Healing Art
14 From Our Blog: Becoming Authentically ME: My Passion for Recovery
15 Meet Our Team:
In the News
Chanel Ross
12 Philanthropy On the cover. Nancy Minadeo Flanigan opens up about her healing experience with The Trauma Disorders Program at Sheppard Pratt Photo by David Stuck CMYK / .eps
CMYK / .eps
Connect with us.
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heal. is published three times a year by the marketing department of the Sheppard Pratt Health System, one of the nation’s top mental health systems. Sheppard Pratt provides compassionate solutions to help those suffering from mental illness and addiction recover and get back to their lives. Information provided is general in nature and should not be substituted for the medical advice of a physician. Please consult your health care provider for recommendations specific to your personal health, medical treatment, and medical conditions. If you wish to have your name removed from the list of those receiving communications from Sheppard Pratt Health System, please email the marketing department at marketing@sheppardpratt.org or call 410.938.3133.
@SheppardPratt
CMYK / .eps
youtube.com/user/SheppardPrattHealth
Editor/Director of Marketing & PR
Jessica Kapustin
Outreach & Project Manager
Chelsea Soobitsky
Design, Production, & Editorial
Mid-Atlantic Custom Media
Cortney Geare, Jeni Mann,
Joshua Runyan, Liz Spikol
Contributing Photographers
Brian Glock, Camelia Montoy,
Jody Robinson, David Stuck
Contributing Writers/Editors
Kathleen Gallagher, Kristina Schiller
SHEPPARD PRATT
African-Americans and Mental Health: Getting Past the Shame BY LIZ SPIKOL THE FACEBOOK POST was plaintive, poignant, and unstintingly honest: “Its been difficult for me to find the words to what I’m about to share with you because I feel ashamed. Ashamed to be a leader and hero to so many while admitting I’ve been living a lie. It took me a while to get to this place of commitment, but it is something I have to do for myself, my family, my best friend/daughter and all of you, my fans. Yesterday I checked myself into rehab for depression and suicidal urges.” The words were written by recording star/actor Scott Mescudi, known by fans as Kid Cudi, in October 2016. It was an unguarded moment in a celebrity life that, until that moment, had been carefully orchestrated. But Cudi’s vulnerability drew enormous praise, especially in the African-American community. It even inspired the Twitter
PTSD, and other disorders in equal or
sometimes. And Sheppard Pratt Health
hashtag “#yougoodman,” which black
larger numbers than Caucasians, black
System is an excellent place to start.
men used as they shared their own
Americans are much less likely than
stories of mental health trouble. Twitter
white Americans to seek professional
the trauma that results from racism and
user Jeffery Allen wrote: “Black men feel
help for those problems.
disenfranchisement, and who are trained
anxiety. Black men feel depression.
In some cases, a search for
With clinicians who understand
to understand the challenges faced by
Black men feel sadness. Black men feel
help is thwarted by lack of access or
distinct minority communities, Sheppard
rage. Black men feel and that’s ok.”
health insurance. But just as often
Pratt has a wide range of options for
the reason for not getting treatment
those seeking mental health services.
magazine’s website noted, “sparked
comes back to cultural values such as
Therapy Referral Services (TRS) assists
a much needed conversation about
self-reliance and an understandable
callers in finding the appropriate care
masculinity and mental health in the
apprehension among African-Americans
provider for their cultural, medical, and
black community.”
regarding large white-dominated health
financial needs.
“Cudi’s revelation,” Essence
The reason that conversation was seen as “much needed” is because there
care systems. The good news is that every time
Call TRS at 410.938.5000 between
is an unfortunate stigma around mental
a celebrity such as Kid Cudi — or Kanye
8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday
health issues in minority communities in
West or NFL player Brandon Brooks —
through Friday.
the U.S. that keeps people from getting
publicly acknowledges dealing with a
the help they need.
mental health issue, it demonstrates that
Even though African-Americans grapple with depression, anxiety,
even the strongest and most successful black men and women need a little help
sheppardpratt.org • heal.
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FEATURE/TRAUMA DISORDERS
EMERGING from a Traumatic Past BY LIZ SPIKOL
A LONG JOURNEY OF HEALING LEADS TO ACTIVISM
N
ancy Minadeo Flanigan was a
There were three of them, and they took
fresh-faced 22-year-old when she
turns sexually assaulting her for hours.
