Crestwood Behavioral Health, Inc.’s Post

A Message from Patty Blum, Crestwood Executive Vice President A Season of Light, Warmth and Love December for many of us is the season of light. The days are shorter and darker, so light is vital to our survival. Light is frequently shared by others, sitting together in a lit area and is similar to the warmth of a fire or heat in the cold of winter. Gathering together to share the light and the warmth allows us to share our stories, gifts, challenges, grief, hope, fear and love. This is also a reflection of compassion. Compassion means suffering together. It is the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another's suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering. At Crestwood, we expand that to being together in the deepest way. The ability to sit together and hold the space for suffering or joy, simply by sharing light, warmth and love. We know that in December we have so many distractions. There are more family commitments, community events, celebrations, and for many of us, more sadness, loss, and loneliness. This is a time of high expectations, which can bring disappointments, memories, and a sense of solitude. This is a particularly challenging time for the people we serve. Many of them do not have those “Hallmark” holidays so their sadness may be amplified. We have an opportunity to look beyond the holiday highlights to the significance of simply sharing – giving and receiving - light, warmth, and love. This December we can share the light with others in the most authentic way. It may be crying together because of a friend, co-worker or relative we lost this year. It may be bringing groceries to someone in need. It may be lighting a candle at home and saying a prayer for a friend in pain. It may be shopping and sharing a meal together. It may be making homemade dog biscuits or cat treats for our most beloved furry family. It is whatever we can do, give and receive, that brings us and others a sense of light, warmth and love. This can be the time to find the unique beautiful gifts inside each of us and make that gift to ourselves and others. Sharing your light, warmth and love with those around you is truly the greatest gift you can give during this holiday season.

Behavioral Health Leaders looking for a role at a Values Driven Organization? PHF/ARF Administrator in Vallejo: https://lnkd.in/g8nq7Zrc

Beautiful Gifts Can Often Come in Sorrowful Wrapping - Chris Martin I am quite sure that Macy’s and Nordstrom’s department stores would not hire me in their gift-wrapping departments. I take a lot of time to buy what I think will be desirable gifts for others, but I don’t seem to possess the skill, time, and focus to wrap them all up into a beautiful appealing present. Besides, I often find that many people, including me, hurry through the unwrapping part to get to the gifts inside. Perhaps it would be good if we could all learn to slow down a little to appreciate the wrapping around the gifts. In many ways, the people who come to receive services at Crestwood arrive with sorrowful wrappings around their hearts and spirits. Inside each of them are beautiful gifts that come inside all that sorrow. Their invaluable gifts have come with a great price. The poet Robert Browning Hamilton said it best when he wrote: I walked a mile with pleasure; She chatted all the way; But left me none the wiser For all she had to say. I walked a mile with Sorrow; And ne’er a word said she; But oh. The things I learned from her When Sorrow walked with me. Opening Gifts: Now when my grandson Harvey was three years-old, he liked to open everyone’s presents. We adults were always okay with that, but his five-year-old sister, Gianna, was not going to have it! She wanted to open her own gifts. I think it’s the same with the people we serve. It’s important we don’t compel people to pull back their sorrow so they can acknowledge their gifts. Instead, gift unwrapping can best happen in the context of a recovery relationship when we’ve spent time with them heart to heart. And perhaps when the timing is right, we can share some gifts we got from our sorrow. Maybe then they might be in a better place to open and appreciate their own. Having said that, here are 12 gifts that can come from sorrow: 1. Patience 2. Graciousness 3. Humility 4. Empathy 5. Compassion 6. Appreciation of laughter 7. Appreciation for family and friends 8. Release of resentments and the small stuff 9. Reverence for the fragility and sacredness of life 10. Understanding that time matters 11. Gratitude 12. Resilience The author C.S. Lewis wrote, “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” And the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote, “New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.” One other thing is for certain about gift giving and opening…. when people walk through sorrow, we are the gift when we stay in the present!

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A Sensational Spirit Week at Crestwood Sonoma County Healing Center! Crestwood Sonoma County Healing Center in Santa Rosa had an amazing spirit week during the week of Halloween and Día De Los Muertos. Monday, they wore their Crestwood Tie-Dye Shirts. On Tuesday the 31st, they had a Halloween Costume Contest, where the winner won a Crestwood lunch bag filled with treats and a gift card. On that same day they raffled off a Halloween Themed Gift Basket! On Wednesday the campus decided to rock out in their pink clothing to imitate the iconic Mean Girls movie quote “On Wednesdays, we wear pink.” Thursday was their busiest day yet; they wore black for Día De Los Muertos. But, starting on Monday staff had put up an altar in the breakroom for anyone to bring in photos of their loved ones who have passed away. This altar was filled with marigolds, candles, pan dulce, and skulls. Dietary Services also provided a homemade pozole and horchata to drink for Día De Los Muertos. Each department at the campus enjoyed decorating paper skulls together. Staff also had fun smashing a pinata that was filled with candy bars and gift cards! On Friday everyone wore flannels, which they’ll do going forward as the cold season begins. These spirit days were thought of through staff participation in the Wellness Squad, a committee that helps build staff morale. Thank you to all who participated!!

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Crestwood's Peer Support Workforce "10 Questions that Promote Self-Advocacy" By Gloriana Hunter, Crestwood Director of Learning and Performance I once led a program where people participated in recovery and life-skill classes. Every month, we would hold a celebration dinner to honor their hard work. I had an excellent team to facilitate the celebration, so I often continued to work in my office. One evening, a team member abruptly entered my office. “We ran out of food, and everyone is mad. Jill* is on her way.” Looking down the hall, I saw Jill striding toward me with eight others marching behind her. Jill was a student who had a reputation for being vocal. She spoke out when classes were boring or off-point. She pointed out our inconsistencies in providing services. She would call us out when she believed she or others were unfairly treated. Staff were wary, but students felt they had a voice, even if it wasn’t theirs. Self-advocacy is one of the most potent resilience tools a person will ever use, but for some, speaking up is intimidating, frustrating, and even traumatic. For others, they expect that they will not be heard unless they are loud and angry. I seized the opportunity and asked Jill to help me develop a new class. Together, we outlined ten questions to help people build a self-advocacy plan: Know My Facts: 1. What do I want to have happen? 2. What are the facts and timeline that led to my current situation? 3. What do I know about my rights in this situation? Know My Strengths: 4. How confident am I in my ability to advocate for what I need? 5. What strengths do I have that will help me be heard? 6. Who can I ask for support, and what will I ask them to do? Know My Message: 7. Who has the most influence over changing my current situation? 8. What main points do I need to say regarding what I need? 9. What options do I have if I start talking but believe no one is listening to me? 10. How can I be firm and persistent without putting a wedge between me and the people who will influence whether I get my needs met? With Jill as a collaborator, the Voiceless Conundrum course became one of our most popular. Through its evolution, Jill adopted exceptional collaboration and leadership skills, others felt freer to speak their mind, and our team learned to listen more deeply to student concerns. *Note: Jill is not her real name.