Breeah Kinsella’s Post

🧐You may have noticed, we have changed the term we use for our training from Cultural Safety to Culturally Aligned - and you might be wandering why!💬 💡When Anna and I started to develop this, our goal was to help professionals offer safer care which is why we termed it 'safe'. However that's the outcome and through my reflection, we can't offer safe care unless we are aligned with the needs of the communities we are caring for. Just like we now look at whether we offer trauma informed practice, we also now need to look at culturally aligned. 👉There are some other terms we also considered but they didn't sound right: 🧩Cultural competency indicates that offering equitable care is a skill, which it is definitely not. It is also implies that there is set goal, a box that needs to be ticked whereas Cultural Alignment is about continual growth and reflection. 🧩Culturally informed and appropriate are both great starting points but again, it indicates that knowledge is sufficient rather than reflective professional development. 🧩Culturally inclusive is something we considered, but it focuses on including the 'other' rather than changing practice at the core. We should be working beyond inclusivity by meeting the needs of families as a basic standard. 🧡We believe that Culturally Aligned Practice best represents the process to continuously offer safer and more equitable care by responding to the needs of the families your caring for. You can find out more about the training we offer here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eA3rtff3 ~ Manisha 💟

This is the time of year when we must remember that every relationship doesn’t look picturesque. This month is dedicated to amplifying voices and experiences in relationships and to helping differentiate between healthy, unhealthy, and abusive ones. This blog discusses how Family Scholar House supports participants who have experience with unhealthy or abusive relationships and how our culture can focus on promoting healthy relationships. https://lnkd.in/gTKm8hmJ

Seminar alert (online seminar hosted from Australia). Topic: Researching with children and young people on sensitive topics: Voices from therapeutic residential care. Hosted by Prof Lynne McPherson & Dr Antonia Canosa, Centre for Children and Young People, Southern Cross University. In this presentation, they discuss learnings from recent research with children and young people living in therapeutic residential care in Australia. They explore how best to involve children who are often ‘gate-kept’ out of research because they are considered ‘too vulnerable’ to participate due to their lived experiences of trauma, abuse and neglect. While the research focused on exploring relational practices of care that support young people’s development of positive relationships and social connections, in this presentation they focus on how the research team had to embody the principles of relational practice to establish rapport, trust and mutual respect and encourage our young participants to share their lived experiences and discuss sensitive topics to better inform policy and practice in the sector. Details and how to register in link below. https://lnkd.in/gKhMAMFD

This week, we are featuring one of COAST's founding members and a COAST Board Member at-Large, Arnold Woodruff, MS, LMFT. We asked Mr. Woodruff about what made him join COAST, his vision of COAST's larger mission, and what he hopes other MFTs will find by joining COAST. If his thoughts resonate with you, join COAST: https://lnkd.in/gBzCyeWc 1.   What made you become a founding member of COAST? [Mr. Woodruff] I got involved with COAST after the by-laws change as I was (and am) concerned about state-level information and advocacy for our profession when the existing state organizations were unsupported or taxed out of existence. 2.   Describe COAST's mission in a way that feels meaningful to you. [Mr. Woodruff] The mission of COAST is to ensure a place for emerging and existing systemic therapists to go for networking, information, advocacy, and support with state and local-level knowledge and insight. 3.   What would you like future COAST members to find in COAST? [Mr. Woodruff] I would like members to find a welcoming, professional, and knowledgeable home to support folks in their work as systemic therapy professionals. 4.   What's one good reason more MFTs should consider joining COAST? [Mr. Woodruff] COAST remains focused on the day-to-day needs of systemic therapy professionals and students as we, as a distinct minority in numbers and theory, advance the value and visibility of our profession. #mft #systemictherapy #systemictherapists

Day 1 of the Alignment for Progress conference in the books. Patrick J. Kennedy outlined the Kennedy Forum's bold plans to transform behavioral health care. Seemingly channeling Jim Collins, he declared "If you don't have an audacious goal...you're never going to reach it.". #GoodToGreat The Forum's 90-90-90 targets by 2033 are audacious, but with data informed collaboration and commitment, they are achievable. 90% of Americans screened for mental health 90% of individuals with identified mental health needs receiving quality, evidence-based interventions 90% of individuals in recovery receiving long-term support #MentalHealth #SubstanceUseDisorder #AlignmentForProgress #DontDoMild #ParityRule #KennedyForum

🔺 ICYMI, in our Edinburgh Napier Centre for Mental Health Practice, Policy and Law Research July newsletter we mentioned all of the international conferences that researchers had been in attendance of this summer. Sam Abdulla kindly wrote about his visit to Chicago with Dr Natasha Spassiani to attend the #IASSIDD 17th World Congress in Chicago. '...When we think of institutions we immediately go to the physical spaces, to four walls, lack of choice, lack of freedoms, of ways of living and being that aren’t authentic to those who are subjected to the institution. However, when we inadvertently or indirectly create environments where diverse voices do not have space, we create an institution of another kind, where we restrain thoughts and ideas.' 🌟 Give the blog a quick read to learn more about some of the key takeaways and a wee bit more about their own research! #learningdisabilityresearch #mentalhealth #deinstitutionalisation #

Today, Wednesday, April 10th, 2024, the Alignment for Progress Mental Health & Substance Use Stigma Convening sponsored by The Kennedy Forum (TKF) and Stop Stigma Together meets in Washington, DC. At this all-day convening, 20-30 leaders will come together to think through the development of a concise policy agenda to address stigma, which can guide stakeholders to advocate for change. A little background: in October 2023, The Kennedy Forum launched The Alignment for Progress to challenge the nation to pursue ambitious 90-90-90 by 2033 goals: for 90% of all individuals to be screened for mental and substance use disorders, 90% of those who need help will be able to receive evidence-based treatment, and 90% of those receiving treatment will be able to manage their symptoms in recovery - all by 2033. Please see this 3-minute video on the initiative here. TKF also released The National Strategy for Mental Health and Substance Use, which is a comprehensive digital compilation of federal policy recommendations designed to transform our mental health and substance use care systems of care. There are currently more than 220 recommendations, which will grow as the community provides feedback. This guide will serve as the foundation for our discussion, which will inform our road map for getting to 90-90-90 by 2023. The STARR Coalition will continue to provide updates on this initiative throughout its progress toward the 90-90-90 aspiration as part of our combined efforts to Stop the Stigma. Stay tuned to see how their policy brief (an outcome after the convening) that will be widely disseminated, and we hope can serve as a catalyst for organizations to partner to advocate for change. https://lnkd.in/edPgrEeW https://lnkd.in/gfjdUUDk

Great list of action items here.

Tomorrow, May 1st, I am humbled to begin working with the team at Trauma-Informed Utah (TIU) - traumainformedutah.org. TIU provides critical technical assistance, education, and research to organizations and the community on trauma-informed care and services. Digging into trauma awareness, it becomes clear, very quickly, that approaching services for clients with this awareness is essential for better outcomes, stronger organizations, and more cohesive communities. Take a look at the services we provide, and reach out to discover how becoming a trauma-informed organization will vastly improve your work with individuals while also incorporating key concepts and understanding into your organization’s culture.

"With a lot of project schemes, it's important to be able to quantify the wider benefits of doing them...measuring the ability to give people a better quality of life ultimately. The metrics that are traditional within business case and project assessments are not always conducive to measuring that quality of life. The Social Value Engine can really bring this to life and start to quantify it. " Really interesting article from Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust on how they use the Social Value Engine. #socialvalue #wellbeing #impact