Peace Corps. Her hometown newspaper
to be murdered, and that this was the
ran an article — “Erie Woman to Leave
last thing I was going to experience in
Monday for Malaysia” — along with
my life,” she recalls.
left Pennsylvania in 1964 to join the
a photo of her in a white high-collar shirt and a wide, warm grin. A graduate of an all-girls Catholic high school and a Catholic women’s
The men attempted to smother her with a pillow, so she went limp to make them think she was dead. Then they left. Nancy was taken to the village clinic.
weeks later, a doctor told her: “Well,
college, Nancy didn’t know much
“I was in a lot of mental and physical
Nancy, this is the best way this could
about the world beyond her cloistered
pain,” she recalls. “I could hardly walk
have ended. You never have to think
experience. She just knew that she
because of the violence. I had never
about it again. Don’t talk about it —
wanted to do some good. The Peace
had any sexual experience — I was so
just go on with your life.”
Corps seemed the ideal path.
sheltered — it was awful.”
At the beginning, the novice teacher
To make matters worse, Nancy soon
Nancy did just that — she got married, had children, and got a master’s
— who’d majored in speech pathology —
learned she was pregnant. The Peace
degree in social work. But she struggled
found the experience fascinating.
Corps told her she could only finish out
with depression, flashbacks, and trigger-
her second year if she got an abortion
induced breakdowns. When her sons
fishing village on the South China Sea,
— something she felt she couldn’t bring
were 6 and 8, her husband told her he
and it was so beautiful there,” she says.
herself to do.
couldn’t deal with her post-traumatic
“I was assigned to a very remote
“I taught hearing-impaired kids in an
“It had to do with not wanting to
symptoms and wanted a divorce. “He said, ‘It’s been 10 years, and you
elementary school, in their language,
add violence to something that was
and I taught English to neighborhood
so violent,” she says. “I loved being
kids, and that was really fun. I was invited
alive. I love seeing flowers and snow,
to weddings and cultural events. I was
and I wanted to give this child that
what happened to their mother, and that
really a part of the community.”
opportunity.”
“your mom has mental problems.”
should be over this by now,” she recalls. Her husband also told her sons
But it was not to be. The baby —
The boys were too young to
Nancy was awakened one night by a
a girl — was stillborn, and Nancy was
understand, but not too young to
hand on her shoulder and men’s voices.
devastated. At a postnatal checkup
retain the information. The effect of
But less than a year after she arrived,
4
“I was terrified that I was going
Nancy wears her people pin to represent her family.
heal. • Sheppard Pratt Health System
FEATURE/TRAUMA DISORDERS their father’s words would reverberate
concern for each individual. They worked
throughout their lives.
wonderfully as a team, and they’re
There is hope. There is a road ahead. In fact, Nancy was so moved by
Nancy was in and out of a
just, they’re all mensches. They never
her care at Sheppard Pratt that when
psychiatric hospital in Pittsburgh for
made us feel less-than, or ashamed of
she created a memorial in honor of her
years, but the treatment never helped.
ourselves.”
late daughter to benefit an inner-city
This was certainly true when
There was no discussion of her traumatic
Catholic school in Baltimore, she paid
past. Instead, her symptoms were
Nancy unexpectedly found herself back
tribute to the people working at The
attributed to her divorce and living
at Sheppard Pratt a little more than a
Trauma Disorders Program.
in poverty. The staff was unkind, and
year after she finished her five weeks at
she found the whole experience of
The Trauma Disorders Program. “The following fall, I was still
hospitalization “damaging.”
“I’ve contributed 323 new books to the school,” she says. “One of them is in honor of the staff here at Sheppard Pratt.”
having trouble, and the triggering
That book is an alphabet book with each
on the road to recovery, first with a
factors always blindside me, which is
letter in a different quilt pattern. “I chose
supportive and trauma-informed
why they are [triggers],” she says. “I was
a quilt because quilts cover you and
therapist, and then with a five-week
having a hard time again, so I came back
protect you and give you warmth and
stay in the inpatient unit of The Trauma
in [to The Trauma Disorders Program].”
security, and that’s what these people [in
Disorders Program at Sheppard Pratt
It was hard for Nancy to come back;
The Trauma Disorders Program] did.”
