In This Issue
Highlights and Spotlights
We are temporarily dimming the spotlight for this edition of the newsletter. That is not to say we aren't busy.
There is a lot to do, like:
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following the the state budget process, legislation, and regulatory changes
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developing new learning opportuniies
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seeing people. We will be in Sacramento on. ay 25th for Mental Health Matters Day. Stop by and see us!
Enjoy, and we will see you next month. Who We Are
CASRA is a statewide organization of private, not-for-profit, public benefit corporations that serve clients of the California public mental health system.
Member agencies provide a variety of services that are designed to enhance the quality of life and community participation of youth, adults and older adults living with challenging mental health issues.
Read more Contact Us
The California Association of Social Rehabilitation Agencies
Mailing Address:
3350 E. 7th Street, #509
Long Beach, CA 90804
Email: casra@casra.org
Phone: (562) 343-2621
To reach us: use our Contact Form Member Agency Employment Opportunities and Information
Our member agencies are continually looking for new employees or volunteers to join their workforce.
To see current openings and find out additional information about CASRA's partners, please click on the agency name.
Please note that the city listed for each organization is the headquarters location. Several CASRA member agencies serve multiple service areas and sites. Check each to learn more.
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Baker Places (PRC), San Francisco
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Bay Area Community Services, Oakland
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Berkeley Food and Housing Project, Berkeley
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Bonita House, Oakland
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Buckelew Programs, Novato
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Caminar, San Mateo
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Community Action Marin, San Rafael
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Commuity Connections, Santa Cruz
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Community Solutions, Gilroy
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Conard House, San Francisco
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Consumers Self-Help Center, Sacramento
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Didi Hirsch CMHC, Culver City
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El Hogar, Sacramento
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Hope Cooperative (Formerly TLCS), Sacramento
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Interim, Inc., Monterey
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Mental Health Association of San Francisco, San Francisco
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Mental Wellness Center, Santa Barbara
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Momentum for Health, San Jose
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NVCCS - Iversen Center, Chico
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Pride Industries, Roseville
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Progress Foundation, San Francisco
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Project Return Peer Support Network, Huntington Park
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San Fernando Valley CMHC, Van Nuys
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Transitions - MHA, San Luis Obispo
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Turning Point Community Programs, Sacramento
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Turning Point of Central CA - Hope House, Madera
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Visions Unlimited, Sacramento
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Yolo Community Care Continuum, Woodland
CASRA Agency Trainings
A benefit of membership in CASRA is receiving 4 hours of training for your staff. For more information, please contact joe@casra.org. | Advocacy/Policy/News
The Limits of Biological Psychiatry - A Book Review
In “The Mind and the Moon,” Daniel Bergner explores how much we know — and how much we don’t — about mental health.
From NY Times
By Christine Kenneally, May 9, 2022
THE MIND AND THE MOON: My Brother’s Story, the Science of Our Brains, and the Search for Our Psyches, by Daniel Bergner
In a workshop run by the Hearing Voices Network, the journalist Daniel Bergner — a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine — participated in a mock job interview. He sat across from a pretend employer who asked all the usual questions: What was Bergner’s work experience? What were his hobbies? All the while, another participant whispered down a long tube made of wrapping paper into Bergner’s ear: Careful what you say. Careful what you say about your background. Bergner couldn’t think straight. The interviewer continued: Was Bergner a team player? The whispery voice kept on: Careful what you say about your background. The exercise didn’t last long. For Bergner, the dark warnings went from incredibly distracting to totally irresistible, and he gave up, rather than yell “Shut up” at the voice that only he could hear.
It’s a small but significant moment in “The Mind and the Moon.” Hearing voices — for those of us who don’t — seems like an alien, almost otherworldly experience. But Bergner normalizes it, demonstrating the way that people who experience intrusive voices face practical challenges as well as emotional ones. The scene elicits a deep empathy for voice hearers, and for everyone who experiences mental health issues. It is characteristic of many of the examples in the book, which is a profound and powerful work of essential reporting. Read More
“My Doctor is Lacking Insight”: Alternative Experiences of Insight in Mental Health
from Psychiatry is Driving Me Mad (Blog)
by Wren Aves, May 7, 2022
[Content Warning: Discussion of suicidal ideation and iatrogenic harm]
When I was a teenager, I told my friend I was thinking of killing myself. We were walking down the street and I just came out with it. My friend stopped walking and just stood still, unsure what to do or say. It was clear he was frightened by what I had said. Without much warning, he promptly pushed me into the canal. It was winter, so the water was absolutely freezing, and I plunged fully under the surface, in all my clothes. The shock made me gasp and breathe in water. I managed to pull myself out relatively quickly, and much to the amusement of the primary school children in the playground next to us, I immediately shoved my friend into the water. We both ended up sitting on a bench, freezing cold, coughing, laughing, and making sure neither of us were injured, or had destroyed the things in our pockets… and then we talked. It was an open, honest conversation, from both sides, and my friend acknowledged that he had pushed me into the canal because he was frightened and hoped in some strange way the shock would fix me. It was less about my wellbeing and more about him wanting to feel secure again. To this day, that exchange was more sincere, more caring, and more helpful than any I have ever had with a healthcare professional.
I have been thinking a lot about this recently, particularly in relation to how people’s responses to someone in pain are often due to their own feelings and their own need to feel safe. When we support others in pain, having insight into why certain thoughts and feelings may arise is so important, or we risk causing more pain and harming those we intend to help. Read More
We’re in a Crisis and St. Dymphna, Patron Saint of Mental Health, is Having a Renaissance
From LA Times
Deborah Netburns, MAY 14, 2022 5 AM PT
Elena Zuniga didn’t go searching for the patron saint of anxiety, depression and mental illness, but St. Dymphna found her anyway.
First, a small St. Dymphna charm showed up in her jewelry box without explanation. Then a St. Dymphna prayer card fell out of a book she happened to pick up.
And after showing up one morning in 2019 for a meeting about a new mental health ministry at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Yorba Linda, Zuniga soon found herself serving as one of two co-leaders of St. Dymphna’s Disciples — a group that works to reduce stigma around mental illness in the church and supports those in mental distress. Read More
Training/Learning Opportunities
Thank You!
To all of you who made the CASRA 2022 Spring Conference a succes
our CASRA Member Agencies for their support
the CASRA Conference Committee for their energy, dedication, and enthusiasm
our Presentors and Facilitators who shared their voices, talents, and passion
the Zoom Tech Crew of Steve and Hannah who kept it running
and most importantly, all of you who attended!
If you are a CASRA member agency and would like to advertise your learning opportunity, training or event for the benefit of other CASRA member agencies, please contact us at events@casra.org.
There are a few guidelines;
You are a CASRA Member Agency
Your event is free of charge
and, as a reminder the Newsletter is published on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month
Final Thoughts
I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.
George Bernard Shaw |
