Disability Rights Center – Mission is to enhance and promote the equality, self-determination, independence, productivity, integration and inclusion of people with disabilities through education, strategic advocacy and legal intervention.
Maine Alliance for Addiction Recovery – MAAR’s mission is to organize recovering people into an inclusive statewide addiction recovery network that supports all recovery pathways. MAAR provides recovery education and peer recovery support programs.
Maine The Community Connector – Is a searchable database of health and human service resources in greater Franklin County, Maine. This website is made possible by the Healthy Community Coalition and the Franklin Resource Network. It features ways to keep you connected in your community and, as a result, healthy as well.
The Anna Institute – The Anna Institute celebrates and honors the life of Anna Caroline Jennings , by using her artwork and life experience to educate others on the hidden epidemic of childhood sexual abuse, its horrific impacts on individuals and society, and paths to prevention or healing.
Consumer Council System of Maine – The purpose of the Consumer Council System of Maine (CCSM)is to assure there is an effective, independent consumer voice in the development of public policy.
The Co Occurring Collaborative of Southern Maine – The Collaborative consists of consumers and family members and more than 40 agencies who work together to coordinate and integrate services for people with co-occurring disorders. Its mission is to reduce barriers and create effective community-based services.
Volunteer Maine – Mission is to improve the lives of people in Eastern Maine by mobilizing the caring power of people and communities. We bring together human, financial and strategic resources to strengthen children and families, support seniors, meet people’s basic needs, and promote self-sufficiency for all individuals.
NAMI’s Stigma Alert – A network of dedicated advocates across the country and around the world who seek to fight inaccurate and hurtful representations of mental illness.
Stop Stigma – Stigma is not just a matter of using the wrong word or action. Stigma is about disrespect. It is the use of negative labels to identify a person living with mental illness. Stigma is a barrier. Fear of stigma, and the resulting discrimination, discourages individuals and their families from getting the help they need. An estimated 22 to 23 percent of the U.S. population experience a mental disorder in any given year, but almost half of these individuals do not seek treatment (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2002; U.S. Surgeon General, 2001).
Community Action
The Institute for Recovery and Community Integration – The Institute for Recovery and Community Integration works to introduce and advance communities’ understanding of recovery and community integration as the catalyst for transforming individual lives, communities, and all levels of behavioral health systems in a culturally competent manner
Temple University Collaborative on Community – Community Integration is the opportunity to live in the community and be valued for one’s uniqueness and abilities, like everyone else (Salzer, 2006). Community integration is a right of all people and encompasses) housing, employment, education, leisure/recreation, social roles, peer support, health status, citizenship, self-determination, and religion/spirituality. Community integration (or, the opportunity to live like everyone else) should result in community presence and participation of people with psychiatric disabilities similar to that of others without a disability (Salzer, 2006).
Holistic
The Center for Mindfulness – Mindfulness is universal and transformational, a planetary commonwealth. We did not invent mindfulness. We don’t own it or hold a patent. We do know something about working with this simple provocative way of relating to self others and the world.
Cranio Sacral Therapy – “Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy takes a whole-person approach to healing and the inter-connections of mind, body and spirit are deeply acknowledged. It is an effective form of treatment for a wide range of illnesses helping to create the optimal conditions for health, encouraging vitality and facilitating a sense of well-being.”
Dietary guidelines for Americans – Eating right and being physically active aren’t just a “diet” or a “program” – they are keys to a healthy lifestyle.
Person Centered Planning – Person-centered planning is a process-oriented approach to empowering people with disability labels. It focuses on the people and their needs by putting them in charge of defining the direction for their lives, not on the systems that may or may not be available to serve them. This ultimately leads to greater inclusion as valued members of both community and society.
Wellbriety – Native American Recovery Resource Center – “White Bison’s mission is to assist in bringing 100 Native American communities into healing by 2010. White Bison is a proud facilitator of the Wellbriety Movement. Wellbriety means to be sober and well. Wellbriety teaches that we must find sobriety from addictions to alcohol and other drugs and recover from the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol on individuals, families and whole communities. The “Well” part of Wellbriety is the inspiration to go on beyond sobriety and recovery, committing to a life of wellness and healing everyday.”