in 2008, which she credits with providing
she felt ashamed, somehow. “I was so
her with insight into what was happening
upset that I came back in. I said, ‘I failed,’
the books, she continues to raise funds
to her, and with the tools to handle it.
and they said, ‘No, no, you’re just in for
to support the school as well — which
a tune-up.’” That way of contextualizing
is in addition to her activism around the
compassionate, nurturing, safe
the experience was very helpful. “A
long-term, intergenerational impact
environment,” she says. “One of the
tune-up, I liked that. It’s a very different
of trauma.
things I do a lot that I learned at
way of saying, ‘There’s nothing wrong
Sheppard Pratt is I ground myself. I say,
with you. It’s not you. This is a
men conquered my body, but not
‘Okay, I’m here. It’s Monday. It’s U.N. Day.
normal thing.’”
my spirit,” she says. “My baby’s life is
It wasn’t until 2003 that she started
“It’s an amazing, caring,
Nancy found much solace in
I’m in Baltimore. I’m safe.’”
Nancy is proud that, along with
“I can say now, those three
touching the lives of [other] families,
working with Patti Prugh, the senior
and that’s another way I’m taking control.
mindfulness tools could, in theory, be
art therapist for The Trauma Disorders
It’s part of my healing journey, and
picked up elsewhere. The enormous
Program. She kept all the artwork she
I love it.”
impact of Sheppard Pratt was a result of
created through art therapy and still
the employees, she says.
looks at it for inspiration. “It’s just colored
But as she points out, such
“It’s their attitude and the boundaries
tissue paper,” she says, marveling at
they set for a safe environment that’s a
how such simple art material could be
tremendous part of the healing — their
transformed into a powerful reminder:
The Art of Art Therapy On the surface, a piece of construction paper covered with scraps of colored tissue paper and glue may seem simple, even naïve. But it’s the role of the licensed art therapist to dive deeper and ask questions about what such work means. What did it feel like to make it? What does it represent? How does it connect to larger issues? Together, as partners on a journey of discovery, artist and art therapist decode the hidden messages in the work, arriving at a deeper understanding of the artist’s inner landscape.
This exploratory therapy is especially useful to people who have trouble expressing their experience verbally, whether because it’s painful for them to do so or they simply don’t have access to the “right” words. Creative expression can be a non-threatening way to gain access to unconscious thoughts and motivations. Artwork by Nancy Minadeo Flanigan
sheppardpratt.org • heal.
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THE RETREAT AT SHEPPARD PRATT
RISE ABOVE WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE RETREAT AT SHEPPARD PRATT, A UNIQUELY TALENTED ARTIST LEARNS TO MANAGE BIPOLAR DISORDER BY BILL DONAHUE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAMELIA MONTOY AND JODY ROBINSON
After years of struggle, artist Sam Brown (shown here with his mother, Mary Odom, at his home in western Pennsylvania) used a six-week stay at The Retreat as a springboard to manage his disorder.
IT WAS AN OTHERWISE UNREMARKABLE DAY IN 2011, as Mary Odom
period for about six months, and I got
recalls, when the email from the psychiatric hospital in Australia
myself stable working at Starbucks and
appeared in her inbox. The email revealed a photocopied note from
learned a lot. Once I felt like I was back
her then 24-year-old son, Sam Brown, an itinerant artist who had been traveling abroad to share his brand of provocative, self-expressionistic art with the world. To her horror, the note suggested Sam had suffered a debilitating mental collapse and needed serious help.
on the path, I started thinking about what I really loved and wanted to do with myself.” Invigorated by the idea of returning to his artistic passions, Brown went to Quito, Ecuador, to work with María Escudero, a photographer he had met at
“I
still struggle for the proper words as
formal psychiatric analysis, which, in
the Sculpture Studio at Wheaton College
to how it felt to read that,” she says.
turn, produced a troubling diagnosis:
in Norton, Mass. Together, the two artists
“I immediately switched to, ‘How do I get
bipolar 1 disorder, a form of mental illness
created “Trans-Meat,” an exhibition
there so I can bring him home?’”
characterized by episodes of mania —
featuring a series of visceral
typically accompanied by outbursts of
photographs that became “a huge deal”
son knew it at the time, Brown was
self-destructive behavior — and bouts of
in Ecuador, as Brown recalls. The
struggling with a serious illness. Upon
severe depression.
