2011 WORLD MENTAL HEALTH CONGRESS
OF THE WORLD FEDERATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
19 October, 2011
Promoting Recovery: Effective interventions for prevention and
promotion
Presented by:
Janet Paleo and Anna H. Gray
Track:
Mental Health Promotion and Prevention
RESILIENCY TRAINING WORKS
Over the last decade there has been
a rise in resiliency training
In business and corporate settings
With children in schools
With military personnel
RESILIENCY TRAINING WORKS
What works for corporations, youth and military
actually works for all people.
Resiliency training serves to lessen the effects of early
adversity…
Resiliency training empowers people reducing
relapse…
Resiliency training empowers recovery…
FOCUS FOR LIFE®
Builds resiliency for anyone who
takes it.
At some point in time everyone has
life slap them in the face, the
question is: “are you going to fall
down or are you going to remain
standing, and better yet, thrive?”
All of what we do and all of our
philosophies are captured in Focus
for Life.
STRESSORS MAY BE EITHER
POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE
Eustress: positive experiences that promote wellbeing
Distress: those experiences that cause some type
of harm
Stressors are always present; Focus for Life works
by refocusing on the type , amount, and coping
resources of the individual
Everyone should be
able to love life and
laugh again!
FOCUS FOR LIFE
DEVELOPS
SALUTOGENESIS
®
CREATOR OF SALUTOGENESIS
Aaron Antonovsky (1923 – 1994)
Medical Sociologist
Coined term in 1968 to capture an emerging
concept
Why did some manage to avoid illness and do
well even when subjected to extreme
stressors?
IN TIMES OF EXTREME STRESS OR
TRAUMA, WHY DO SOME SURVIVE AND
OTHERS BECOME VICTIMS?
Ghetto children
Work environments that seem unbearable
Poor family dynamics
Stresses of combat
Stresses of long term separation
Mental Illness
SALUTOGENESIS VS. PATHOGENESIS
Salutogenesis
Health
Illness
Well Being
Disease
Sickness
Recovery
Pathogenesis
Resiliency
The difference is where the focus is placed. Focus on the
illness, you become the illness. Focus on your well-being, it
encompasses all of life. Here the illness is another part of
life.
COMPONENTS OF RESILIENCY
 Your world has meaning
(Purpose)
 Your world is manageable
(Challenge)
 Your world is understandable
(Control)
FOCUSING OUTSIDE OF YOU
PURPOSE
Focus for Life emphasizes focusing
outside of yourself and doing
something for others. Volunteering
fulfills our curiosity and provides a
sense of meaningfulness for life.
CHALLENGES
Focus for Life has people
understand that social
networks give you a source of
resources to meet the
challenges of life.
CONTROL
Understanding your world
by refocusing on life
events and changing the
story that we attach to
them.
WHAT DO
YOU SEE?
HOW DO
YOU
RESPOND?
WE DEFINE WHAT WE SEE
But, what causes us to see things?
Physiology
(What our eyes do)
Cognition
(What our minds tell us)
Bias/world view
(What experience tells us)
FOCUS FOR LIFE®
We can change cognition
We can change reality (experiences)
Being responsible for ourselves and our
life
Doing all three maximizes growth,
recovery, and resiliency!
FOCUS FOR LIFE®
TO UNDERSTAND LIFE IS SUBJECTIVE
FOCUSING ON RESOURCES
FOCUS FOR LIFE HELPS YOU TO
SEE WHAT YOU HAVEN’T SEEN
BEFORE
®
Graphic courtesy of: David Gobble, PhD, CHES, Director and Professor, Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306
ACTIONS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
There is hope in action!
The more action you take, the
more hope you will have
YOU DETERMINE YOUR OWN
DESTINY
Taking what you focus on, what that
means to you and putting yourself
in action, will determine your
destiny
FOCUS IN ACTION
By choosing our focus, we can affect our lives.
By creating meaning in our lives, we can affect
our place in the world.
By understanding that the power of recovery
resides in each of us, we can make it happen,
because
RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE!!
WHAT DOES THE
RESEARCH SAY?
R E S E A R C H H A S S H O W N S TAT I S T I C A L LY
SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE OVER ALL
AND ON ALL SUBSCALES OF THE SENSE
O F C O H E R E N C E S C A L E , A T O O L T H AT
M E A S U R E S R E S I L I E N C Y, A N D O N 1 1
OUT OF 13 SUBSCALES AND OVERALL
S TAT I S T I C A L LY S I G N I F I C A N T
IMPROVEMENT IN THE QUALIT Y OF LIFE
SCALE.
SENSE OF COHERENCE (SOC)
The heart of Salutogenesis
“Global construct that expresses the extent to
which one has a pervasive, enduring though
dynamic feeling of confidence that one’s internal
and external environments are predictable and
that there is a high probability that things will work
out as well as can be expected” (Antonovsky,
1979)
WHAT IS THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND
ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS?
Taking responsibility for all of your
life
Moving toward wellness rather than
moving away from illness (motivation
to live being the key component, full
of hopes and dreams.)
Beginning to realize that you have
everything you need to live life
and/or that you can find it.
PEER SERVICES
WORK
EXAMPLE PROGRAMS
CRISIS PEER NAVIGATORS IN
HOUSTON
Provides a symbol of hope when people come
into the crisis center. Each Peer was asked,
“How do I get a job like yours?”
People in crisis see people who have been
where they are who are working now. People
begin to focus ahead and on what is possible.
PROSUMER ACTION CENTER JOB
READINESS PROGRAM
A safe environment to try on what it takes to go
back to work.
People build pride as they tell their community
that they are going to work each morning.
The look on their faces when they get their
business cards speak volumes.
RECOVERY 101
Introducing people from the very beginning of
interaction with the mental health system
that recovery is possible and the expected
outcome of treatment.
They get that they are responsible for their
lives.
The system takes on a paradigm shift in which
the people they serve are powerful wellness
agents.
PROSUMER PROGRAM IN SAN
ANTONIO/HOUSTON/FT. WORTH/LUBBOCK
A place for people to get and practice tools to
live life, a place to learn about events that
affect their life.
The focus is not on illness but on living a life
you love.
People take responsibility for their behaviors
and needs. When in crisis they seek help
prior to having to show up at the crisis unit.
THE PROSUMER NEWS
Many people’s first introduction to recovery, the
articles are inspiring, thought provoking, and
geared to providing information for living life.
The circulation encompasses several states and is
mailed out internationally each month.
Can be a one stop reference guide to resources in the
community, elected officials and how to contact
them, and events that are available for recovery.
PROSUMERS INTERNATIONAL
W W W. P R O S U M E R S I N T E R N AT I O N A L . O R G
W W W. T H E P RO I N T E R N AT I O N A L . C O M
210 - 6 5 3 - 5 2 6 7 O F F I C E
210 - 6 5 3 - 7 37 2 FA X
J A N E T . P A L E O @ P R O S U M E R S I N T E R N AT I O N A L . O R G
A N N A . G R AY @ P R O S U M E R S I N T E R N AT I O N A L . O R G