Hi

One of the requirements of my contract is that I give periodic reports on the progress of the organizing for the Educational Retreat. This is the fourth one. Please note that this is an interpretive report, not minutes for the meeting.

1. Website.  Documents related to the Educational Retreat are online.
2. Agenda.  We met Tues. July 10^th at M.H. Administration. Barry was unable to make it due to schedule conflict; Tom also did not participate. I brought Jose from Gilroy. Also present were Almalicia Castillo, Luann Hahn (Administrative Services Manager), Stephen Blum (by speakerphone), and Nancy Pena. The agenda was:
   1. ‘client psychology’ metaphor
   2. invites & memos
   3. tasks list
   4. plan of the day — accountability section
   5. set meeting times
3. Client Psychology.  I briefly described the Vision of ‘Client Psychology’ which leads my thinking. This is what makes the bridge work. It is based on the philosophy of involvement and the fact the clients are the most involved by their circumstance. We turn the common logic of psychology back on those who objectify us. The example here is last meeting’s discussion on working the resistance of the system by the discussion of ‘trauma of treatment’. This is the way we make explicit the ‘other’ of the ‘keeping safe’ perspective of the providers and construct dialogue around the gulf between us. I use this below in explaining the line of thinking behind the ‘accountability module’ of the plan of the day.
4. MHCSCC.  Jose and Almalicia and I presented a flyer for the July 27^th ‘Founding Meeting’ of the Mental Health Clients of Santa Client County. I looked at Nancy and said, “I know this is not in my ‘scope of work’, but you need to know what is happening with the clients.” I passed Almalicia the reservation papers for the Community Room at SJCC. The flyer is BTW online.
5. Real Stuff.  I then read a section of a letter that Syl Plowright wrote me regarding the trauma she has experienced in being a provider and working the ‘chasm’. This was intense and moving. Syl writes her email messages in a way that is really gripping. We also had a discussion between Stephen and Almalicia regarding how they would meet and get to know one another.
6. Invites.  I showed a list of the invited participants. Some have already confirmed. One hadn’t, it was Maryann Barry, the Associate Director of Acute Psychiatry/Custody Health Services. She said she was otherwise engaged. This occasioned a certain buzz — the role of the 24/7 people in this social change process is a sensitive matter. We decided to invite Florence Keller from that unit, in her place. Luann needed the facilitator invite list so she could process the financial forms in a timely manner; we met afterwards to deal with that. I also presented memos to Nancy for her staff and the stakeholders regarding my meeting with each of them in preparation for the Retreat.
7. Tasks.  I wanted people to advise me on what needs working on. I noted there’s
   1. the ‘batting order’, something that explains to each panelist what is expected of them, and how it fits with the other panel members. And
   2. there’s the description of how to direct the transition from the panel presentations to the 2×2 groups, both in general and for each specific instance. Also
   3. there’s the followup structure, what kind of organization and tasks are to be in place to turn this into a continuing operation. Plus of course
   4. there’s the matter of tracking down the RSVP’s and making sure everybody gets what they need. And
   5. there’s a need for bios or an informative sketch of the facilitators (and in a different way, the participants), especially for Stephen and Almalicia to work with. Nancy suggested a priority task
   6. which she wants for the purposes of committee discussion, to develop a text summarizing the content issues for each module.
   
8. Plan.  We discussed the 4^th ‘Accountability Perspective’ module. I said that given the practice of ‘client psychology’, it is essential that the facilitators come out of this experience ‘whole’. Well I didn’t say that quite right because I don’t mean that this is to be set as healing process for them, rather, there is the matter of the ‘usual expectation’ for personal disclosure. Talking about abusive experience dynamically lends itself to stripping the privacy of the victim/survivor and leaves one raw. What the ‘client psychology’ does and the ‘accountability’ advocacy that Maria, Bonnie, and I are to present does — if done right — is to lend dignity to our role in this. We will put forward how we support the values of the client culture with pride and in an intellectually and morally engaging manner. And this will clear the air so the Retreat can go on to the Finale where the Vision and Plans for S.C.C.M.H. will be discussed.

The next meeting is set for Wednesday, July 25^th, 12N to 1:30PM. For input, I can be reached at 408-793-6476.

Respectfully

Andrew Phelps