exhibition earned praise from critics and
Although neither Odom nor her
returning stateside to his home in the Pittsburgh suburbs, he received a
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heal. • Sheppard Pratt Health System
“I felt kind of defeated after that,” Brown remembers. “I entered a black
ample exposure through local news media — and it even acted as a catalyst
THE RETREAT AT SHEPPARD PRATT
for social change in the South
often have years of experiencing a
other “roadblocks,” such as feelings of
American nation.
chaotic life, and they don’t believe it’s
inadequacy resulting from years of
Then everything crashed.
something they can manage. They have
bullying over his distinctively colorful
As the exhibition was drawing
to learn more skills through things like
personality and issues surrounding
dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), which
gender identity. He also gained a deeper
to a close, Brown’s illness returned
understanding of his bipolar 1, confident
with a sudden fury, the medication to treat the symptoms no longer doing its job. Horrible panic attacks sent him
“Like Sam, a number
reeling, and in late 2015 he returned
of bipolar patients are
home to Pittsburgh, feeling more fragile
very creative. Many of
than ever. Even with his medication correctly adjusted, Brown had to endure a few more episodes before he and his supportive family reached an accord: He needed formalized evaluation and
them are not sure how much they want to treat their illness, because
observation in an environment staffed
they are afraid they will
by professionals who fully understood
lose their creativity, so
his illness. A trusted therapist friend of his mother’s offered only one suggestion: The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt. There, among other residents who had arrived at some sort of crossroads — young adults unable to make the
the first step is showing them that [losing their creativity] will not happen if they receive treatment.”
accomplished professionals struggling
effectively would not hamper his boundless creativity. “It’s important to offer an environment where people like Sam can feel safe to open up and talk about themselves and about things they might have hidden away from even themselves,” says Dr. Ross. “Often people are taught these areas are not acceptable, but here we’re truly delving into the whole person, including the parts that may be in the shadows. “[Brown] realized he is a wonderfully open and remarkably generous man, and he had a very positive effect on the people around him at The Retreat,” says Dr. Ross. “He had to shift his center of how he understood himself, to a more stable
transition to adulthood, adults failing to cope with significant life changes,
in the knowledge that treating the illness
— Dr. Don Ross, senior psychiatrist, The Retreat
place. Nothing new about him was created, but he learned to ‘own’ himself in a more solid way and was left feeling
with co-occurring disorders, such as a substance use problem paired with
can be very helpful in helping them be
more confident and balanced about
a serious mental health diagnosis, etc.
more capable and confident handling
his future.”
— he would try to heal.
day-to-day life.”
Like every patient who comes to
DBT and other forms of intensive
The Retreat, Brown participated in a form
the right place for him, Brown entered
treatment helped Brown learn how to
of nonverbal psychotherapy that utilizes a
The Retreat in April 2016, in the care of
manage his illness, as well as confront
rather familiar tool: art. At its core, art
After determining it was, in fact,
a team of medical professionals devoted to helping him overcome the illness. The team included Don Ross, M.D., formerly The Retreat’s medical director and currently a senior psychiatrist. “Like Sam, a number of bipolar patients are very creative,” says Dr. Ross.
Dialectical behavior therapy and other forms of intensive treatment at The Retreat helped Brown manage his illness, as well as confront other “roadblocks” that had been negatively affecting his life.
“Many of them are not sure how much they want to treat their illness, because they are afraid they will lose their creativity, so the first step is showing them that [losing their creativity} will not happen if they receive treatment. They
sheppardpratt.org • heal.
