Guest Blog by Dean Johnson, Vice President - Community Relations, Seven Counties Services

“Oh Behave!” - Certainly one of Austin Power’s more famous lines. In case you don’t know Austin, he’s the swinging English bachelor created by comedian Mike Myers. If you’ve seen any of the movies, you can probably hear his inflection and picture his facial expression just at the thought of the words. You also know that “Oh Behave!” was his admonition to others to control their flirtations.


I recently participated in a round table discussion with other behavioral healthcare professionals, advocates, parents and consumers from our community. One of the parents, who has been active in advocacy for many years, asked a question that left most in the room looking to one another for the definitive answer: “What exactly is behavioral healthcare and why do we call it that?” She’d heard the term and references to it throughout the years, but even someone so deeply involved in the field wasn’t sure she knew exactly what to think of when she heard those words. She wasn’t – and isn’t – alone.

There seemed to be a general agreement that behavioral healthcare has two components: treatment of mental illnesses and treatment of addictions. Individually, the two components enjoy a fairly widespread, if superficial, understanding by John and Joan Q. Public. But the term coined to identify the two together - behavioral healthcare -is not widely understood. Ask 10 people on the street what it means and I’d bet you an instant lottery ticket that the majority wouldn’t even come close.

One of the consumers in attendance said she didn’t like the term. An individual active and successful in recovery, she said she thought the term conveys the idea that people can control these illnesses through their own determination: they just have to “behave.”

The word “behave” has its origin in 15th Century Middle English (probably one of Austin’s distant relatives). Merriam-Webster says its primary meanings are “to manage actions of oneself in a particular way” or “to conduct oneself in a proper manner.” The first definition might find a home in the recovery models of both the mental health and addictions fields. The second definition is a bit more open to interpretation.

The common understanding does imply a level of management and control that exceeds the comfort of many. So what do we mean? More importantly, what are we conveying to the public when we use the term “behavioral healthcare”? We know what Austin would say. What do you say?

TV Show Highlights that Treatment Works

Did you see the TV show America’s Got Talent on Tuesday night? If you didn’t, you missed, as host Nick Cannon said, the most emotional moment in the program’s history.

A dozen or so adults took the stage to perform. The choir, calling itself New Direction, was entirely comprised of veterans – sailors, marines, soldiers. All of them had been homeless at some point after their discharge. One man told the audience that he had been homeless for 25 years, but, one day, he loaded up his shopping cart and walked several miles to a treatment facility. It was, he said, the beginning of his life.

Let me paraphrase what the spokesman of the group said: “In the past, you might not have wanted to see us, but our being here shows that people can change.”

People can change – with the right kind of help. Too many vets are afraid to ask for help – they were in the military, for heaven’s sake, you think, and nothing should scare them! – but they’re afraid to ask for help. More and more vets are returning from horrific conditions in the Middle East, and many of them, for one reason or another, will end up on the streets.

If you know a vet, let him or her know that you’re there for them. If they appear to be struggling, encourage them to seek help and let them know that asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness. If you see a homeless individual on the street, you can be relatively certain that he or she has a mental illness (in the case of veterans, possibly post traumatic stress) and is likely abusing alcohol or drugs. Many homeless individuals were in the military; they helped protect our country. They were there when we needed them. They deserve better than this.

There needs to be more money available for treatment. But more than that, there’s a bias against the homeless. You see someone who is tattered, talking to himself, weaving along the sidewalk or asleep on a park bench, and you think “homeless bum”. You don’t think about what brought him to this point, to this place. You don’t wonder if he’s a veteran of this country. You just think about him being a bum.

And the group New Direction? How’d they do last night in their audition? They got a standing ovation from the audience. They deserved it. They were good.

People can change. Treatment works.

Mental Illness Impacts Entire Families

My father-in-law had a bipolar disorder, which, I’m sorry to say, he seemed to enjoy. His disorder manifested itself into grandiosity – he was important, he knew important people, he knew best, he was always right. I remember a sister-in-law telling me that, one night at the dinner table when she was small, her mother told him that one of the children desperately needed to go to the dentist. My father-in-law didn’t even hesitate. “No,” he said, “I need new shoes. Her teeth will have to wait.”

My father-in-law wasn’t unfeeling or uncaring, but his illness got in the way. In fact, when he was finally diagnosed (years after his children were grown) and began taking Lithium, his entire demeanor changed. He was more thoughtful, more affectionate and empathetic, much less likely to dominate conversations and actions, and more understanding.

