A giant green sea anemone eating an arm of the ochre sea star
| Date: | Sun Apr 9, 2000 4:16pm |
| To: | "CINMHC-BAK" <cinmhc-bak@egroups.com |
| From: | "Richard Ratledge" <ratledge@madman-bbs.net> |
| Subject: | Re: [CINMHC-BAK] ACT design |
> The conundrum is thatThe part about this that makes me sick is how clients have played right into this game. There are a number of clients I personally know who have worked very hard to secure a well-paid MH job. At the expense of other clients.
> providing services is #2 in the priority list for mental
> health. #1 is maintaining/expanding employment.
[People] learn what they live.
| Date: | Tue Apr 11, 2000 11:13am |
| To: | "CINMHC-BAK" <cinmhc-bak@egroups.com |
| From: | "Richard Ratledge" <ratledge@madman-bbs.net> |
| Subject: | Re: [CINMHC-BAK] ACT design |
> Re employment, how did clients get MH jobs “at the expense”Xxx,
> of other clients? I’m sure you know
> whereof you speak, but I don’t understand.
> Could you elucidate?
I have seen clients scratch and claw to gain a good paying job with the ‘system’. In their efforts they have done things which have damaged other clients. To give specific examples would only cause upset.
I think it is pretty clear that when someone works ‘for’ the system they lose a certain amount of freedom to advocate for client concerns. In order to function as a part of the system there must be an attitude of cooperation, without cooperation nothing at all would get accomplished. This need to cooperate gets in the way of effective advocacy for the client.
I’m afraid this is not clear. What I am saying is that in order to be an effective part of the system a client must sometimes do things that are not in the best interest of other clients. I don't know exactly what your job is about, Xxx, but I would be surprised if you haven’t seen something similar with what you are doing. Perhaps not you personally but others around you. This is not meant to condemn anyone, only to ask others to look seriously at what they are doing.
I believe we need to advocate for basic changes in the system that will enable clients to be involved in an accountable manner. Involvement in a way which is wholesome and empowering for all concerned. Doing such will be difficult. First we must each, as individuals, learn how to be accountable and make a commitment to act accountably; this is not an easy task, I know.
| Date: | Wed Apr 12, 2000 10:39am |
| To: | "CINMHC-BAK" <cinmhc-bak@egroups.com |
| From: | "Richard Ratledge" <ratledge@madman-bbs.net> |
| Subject: | Re: [CINMHC-BAK] ACT design |
> To my horror I found myself doing things to consumersI say that there is a problem with the system if it makes even the most well-meaning individuals behave in ways that hurt clients. There should be a greater awareness and sensitivity to these situations at all levels.
> which I recognized were exactly the same things that I
> hated when I was on the receving end of such treatment.
Perhaps the most accountable thing an individual can do is recognize when this is happening and take measures to minimize the damage. It is the individual who realizes the damage but continues because of personal gain that I have a problem with.
| Date: | Wed, 12 Apr 2000 23:12:31 |
| To: | "CINMHC-BAK" <cinmhc-bak@egroups.com |
| From: | "Richard Ratledge" <ratledge@madman-bbs.net> |
| Subject: | Re: [CINMHC-BAK] ACT design |
> On the other hand it seems very clear, looking from a distance,This is becoming rather complex. I believe that there are a great many people, some of them clients, who do wonderful work within the system. In my effort to make a point I probably bypassed that fact. Unfortunately, I have seen many clients who have made good positions for themselves by stepping on the backs of fellow clients. This is the part of the system I would like to see minimized. When clients work for the system their loyalty shifts from the ‘pure’ work for clients to the ‘impure’ work for the system. Most of the time a person does not need to put the system ahead of the client but when it comes to a showdown it is either put the system first or lose the job.
> that there have to be clients on the inside of the beast
> as it were who can throw ropes to other clients that
> non-clients cannot do.
How do we deal with this situation? I believe that each of us must make a committment to operate from accountable principles. Principles which are indelibly etched into our consciousness and regularly revisted to remain fresh. We must advocate for the system to embrace its own accountability so that clients always come first.
The system must allow and encourage each individual to operate in an accountable manner. As it stands today, even the most righteous people have a difficult time maintaining their principles. It is too easy to give in and take the easy path and go along with being what we are asked to be. The only alternative now available is to leave the position and give up the good work one is doing (and the job/money).
Can a client take system money and remain ‘pure’? I don’t think so. Working “for” the system inherently means that a person is no longer working “for” the client. It may never come up but should a choice have to be made the worker will have to choose the system over the client.
Can a client take system money and do a great deal of good for themselves and others? I definitely think they can.
Is there a better way? I believe there is. What is that way? I believe it involves a rededication to the principles of ethical behavior. Not only within the individual but also within the system and ultimately within society itself.