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THE RETREAT AT SHEPPARD PRATT
therapy helps residents become aware of
it helped him and it helped connect the
possess a lot of special gifts,” he
thoughts and feelings that are affecting
whole community.”
continues. “Being able to manage it with
them in ways of which they may be
medication allows you to explore the
Brown completed his six-week
unaware, according to Terry Wilpers,
stay at The Retreat in May 2016. In the
magical qualities while keeping a firm
an art therapist at The Retreat.
months since, he has been in a state of
foot on the ground. It might sound
“constant movement, without any firm
strange, but I now see that the world is
Sam,” Wilpers says. “From the get-go he
geographic roots”: spending time with his
truly a wondrous place to have bipolar.”
was very free with his expression, and he
mother in Sewickley, a suburb of
was very verbal about what his pieces of
Pittsburgh; traveling to Europe; catching
her son back. More so, she’s happy to see
art were showing. He was doing a lot of
up with friends and family members; and,
“good things” starting to coalesce around
abstract pieces, and I think the turning
of course, working on his art.
him. As of late August, he had found a
“I saw a big transformation with
point with him came when one of my
His mother, Mary, is happy to have
nice apartment of his own and a job
“There’s a lot of hope in the story
colleagues, [art therapist] Christy
of bipolar 1,” says Brown. “When I was
doing what he loves at the Arthur Murray
Bergland, challenged him to direct his
diagnosed, I thought the world had
Dance Centers in Pittsburgh.
Photos of living spaces at The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt.
“When he came home from Australia [in 2011], it was almost like having to re-parent a young child,” she says. “He had totally lost touch with all
“ When I was diagnosed, I thought the world had ended. ... I now see that bipolar 1 allows me to see
the people who knew him and could say, ‘Sam, you’re way off base.’ I wish I had known it at the time, how someone who
the world in a way most people can’t, and I feel
graduated magna cum laude could be
genuinely blessed.” — Sam Brown, former resident of The Retreat
acting this weird, acting not like himself, but now I know it was the illness. “It’s amazing how far he’s come,”
energies to representational work. So he
ended. I had this chronic illness I thought
she continues. “I know he’s stable, and
started doing portraits. He made many
I would always have, and I thought I had
I know how capable he is. Even in the
portraits of his fellow residents, and they
ruined my life due to my own choices.
last few days, it seems like all that
were absolutely marvelous.”
I now see that bipolar 1 allows me to see
suffering has turned itself around, and it
the world in a way most people can’t,
looks like a promising, exciting future
and I feel genuinely blessed.”
for him. He’s so ready, and I’m really
“He was very engaging, very dynamic, and he added another layer of connection and relationship building,”
“For other people who are being
she continues. “I think [art therapy] was a
diagnosed [with bipolar 1], I would tell
very positive experience for him, because
them to feel hopeful and that they
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heal. • Sheppard Pratt Health System
proud of him.”
Mark Your Calendar! For a complete listing of events, continuing education classes, and lectures, visit sheppardpratt.org/calendar-events.
PHILANTHROPIC EVENTS Annual Care for Kids Benefit Saturday, April 1, 2017 The 25th Anniversary Care for Kids Benefit will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore. All proceeds will benefit Sheppard Pratt’s pediatric patients and students.
EDUCATIONAL CLASSES Dick Prodey Lecture Series Sponsored jointly by The Kolmac Clinic, Sheppard Pratt Health System, and the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence of Maryland (NCADD-Maryland). A FREE, eight-class series held Wednesday evenings at The Conference Center at Sheppard Pratt from 7 to 9 p.m. Call 410.938.3900 for information.
Turning Point: Physician Wellbeing and Implications for the Future of Medical Education and Practice January 25, 2017 Joan M. Anzia, M.D., Residency Program Director & Vice Chair for Education
CONFERENCE EXHIBITING American Psychoanalytic Association National Meeting January 18-22, 2017 — New York City, NY
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral
13th Annual Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health Conference
Sciences, Northwestern University/
March 14, 2017 — Baltimore, MD
Feinberg School of Medicine Psychotherapy Networker Scientific Facts Not Fads: Recent Research on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Dissociative Disorders
March 23-26, 2017 — Washington, D.C.
February 8, 2017
Brain Injury Association of Maryland Annual Conference
Richard J. Loewenstein, M.D., Medical
March 23-24, 2017 — Timonium, MD
Director, The Trauma Disorders Program, Sheppard Pratt Health System Paths to Psychosis: A Precision Medicine Perspective
National Association of Social Workers, Virginia Chapter — 2017 Annual Conference March 24-25, 2017 — Williamsburg, VA
February 22, 2017 Raquel E. Gur, M.D., Ph.D., Director,
Wednesday Lectures @ Sheppard Pratt
Neuropsychiatry Section, Department
We offer a lecture series at The
of Psychiatry, Children’s Hospital of
Conference Center at Sheppard Pratt
Philadelphia and Penn Medicine
most Wednesdays from 12 to 1 p.m. to support continuing education of medical and mental health professionals. Anyone is invited to join, please visit sheppardpratt.org/education-training/ for more information.
