Our Independence Center
Psychosocial Rehabilitation… what on earth is that? It’s a fancy, clinical term for some of the coolest programming imaginable.
For most of us, the way we look at ourselves, our master status, is usually commonplace stuff: mother, husband, engineer, student, caregiver, web designer … you know who are to you. That is often not the case for people with chronic mental illness.
Pervasive mental illness is relentless in its pursuit of taking over one’s mind. People with chronic mental illness spend endless amounts of time trying to get control of symptoms that are frightening, confusing, depressing. In some cases, it takes years of trying out different therapies, medications, and services to find what works to combat the brutal assault originating from the inside. While that process is unfolding, things like school, work, relationships, goals, and worst of all, dreams get pushed farther and farther away. It’s not hard to imagine that if this goes on long enough, one starts to feel like a walking mental illness. “Can’t” becomes your new normal. “Sick” is your master status.
That’s where we come in. Independence Center is a “clubhouse” program. And it is a club in the same way that the Elks are a club or the Lions are a club – a group of like-minded people who choose to be together to expand their social networks and achieve similar goals. Just like any other club, membership is a choice. And just like any other club, it is completely voluntary; members come when they want, for as much time as they want, for reasons of their own. Members and staff take responsibility for the work of the club together – they cook together, clean together, meet together, and plan together. Members have input into all aspects of the club including policies, procedures, fundraising, hiring and more.
Weekdays are broken into two parts, vocational and recreational. From 9:00 to 2:00, Monday through Friday, members work in the prevocational unit of their choice – clerical, maintenance or food service. This where new skills are gained or old skills are relearned and polished. For some, this is the road to employment. For others, the skills are taken home and used to attain independent living. As it turns out, companionship, satisfying work, and a place to belong are just as therapeutic as medication or counseling.
After 2:00 on weekdays and all day on weekends, it’s time to have fun and relax. Members play cards or games, work on art projects, play Wii and computer games, or just kick back with a cup of coffee and chat with a new acquaintance or an old friend. Trips into the community for movies and plays and restaurants make a nice change, especially for people who are without the usual resources of independent transportation and an established social circle.
“So what?” you ask. “Why is this such a big deal?” People often come to us feeling pretty bad about themselves and the world in general. They feel friendless and alone, without goals or ambition. And in the beginning, they are sure that how they feel is how they’ll always feel. But once those who are certain they can’t learn so much as how to turn a computer on start generating documents and using terms like “sneaker net” and “blue screen of death”, they experience a shift in perspective – “Wow, I can do this!” When people who don’t remember the last time they felt good are invited by their peers to help out or join a group, a light turns on in a new room in their heads. “Me? You want me to help? You really think I can do this?” Can’t becomes can; goal-less turns into goal-oriented; isolated gives way to connected. Best of all, those who could not dare to dream find their imaginations.
If you are lucky enough to have witnessed this process of discovery, you know you have been blessed with some wonderful. And it’s pretty cool.
Find out more at 203-756-5772, 21 Church Street, Waterbury, CT 06702
Claire Nicholson, Director, cnicholson@mhact.org or extension 11
