The White Paper: It Must Be Knowledg-Based: Rule #8, page 2

It Must Be Knowledge-Based
Rule #8 (page 2)

There must be a commitment to widespread education about

◊ our rights,

◊ our responsibilities,

◊ medications,

◊ service options, etc.; and it must reach far beyond simply our admission to a facility. Also, this knowledge needs to be more widely dispersed, and done much sooner.

We would also like to see consistent communication developed between providers, and not just "chart updates."

Our information should also be kept updated, and communicated to other providers when needed, so that we do not have to constantly repeat our story over and over and over.

Knowledge of our Advance Directives must also be communicated, respected, and implemented.

In the past, many of us have been labeled as

▪ "difficult", or

▪ "non-compliant"

when we spoke up
on our own behalf, or
on behalf of someone else.

Our self-advocacy must also be respected; just as many other people advocate for themselves in other health care or human rights situations.

Our ability to
speak up on our own behalf
is indicative of our growth, and should be celebrated by providers as a success.

We also need to be able to

▪ educate families,
▪ professionals, and
▪ the community

about recovery and healing, through

1. success stories, and even
2. stories of despair, which

show the resiliency
of the human spirit.

There is a need to develop an educational program that teaches providers, local and state governments, and other recipients in the community about

● the culture of healing, and

● recovery

that is socially sensitive
and progressive.

to Rule # 9