Culturally Informed Care and Populations of African Decent: Challenges and Opportunities March 8, 2017 Kenneth M. Rogers, M.D., Chair, Behavioral Health Services & Psychiatry,
Predicting and Tracking the Transition to Psychosis in Clinical High-Risk Individuals: Findings from the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study
Greenville Health System
January 11, 2017
Lloyd I. Sederer, M.D., Chief Medical
Daniel H. Mathalon, M.D., Ph.D., Professor
Officer, New York State Office of
of Psychiatry & Biomedical Sciences,
Mental Health
Some Secrets of Mental Health Care March 22, 2017
Throughout the year, Sheppard Pratt Health System exhibits at a number of conferences and community events. Make sure to stop by our booth if you plan to be at any of the above.
University of California
sheppardpratt.org • heal.
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IN THE NEWS
Welcome to Our New Vice President and Chief Financial Officer WE ARE EXCITED TO WELCOME RAY DZIESINSKI to Sheppard Pratt as our new vice president and chief financial officer (CFO). Ray joins us from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he served as chief financial officer of clinical services. Previously, Dziesinski was CFO and chief treasury officer for Children’s Medical Center of Dallas. “Dziesinski brings to Sheppard Pratt Health System more than 35 years of unparalleled financial experience, including leadership roles at nationally renowned health care organizations,” said Dr. Harsh K. Trivedi, president and CEO of Sheppard Pratt Health System. “With the current complexity and pace of change in health care, I am confident that Ray will be invaluable as we look to broaden our services to meet the needs of those we serve.”
Dr. Steven S. Sharfstein Receives Prestigious Award for His Contributions to Psychiatry THIS PAST NOVEMBER, the Institute of Living’s C. Charles Burlingame Award was presented to our very own former president and CEO, Dr. Steven S.
A New Hospital in Howard County
Sharfstein. The award, established in 1988 to honor the legacy of C. Charles Burlingame, is presented annually in recognition of outstanding leadership and lifetime achievement in the field of psychiatry.
WE ARE EXCITED to share that the state
Congratulations, Dr. Sharfstein!
health planning agency approved Sheppard Pratt’s application to build a new hospital in Howard County, Maryland. This new campus will greatly enhance the patient experience, provide access to behavioral health services for those in Howard and Anne Arundel counties, as well as the Greater Washington, D.C. area, and refine our clinical programs in a contemporary and therapeutic environment. This will begin a new era of mental health care for us, and one that will greatly benefit our community. Dr. Steven Sharfstein (left) and Dr. Hank Schwartz (right), psychiatrist-in-chief for Hartford Hospital’s Institute of Living, at the 2016 C. Charles Burlingame, M.D. Award reception.
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heal. • Sheppard Pratt Health System
IN THE NEWS
Supporting Ellicott City AFTER MASSIVE FLOODING destroyed many homes and businesses in Ellicott City this past August, we knew we had to offer our support. We quickly developed a fundraising campaign, where 100 percent of the money raised went to support the victims of the flood. Through this fundraising initiative, we raised more than $11,000 and presented it to the Ellicott City Partnership, a non-profit that is dedicated to restoring Old Ellicott City.
Baltimore Magazine Honors Our Top Doctors THREE DOCTORS from Sheppard Pratt Health System were recently honored by Baltimore Magazine as 2016 Top Doctors in the greater Baltimore area. Congratulations to Drs. Harry Brandt and Steven Crawford, co-directors of The Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt and Dr. Sunil Khushalani, medical director for the adult service line.
And Then There Were 12: The Forbush School at Anne Arundel South Becomes Our 12th Day School WE’RE EXCITED to share that the Special Education Program has a new Type II school, The Forbush School at Anne Arundel South, operated out of Central Special School in Edgewater, Maryland. For more information, call 410.938.4747.
Dr. Harry Brandt
Dr. Steven Crawford
Dr. Sunil Khushalani
sheppardpratt.org • heal.
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SHEPPARD PRATT HEALTH SYSTEM PHILANTHROPY
You make great things happen when you give.