Naturopathic Medicine – “Our vision is to transform the healthcare system from a disease management system to a comprehensive health program incorporating the principles of naturopathic medicine. We believe that every American has the right to choose a naturopathic doctor and every naturopathic doctor has the opportunity to be a successful practitioner”
Polarity Therapy – “Polarity Therapy” is a gentle, holistic method of treatment, applicable to many health problems and also useful in maintaining health. Central to Polarity Therapy is the concept of a life energy, which is in constant pulsation from positive to negative poles via a neutral position, creating fields and energetic lines of force.”
Reiki – “Reiki Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It’s administered by laying on hands and can be easily learned by anyone.”
Peer Support and Peer Run Crisis Alternatives in Mental Health – Peer support has traditionally meant informal, non-professionalized help from people who have had similar life experiences. In mental health peers come together with many shared experiences including a negative reaction to traditional services. However without a new framework to build from it is not uncommon to find people re-enacting “help” based on what was done to them. Some people take on positions of power and others fall into passive recipient roles. Therefore, all training emphasizes a critical learning experience in which people mutually explore “how they’ve come to know what they know. In other words, through intentional conversations, people examine their assumptions about who they are, what power-shared relationships can look like, and ultimately what’s possible” (S. Mead).
MindFreedom International – An independent nonprofit coalition defending human rights and promoting humane alternatives for mental and emotional well being.
Research
Ruth Ralph Material – The ultimate purpose of this project is to collect, review, analyze, and synthesize the published and unpublished literature on recovery in the field of mental health, particularly from the perspective of consumers.
National Research and Training Center – A page with resources for creating a self determined life plan, access to research on self determination, and ideas on how to have conversations with providers.
Self Help
Wellness Recovery Action Plan – “The Wellness Recovery Action Plan can help you in the process of recovery, of getting well and staying well, and of assisting you in becoming who you want to be and making your life the way you want it. It will also be helpful to you in adapting to any challenges you have in your life like chronic illness, serious disability, being on active duty, or dealing with extreme loss or grief”(M. Copeland).
WRAP
The Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery is a peer run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides training, consultation, and program activities to support the wellness, recovery, community inclusion and peer support journeys of individuals. We work with the owners of WRAP® materials at Advocates for Human Potential (AHP) to ensure the fidelity and quality implementation of WRAP® Facilitation in the health care system. We further enhance the effectiveness of recovery groups, healthcare providers, healthcare organizations, and healthcare systems that seek to support individuals’ recovery and wellness.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) World Service – This site provides information about AA organization at the state, national and international levels. It also provides information for people considering AA as an option for themselves, as well as providing information for families and professionals.
DBSA Depression Bipolar Support Alliance – Information ,online support groups, live podcasts, articles and networking around issues related to depression and bipolar disorder.
Facing US – The Facing Us Clubhouse is a program brought to you by The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA).
Mental Health Recovery Self-Help Strategies – Focus is on shifting the system of mental health care toward prevention and recovery through education, training, and research.
Overeaters Anonymous – “Overeaters Anonymous offers a program of recovery from compulsive overeating using the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of OA”
Consumer Driven Services Directory – The purpose of the Directory is to provide consumers, researchers, administrators, service providers, and others with a comprehensive central resource for information on national and local consumer-driven programs. Such programs have a proven track record in helping people recover from mental illnesses.
National Empowerment Center – Mission is to carry a message of recovery, empowerment, hope and healing to people who have been labeled with mental illness.
National Resource Center on Psychiatric Directives – Psychiatric advance directives (PADs) are relatively new legal instruments that may be used to document a competent person’s specific instructions or preferences regarding future mental health treatment, in preparation for the possibility that the person may lose capacity to give or withhold informed consent to treatment during acute episodes of psychiatric illness.
