A lifeline for mentally ill patients
ANTONIO Prevatte wants to be “a regular person.”
“Some people don’t treat me like that,” he said. “My thoughts ( make it difficult). It’s kind of hard working. Most ofthe people don’t have bipolar there ( at work), and I feel awkward ( as) the only person who’s got bipolar.”
The disorder, also called manic- depressive illness, affects less than 3% of US adults, according to the National Institute for Mental Health . The illness, which can be inherited, affects the brain, causing unusual shifts in mood, energy and the ability to do daily tasks.
The result, at times, is uncontrolled energy that causes people to stay up long hours, skip meals and act recklessly; their mind can jumble thoughts and emotions.
Other times, it can be hard to communicate and the sense of hopelessness and exhaustion can be overwhelming.
Prevatte, 32, has suffered from bipolar disorder since childhood, but he’s learning to live better with it through the Step Down programme offered by the UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health .
UNC’s Assertive Community Treatment team runs the programme, supporting clients with severe mental illness as they move from the hospital to the community.
Step Down clients share a history of bipolar, schizophrenia or a psychotic disorder and may have been hospitalised more than once, said Carol VanderZwaag, the UNC centre’s medical director for community services. Their illness also puts the mat a higher risk of homelessness.
“There’s more emphasis on recovery and the broader aspects ofcare rather than just keeping someone without psychiatric symptoms, so they don’t go to the hospital,” VanderZwaag said. “It’s ( looking at) what else do they need to have a fuller life.”
Team members develop friendships with their clients, track the progress of their symptoms and medications, and help them apply for and keep jobs and housing, and develop healthy relationships.
“We try to help them identify what are the things they value, what are their goals for the next year and then longer term, and then we try to help them figure out what’s getting in the way of achieving those goals,” said VanderZwaag.
About half of their clients also struggle with substance abuse, although they have to be stable and at least a year into recovery. Prevatte used crack when he lived in Roxboro, North Carolina, he said; mixing it with his medication is what landed him in the hospital.
He’s been clean for over a year now, he said, living in a group home. He’s on disability for severe bipolar disorder, and the ACT team is helping him find an apartment. They also help him find jobs – he likes to wash dishes, sweep and mop, he said – and remember to take his medication.
He just got his own bank account, he said, pulling a debit card proudly from his wallet.
“They’ve been nice to me,” Prevatte said. “They helped me out when I needed help.”
Finding clients a safe, affordable place to live is the hardest job, especially in Orange County where housing costs are higher and the number of apartments available to those receiving housing subsidies are few.
Finding work is another slow but critical process, VanderZwaag said, because it gives clients a sense of belonging. Most are looking for something part time, with flexible hours.
Jobs also break down the stigma and marginalisation of those with mental illness, team members said.
“A lot of people are very understanding,” associate mental health professional Zack Felder said. “It differs from business to business and community to community ... but most people are pretty reason---
able and understanding and willing to talk about it and open to it.”
Prevatte works part time at a th rift shop, and plays basketball and softball in his free time. He’ll play on the Special Olympics softball team th is year, he said.
He has simple goals: Get an apartment, earn his GED ( General Education Diploma) and live independently.
“Then I’ll be happy,” he said. – The News & Observer/ Tribune News Service
BUT THEN AGAIN TAKES A BREAK THIS WEEK