With nearly 700 participants, the 3rd Annual Sheppard Pratt Stride, presented by Sodexo, raised more than $70,000 — a new record for the health system. The Stride was held on Saturday, October 8, at Sheppard Pratt’s Towson campus and included an inaugural 5K in addition to the annual one-mile walk and festivities. The funds raised help to support our mental health and special education services.
Thank you to our sponsors, the Stride committee, volunteers, and our wonderful participants for making the 3rd Annual Sheppard Pratt Stride the most successful yet. PRESENTING SPONSOR
2017
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heal. • Sheppard Pratt Health System
GOLD SPONSORS ABM American Office East Coast Ambulance & Wheelchair Service
SILVER SPONSORS
ENTERTAINMENT SPONSOR
Adler Display, Inc. Complete Healthcare Staffing, LLC Foley & Lardner, LLP Quest Diagnostics, Inc. Wegmans
The Entertainment Playground
Sheppard Pratt’s annual Care for Kids Benefit will take place Saturday, April 1, 2017. This will be a very special Care for Kids Benefit, as we raise funds to support our students and celebrate the event’s 25th anniversary! For more information, or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Allison Calvert at 410.938.4025.
HEALING ART
The Healing Power of Art Art therapy — whether painting, drawing, journaling, or writing poetry — helps people to express themselves and become aware of thoughts and feelings by creating art that may be difficult to access through verbal processing alone. In this series, we’ll share some of the creations our patients, students, and residents have designed.
Cry Out
Pieces of Me
BY: LIV
BY: LIV
Aches and pains of depression, the highs and lows of Bipolar;
Sounds ringing in my ear;
Wanting to die, wanting to live,
Sights blinding me with fear creeping over me
Wanting it to end, wanting to begin again.
Senses consuming me, eating me Alive
Feeling the shadow cast over me, afraid the lights will go out,
Feeling so much sadness and anger emotions I can’t control.
Feeling out of control, never on stable ground.
Don’t know where to go, feel like I’m dying;
Spinning, spinning, spinning, spiraling out of control, down, down, and down
I don’t understand, can’t comprehend, messages sent, but it is incoherent, unreadable, unlovable, untouched.
SO wake up from the somber sleep
Disabilities are such a hurtful word;
Wipe the tears from your eyes,
You talk over me;
I know you been crying, wash away the dirt from yesterday
You patronize me,
You have nothing to fear
You diminish me into nothingness.
Believe in someone, something, anything, just believe.
I see evil, but never speak it, plugging my ears so I never hear it. I’m not Evil I’m AUTISM
Hope is the only four letter word to describe you because you’re worth hoping for and believing in Things will change as do your emotions, They create waves; So build a levee
Liv is an 18-year-old student at The Forbush School at Glyndon-Hannah More. Poetry has helped her to begin to heal and find her inner strength.
sheppardpratt.org • heal.
13
THRIVE. A BLOG BY SHEPPARD PRATT
From Our Blog: Becoming Authentically ME: My Passion for Recovery I WAS A VERY ANXIOUS, self-conscious kid, who for some
I no longer feel like a
reason believed I had to be good … or else. I had severe
“fake” waiting for the
separation anxiety and was afraid of everything. I had no
proverbial “they” to
self-esteem. Then in middle school, I discovered “gateway
figure me out. I am
drugs,” and realized that getting stoned took away that anxiety
comfortable in my own
and self-consciousness. I clearly remember the moment in
skin. I am able to
time when I “found the answer” to my shyness. Fast forward
tolerate painful feelings,
10 years, and I can also remember the moment in time when
even unbearable
I realized that I was an addict.
grief. I am able to
I had been going to a 12-step program for about a year
walk through fearful
before the first step — admitting that I was an addict — worked
situations and know that
me. I didn’t go to meetings because I thought I had a problem.
I will be okay. I am able
On the contrary, I thought I was “fine” because I went to work
to trust and am trust-
every day, paid my bills, took care of my daughter and was, you
worthy. And, most
know, “functional.” Truth be told, I went to meetings because
importantly, I am able to have meaningful, healthy relationships
my friend was on the “pink cloud” of happiness that many
where honest and open communication is the norm.
experience in early recovery, and I wanted to see what all the excitement was about. I didn’t think I had a problem, but I listened. I was moved
Recovery is an everyday, ongoing process. It is more than remaining abstinent and going to meetings. Twelve-step recovery programs are just that – 12-step programs. The
by the level of honesty with which people shared their life
steps may be intimidating or off-putting at first, but given the
histories out loud and in public. I related to the feelings that
chance, they provide a conduit for self-exploration and
drove people to use or keep using, and eventually came to
meaningful change.
accept what I did not want to be true — that I was an addict.