It was his children who paid. Being raised by a loving mother and a dictatorial father who was prone – during their childhood – to periods of anger or depression or hyperactivity was very confusing to them, and profoundly affected them into their adult years. Well into middle age, one son reacted angrily to just about everything. The other son employed adult temper tantrums (which his father had so successfully used his entire life) to get his way. One daughter will, to this day, leave the room if anyone raises a voice. Another daughter has bipolar disorder too, and she has decided that she doesn’t need medication, continuing the sad cycle through another generation. All four married very young just to get out of the house and away from their dad.

If you have an untreated mental illness, it is impacting your interactions with the people you love, and you’re impacting them in ways you can’t foresee. Particularly, I think, in the case of children, you’re altering their personalities and views of themselves just as readily as though you were deliberately cruel or abusive.

If you have been diagnosed with any mental illness, please seek treatment from a qualified mental health professional. The road to recovery may not be easy; it’s full of potholes and temptations to just say, “Forget it.” But it’s not just your health and well being that could be at stake; there are others who love you who will be forever impacted by your negative symptoms. By taking the steps to recovery, you’re helping those you love move forward, too.

For more information about services for behavioral health issues, go to sevencounties.com.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is Preventable

I’m sure you’ve heard of the woman in Tennessee who adopted a child from Russia, then recently sent him back, saying that the Russian adoption agency failed to tell her he had fetal alcohol syndrome. Her argument was that he was too difficult to manage and posed a threat to other members of her family.

I don’t want to speculate on this particular case, but it does raise a good opportunity to provide information on fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS is a condition that results from a woman drinking alcohol during her pregnancy. Any woman who drinks during pregnancy places her baby at risk of fetal alcohol syndrome.

When you drink alcohol, it enters your bloodstream and reaches your developing fetus. Because a fetus metabolizes alcohol slower than an adult, your baby's blood alcohol concentrations are higher than those in your body. Alcohol also interferes with the delivery of oxygen and optimal nutrition to your baby's developing tissues, organs and brain.

FAS isn't a single birth defect. It's a cluster of problems: facial impairment; developmental disabilities or delayed development; heart defects; deformities of joints, limbs and fingers; slow physical growth; vision and hearing problems; learning disorders; hyperactivity; poor impulse control; extreme nervousness and anxiety.

As many as 40,000 babies are born with some type of alcohol-related damage each year in the United States.

There is no cure or specific treatment for fetal alcohol syndrome. The physical defects and mental deficiencies last a lifetime. Heart abnormalities may require surgery. Learning problems may be helped by special services in school. Parents often benefit from counseling to help the family with a child's behavior problems.

The more you drink when you’re pregnant, the greater the risk to your unborn baby. The risk is present throughout pregnancy, but impairment of facial features, the heart and other organs, bones, and the central nervous system may occur as a result of drinking alcohol during the first trimester. Alcohol may affect the brain of the fetus at any time during pregnancy.

The most important thing to remember is this: if you are trying to get pregnant or are already pregnant and you can’t/won’t stop drinking, you need help. You are putting your child’s health and future happiness at severe risk.

Guest Blog by Joel Bowman, MSW, CSW

Our youngest daughter recently turned 18 months. On May 4th, Katie was particularly defiant. So, my wife, Nannette, put her in time-out. She complied for a few seconds, but got up before instructed. Finally, Nannette placed Katie in her bed, and closed the door.

We then heard a loud knocking noise . . . BAM! BAM! BAM! Perhaps, it was the UPS man, knocking at the front door. But we were not expecting any packages. I thought, that sound is coming from the girls’ bedroom. We hurried to the bedroom, opened the door to discover . . . Katie knocking at the door, trying to get out of the bedroom. Talk about "a strong-willed child."

But wait, how did she . . . huh?! I thought to myself, her state-of-the-art baby bed has been specifically designed by some of the world's greatest engineers, so as to keep her contained in "the time-out position." Nannette had the ingenious idea, let's put her back into the bed, so we can see how she got from the bed to the door. Within 60 seconds, Katie hoisted one of her exceedingly short legs all the way over the railing. Then, the second leg . . . while at the same time holding on with both hands, as she backed her way down to the floor. It was as though she were Lebron James returning to earth from a tomahawk dunk. The amazement with which we gazed upon this scary scene was as though we were going down the hill of the world's tallest roller coaster. We then began a laugh so robust, we almost burst into tears of hilarity.

