Stenning: Recovery model best

CRAIG STENNING indicated that the recovery model was based on full immersion in society by people with mental illness who are receiving adequate treatment and adaptive coaching. / COURTESY STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
CRAIG STENNING indicated that the recovery model was based on full immersion in society by people with mental illness who are receiving adequate treatment and adaptive coaching. / COURTESY STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

PROVIDENCE – R.I. Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals Director Craig Stenning recently signaled that his agency intends to more avidly pursue a recovery model in the treatment of the 48,000 people that it serves.

Speaking at a forum on the state of mental health in Rhode Island, Stenning told the audience that, while it is a good thing that institutionalization as the primary solution to mental illness has gone by the wayside, his staff and everyone else in the mental health industry needs to guard against the development of “mini-institutions” within the community.

Stenning indicated that the recovery model was based on full immersion in society by people with mental illness who are receiving adequate treatment and adaptive coaching.

He cited the case of Mario Belfi, who spent many years on disabilities with severe depression and who now works as a peer counselor at Gateway Healthcare.
Stenning underscored BHDDH-funded programs that are working: The Thresholds program providing apartments for homeless veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress; the Housing First program that saves thousands of dollars each year as individuals need fewer services as they recover; and the Transition to Community program that helps those leaving prison readjust to life outside the walls.

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“This needs to be a community response,” Stenning said, “with prevention at the local level, secondary care through primary care physicians and health centers, and high intensity care through the mental health centers.”

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