Family Resilience Group

06/29/2022

How amazing is this? In about a month, on July 16th, there will be a version of 911 for mental health, 988. This will go a huge step towards destigmatizing reaching out for help, towards feeling like there is no place to go, and towards hopefully having mental health resources become for accessible to all. We should all understand that mental health is health, and just like going to a doctor for a broken bone or wearing glasses for vision issues, getting help for mental health should and can become normal.

01/08/2021

While nothing we see is changing immediately ... if you would like to continue to have a choice of telehealth later in 2021 and beyond, it’s time to raise our voices.

Telehealth has not had the same coverage in IL, but 20+ other states have parity already and have had it for years. It's time we had it in Illinois now more than ever!

You can raise your voice to preserve telehealth. Please call our state legislators and let them know why it’s important to both extend telehealth coverage and to continue to reimburse at the same rate as in-person sessions.

1) Use this link to find your legislator: https://www.illinoispolicy.org/maps/

2) Call* the district office and ask to speak to the legislator. (Emails are ok, but calls are more effective.)

3) Ask them to continue coverage of teletherapy according to the current Executive Order rules, and tell them why it’s important to do so. Use examples from your own experience to back it up. (See in comments below for suggestions and ideas.)

While Governor Pritzker supports extending coverage for teletherapy, the real battle is against the influence of insurance companies on the Illinois General Assembly. Don't leave the lobbying to professional groups -- it really makes a difference to hear directly from clients and practitioners! Thanks!

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Share with your legislator the following:

*How teletherapy has worked for you. e.g. “I have been able to continue to see my therapist regularly with teletherapy, which has been critical as mental health issues have become more acute during the pandemic.” OR “I am in high-risk category or are taking care of children at home and would not be able to continue therapy if we were forced to return to in-person sessions.” OR “We’ve been able to do more effective work and meet more consistently doing teletherapy.”)

*What would happen if teletherapy were no longer covered. (e.g. “If teletherapy were no longer covered this would force me to return to in-person sessions, putting us at risk and reducing the effectiveness of the vaccine roll-out.” OR “My stress is intensified during the pandemic, would be forced to forgo needed services in order not to threaten my physical health.”)

*Discuss why teletherapy should continue to be covered at the same rate. Insurance companies are trying to make the argument that the reimbursement rate should be lower for virtual sessions. Teletherapy sessions require the same amount of professional time as do in-person sessions, and sometimes necessitate even more overhead due to increased technology requirements. A lot of therapists will refuse to do them then, at a lower rate than in person.

Use our online search tool to find your Illinois state lawmaker.

12/18/2020

Hi folks,

The New York Times created this unique showing of calming interactives and videos as an “Election Distractor” but it works to achieve a bit more neurological regulation any time of year.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/10/30/style/election-stress-relief.html

Its wide array of experiences helps you to slow down and breathe, giggle, learn, be dazzled, inspired and much more. Each experience is 15-30 seconds and the lineup changes each time you enter the interactive. Be warned though. It works really well!

Is the election giving you nervous energy? Click on this.

09/28/2020

I enjoyed this, it speaks to what we do, creating safe spaces for individuals and families to come together. 🧡

My parents wanted a better life for me, but they didn’t know that the scars of their own childhood traumas could still cause pain.

07/18/2020

Black Lives Matter. Period. We can begin there, but it has many of us wondering where to go from that point. We want to feel and sustain the outrage and pain so that it goes beyond the media attention of today. We want to participate and promote this movement long after the protests quiet. The bottom line is that all lives don’t matter until Black lives matter.

As therapists at FRG, we want to be an ally to people of color. We want to acknowledge the immense amount of pain, grief and trauma that has been caused by the White community. We commit to unlearning biases and prejudices, to learning the historically accurate versions of systemic forms of oppression. We pledge to check our internal power dynamics constantly, to be sure that our relationships are healthy and non-oppressive. We commit to having the difficult conversations because we know growth comes from discomfort. We vow to turn this internal work into action to support people of color.

A few tangible ways that FRG clinicians have been taking action has been in the form of attending protests, donating to causes and supporting Black owned businesses. We are gearing up for election season by becoming more informed around legislation, policy and the leaders voted into power. We are educating our children. We have formed a book club to read, My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies, by Resmaa Menakem. We are attending trainings and participating in forums that focus on Somatic healing of racialized trauma.

We would love to hear how you are contributing to this movement. Please share in the comments below some ideas on how you have been been furthering change.

Artwork by Quentin Monge
https://www.instagram.com/mongequentin/

06/09/2020

We here at FRG are outraged and saddened by the murder of George Floyd and the continued violence and oppression towards brown and black communities. We believe there’s a need for deep changes to so many systems in this country that support racism and oppression. The FRG staff are committed to examining our own implicit biases and ways we unknowingly contribute to this. We pledge to work hard and hear feedback to show up as a safe ally to those of any race and are defining concrete actions that can be taken.

Some team members have shared prayers, others added thoughts, articles or poems. We would like to share a poem written this week, by Becky Carter, LCPC, on our staff:

~Protest~

black baby ~
pierce them proudly
with your first cry
draw deep your
primal breath

black boy ~
proclaim yourself
with wide eyes
curious hands
descending larynx

black man ~
walk bravely
these angry streets
lay down your truth
under fearful feet.

05/25/2020

We were surprised how effective meeting by video has been too! Our team has been creative and connected, hardly skipping a beat in our support.

Online therapy is different. But that doesn't mean it's bad.

04/29/2020

In uncertain times of stress, remember to be kind to yourself.

Fill your news feeds with some positive artists like this one named Lisa Congon and enjoy some free coloring pages. 💛🤗

https://create.adobe.com/2020/04/13/coloring_book_gratitude.html?scid=4686e8a8-6b2e-4f98-9cfc-7774757d5c1e&mv=social&mv2=owned_social

04/03/2020

We can do this together!! .

"Today was a Difficult Day," said Pooh.

There was a pause.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Piglet.

"No," said Pooh after a bit. "No, I don't think I do."

"That's okay," said Piglet, and he came and sat beside his friend.

"What are you doing?" asked Pooh.

"Nothing, really," said Piglet. "Only, I know what Difficult Days are like. I quite often don't feel like talking about it on my Difficult Days either.

"But goodness," continued Piglet, "Difficult Days are so much easier when you know you've got someone there for you. And I'll always be here for you, Pooh."

And as Pooh sat there, working through in his head his Difficult Day, while the solid, reliable Piglet sat next to him quietly, swinging his little legs...he thought that his best friend had never been more right."
A.A. Milne

Sending thoughts to those having a Difficult Day today and hope you have your own Piglet to sit beside you 🧡

03/22/2020

Taking advantage of this chance to slow down.

03/08/2020

Keeping it simple.

If made properly, homemade hand sanitizer solutions can destroy the coronavirus, doctors say. Here's the recipe.