Lessons Learned:

1. Be careful where you put your child for a time-out.

2. Toddlers have a determination that is unequaled, and they're not afraid to take risks, no matter who's watching.

3. The mind of a toddler is replete with creativity. They think outside the bed . . . I mean, box.

4. If the aforementioned determination and creativity can be properly channeled and developed, our children will grow into adults who will change this world, for the better.

Remember, the same is true of the youth we serve here at Seven Counties. We simply need to have ears to listen for the BAM! BAM! BAM! of their hearts.

Check out Seven Counties' web page at sevencounties.org, and learn more about services for children!

Salute to People Who Have Made a Difference

Quick! What do you think of when you think of Abraham Lincoln? Sixteenth President of the United States? The man who stopped slavery? His humble beginnings? The Gettysburg Address?

You probably don’t think of this: He suffered from depression – depression so severe and incapacitating that he occasionally thought of suicide.

What do you think of when you think of Winston Churchill? That he was one of Britain’s greatest prime ministers? That his stirring leadership and inspiring speeches helped Britain through the terror and fear of WWII?

Did you know he had bi-polar disorder (manic depression) – what he called his ‘black dog’? "Had he been a stable and equable man, he could never have inspired the nation. In 1940, when all the odds were against Britain, a leader of sober judgment might well have concluded that we were finished," wrote author Anthony Storr.

May is National Mental Health Month and a great time to recognize all the talented, creative people who have overcome their illnesses to become our leaders, our entertainers, our inspiration.

George Fredrick Handel, Gustav Mahler, Robert Schumann and Ludwig van Beethoven – all superbly talented musicians and composers – had bi-polar disorders, but their masterpieces will never die.

Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway, Eugene O’Neill, Leo Tolstoy, and Tennessee Williams were brilliant authors who have given us images and characters that will remain classics for eternity - and all had clinical depression.

Comedians Drew Carey and Roseanne Barr (they have had depression) and Tracy Ullman (bipolar disorder) manage their illnesses – and very successful careers. And they make us laugh.

Former news icons Mike Wallace (depression) and Jane Pauley (depression and bipolar disorder) didn’t let their illnesses get in the way of the news.

Vivian Leigh of Gone with the Wind fame…bipolar disorder. Linda Hamilton of the Terminator movies…bipolar disorder. Ron Steiger, star of In the Heat of the Night…depression. They’ve brought to life movie characters we’ll never forget.

Ted Turner, businessman and entrepreneur….bipolar disorder.

Teddy Roosevelt, President of the United States…bipolar disorder.

Vincent van Gogh, artist…bipolar disorder.

So let’s give thanks that, despite what you may think, mental illness does not deprive a person of intelligence, creativity, determination or ambition. Our world would be a grayer place without the insight and talent of people with mental illness.

And if you know someone struggling with a mental illness, you can help them realize their potential. Begin by encouraging them to seek treatment. It’s a well-established fact: treatment works.

Debilitating Forces in Families

For Tina and Susan life as a child was everything but normal. Their mother suffered from Schizophrenia, resulting in violent behavior towards her children. Susan eventually moved out to escape her mother’s abusive ways. Tina attempted suicide.

Gene’s mother tried to take her life 10 times. Her struggle with her illness led to her inability to properly raise Gene. When Gene was 14, he was sent to live with his brother and sister-in law.



For such parents, daily tasks are hard to remember, can be emotionally taxing and are thus neglected. The debilitating forces of mental illness can cause children to take on abnormal levels of responsibility in caring for themselves and in managing the household. This, in turn, makes it tough on the children to have a healthy and stable childhood and produces higher probability of the children developing a mental illness.

The stigma associated with mental illness keeps parents from seeking the help they need. When these parents do seek help, as in Gene’s story, their children are removed from the home. Seventy percent of parents who seek treatment have lost custody of their children and find themselves in an unending cycle of loss.

Addressing the needs of these families requires not only personal treatment for the effected parent, but family care as well. One in four American families is affected by mental illness and as a result is more likely to be broken by divorce. Changes are needed to lower the rates of divorce and child mental illness. This is why communities should strive to improve care for these vulnerable families by creating programs that help cope with mental illness within the family, while keeping the family unit intact.

Kotulski, Tina. "Book Review." SavingMillie. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2010."Living in Chaos: Survival: Family history... The legacy of mental illness...." Schizophrenia.com, Indepth Schizophrenia Information and Support. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2010."Mental Health America: When a Parent Has a Mental Illness: Issues and Challenges." Mental Health America: Welcome to Mental Health America. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2010.