There’s more to the steps than meets the eye. Don’t let the
I have been clean ever since. I am amazed by the changes that
fear of opening up about your past, or skepticism about a new
have taken place within me and in my life as a result of staying
belief system keep you from exploring an opportunity that just
clean and working a program of recovery to the best of my
might save your life. What have you got to lose?
ability, one day at a time, for more than 28 years now. I struggled with the realization that I was an addict. I was
Like what you’ve read? Check out our blog at
ashamed and horrified, because at that time, I believed in the
sheppardpratt.org/blog for more great posts from
negative stigma that surrounds addiction. But today, I am proud
our staff, patients, and community members.
to be a recovering addict. In fact, I am grateful for my addiction, because without it, I would not have found 12-step recovery. Recovery has given me a life that I could never have imagined
Denise Connelly is a licensed clinical social worker and certified
for myself and has afforded me the opportunity to help others
addictions counselor at The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt. She
who struggle with addiction. I find it difficult to describe my passion for recovery in a single paragraph, as the changes in my life have been monumental. As a result of working the steps and practicing them to the best of my ability, I have become authentically ME.
14
heal. • Sheppard Pratt Health System
holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from the University of Maryland.
MEET OUR TEAM
Chatting with Chanel Ross COMMUNICATION IS KEY, SAYS THE ASSISTANT BEHAVIORAL SPECIALIST AT THE FORBUSH SCHOOL AT HUNT VALLEY
A Baltimore City native, Chanel Ross is an assistant behavioral specialist at The Forbush School at Hunt Valley, a 12-month special education day school that is part of Sheppard Pratt Health System. Employed with the school since 2012, Chanel shares her passion for learning with the students she works with.
Q. Tell us about your role as assistant behavioral specialist for The Forbush School at Hunt Valley.
Q. What do you find challenging about your job?
A. As an assistant behavioral specialist, I work
that it’s not that a student is not able to do
with middle school-aged students who have
something; it’s just that they’re not able to
various complex intellectual and behavioral
do something in the manner in which we
disabilities, including autism. I partner with
expect. They learn in their own ways. It’s really
the schools’ behavioral specialists to look at
remarkable when you realize, “Oh, when you
individual behaviors and determine why
do this, it really means this.” You have to spend
a student acts a certain way.
time and get to know each child.
Q. What do you love most about
Q. Why are you passionate
your job?
about special education?
A. Communication. What I’ve learned is
A. Seeing progress. Before I was in this
A. My grandma was a special
position, I worked with students with
education teacher. I used to go to
dangerous, hard-to-manage behaviors.
school with her and found it so
So, I would spend time with a student to figure
interesting that I could read to kids
out what works and what doesn’t, and how
that were older than me. In high
he/she can best tell me what it is they need.
school, I had the opportunity to
We built mutual respect. I could wrestle with
focus on child care. Now, I’m
a kid all day long and at the end of the day, he
working on my bachelor’s degree
or she would smile at me and still want to
in special education.
give me a hug.
Q. What is your plan for the future? Q. What message do you have for a parent with a child with special needs?
A. My goal is to start my own recreation/ development center. I’m from Baltimore
A. Communicate with the school and with
City, and when I was growing up, we
your child’s teachers as much as possible.
had recreation centers everywhere. In the
When the parents are involved, the
last eight years, I feel like all of the rec
behavior plans work better. These kids need
centers have disappeared. I’d like to focus
consistency and when we’re not consistent
on recreational leadership to help build
across the board, that’s when you see things
up the community and give back. I want to
not working. Finding out what changes are
make community service part of my
needed in the home, or telling the school
every day.
when we should be doing something differently, can make all the difference.
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Share Your Story With Us Share with us your memorable story from your time with Sheppard Pratt, and help us fight stigma. Please contact us at 410.938.4466 or share@sheppardpratt.org.