NAMI Washington Expands Mission to Focus on Recovery and Community Partnerships with New Leadership at the Helm

MAY 21, 2009

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By Rena Shawver

When Barbara Bate was three years old her mother disappeared. She feared her dead. Her father never said she was at a psychiatric clinic receiving treatment for post partum depression. After recovery, Bate’s mother Claire became an advocate for mental health awareness, but her father never acknowledged the brain-related illnesses in the family

Six decades after that early trauma, Barbara Bate, the new Washington State President for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), talks about her encounters with mental illness and recovery, and NAMI’s challenges in addressing the shame and stigma often associated with a diagnosis. Along with other volunteer colleagues in the NAMI state board and affiliates, Barbara is working to make NAMI’s role more visible as a partner with other recovery advocates throughout the state.

NAMI in Transition

"NAMI is an organization in transition," says Bate, adding that NAMI has always been a "grassroots movement." When it began in 1979, NAMI focused on family advocacy for loved ones who had illnesses such as schizophrenia and manic depression. Fighting for better treatment for their family members became the major focus for NAMI.

In its January 2009 board retreat the NAMI WA board voted on new wording for its mission, which Bate says is intentionally wide. "We want to make it possible for interested citizens throughout Washington State to become more aware and involved in efforts to understand both illnesses and recovery," she says, adding that it is relatively easy for NAMI to broaden its scope, as there are so many who embrace recovery today. "We see NAMI today as a unifying voice, not predominantly a fighting voice."

Until five years ago, the organization was known as the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. It officially changed its name to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. In Washington State, that change parallels an expansion of the state Board of Directors to include family members, providers, and self-identified peers.

Bate uses PEER as an acronym, instead of the term “consumer,” to describe a Person of Experience Engaged in Recovery. She says, “this is a more inclusive term, affirming that a person who has lived with a brain disorder and/or substance abuse has major experience with mental health issues and is seeking to improve his/her life.”

The term is not new; it is used in multiple ways. “Peer to Peer” is one of NAMI’s national education programs, and Peer Support Specialists exist in many states. But PEER in Bate’s view also offers a way for everyone to look at their circumstances constructively. According to Bate, family members can also be peers because a mental illness involves the whole family and community in support of an individual.

“Mental health providers also are key to a person’s overall wellbeing,” says Bate. “I’ve seen them working to hold a positive vision for an individual in the midst of funding cutbacks, paperwork, and the challenge of living compassionately in hard times. All of these peers can work toward recovery and wellness, with dignity and respect for each other.”

Moving Forward in Unison
She pulls out a hand-drawn diagram on paper of a starfish with the heading “NAMI Washington.” In the center of the starfish she has written “hub” to represent the state NAMI office. Bate explains that the starfish is an organism that can only survive if its central nerve ring is intact. She goes on to say that for NAMI’s efforts to be effective, its nerve ring needs to have energy flowing, to allow the rest of the organism to move and survive. She describes the new NAMI Washington state office as the hub for information, energy, and resources. She wants to strengthen the hub to allow the rest of the organization, which now includes 23 active affiliates, to move in unison.

Bate continues, saying each of the five arms of a starfish has a separate point. Over the past eight months the NAMI Board has been developing its approach to identifying the five points for NAMI Washington’s scope of work. “In addition to NAMI’s traditional areas of focus -- education, advocacy and support -- we now are paying particular attention to community partnerships and outreach, aided by our participation in the Mental Health Transformation Project,” says Bate. She admits that it is not easy for any organization to transition to keep up with the many changes in mental health.

“Thirty years ago, we didn’t know all we do now about mental illnesses, including that people can and do recover and live better lives,” says Bate. “Now we can reflect more on the current needs of everyone who has been touched by a mental illness experience and is looking for strength and hope. That’s almost all of us at one time or another.”

NAMI Principles of Support
Bate notes that NAMI support philosophy has long been guided by four basic principles:

We will see the individual first, not the illness.
We recognize that mental illnesses are medical illnesses that may have environmental triggers.
We find strength in sharing experiences.
We will never give up hope.

She acknowledges that many people believe that mental illnesses are not brain disorders but behavioral problems. Others believe that a fulfilling life is not possible for a person with a serious mental illness. “A great deal of research during the past decade has made clearer both the genetic and environmental influences on how brains develop and change throughout life, “ says Bate, adding that new knowledge is available all the time. Bate is passionate about trying to share that knowledge with everyone who can benefit from it.

“A child, a young adult, a grandparent, or any person with a high level of stress can be labeled ‘crazy’ and feel the stigma attached to that label. Sadly, that leads many people to shut down and keep from learning anything more about the sources of their trouble. Fear can be a big obstacle to understanding, but knowledge is powerful and life-generating. I’m passionate about the kind of knowledge that gives hope,” says Bate.

Partnerships in Recovery
Nearly one in four households nationally encounters a treatable mental illness, says Bate, but half or more of those who experience these difficulties do so without support and in silence. Misunderstanding mental illnesses leads to debilitating stereotypes and stigma.
With alcohol and substance abuse on the rise and stress affecting more and more people, including children and youth, Bate says a focus on recovery is even more important.

“If everyone starts life with obstacles, some of which affect how well our emotions and thinking will work, then our task is to understand what is going on and be helpful to those who need our help,” says Bate, adding that “recovery is such a glorious experience to witness. To see someone start to feel better and regain hope for themselves is simply wonderful.” She has noticed that many people in recovery choose to work for solutions rather than being a problem, sharing their experiences in order to build community.

She says one obstacle to recovery is the biased belief that to be strong means to be independent, and not to need help. Men are often trained into this belief, says Bate, so that they isolate themselves when depressed. She claims that more men than women complete suicides because they more often choose methods that are not reversible. Speaking admittedly as a woman, Bate says that true strength comes from sharing and talking with each other, even when a person is embarrassed to do so. “We all live in relationship. Isolating becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“Talking to each other and telling your story is important. It may sound trivial, but it’s amazingly powerful if you open up conversation with another person with your honest feelings and concerns,” says Bate. “Even if you feel foolish or ashamed about the thought that you are a black hole inside, share what you are experiencing. Someone will find a common thread in what you say, and that person may be less isolated than before.”

Learn more about NAMI’s national programs at www.nami.org. Contact the NAMI Washington office in Lacey by phone at 1-360-584-9622 or by email at office@namiwa.comcastbiz.net.

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