The word is getting out about CUCS' Wellness Self Management (WSM) program in the NYS Correctional System. Reporters from Gannett News recently attended WSM classes at Fishkill Correctional Facility where they met some of the inmates with mental illnesses that are currently participating in and benefiting from the program. Features ran in the Journal News, the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin and the Poughkeepsie Journal.

CUCS is piloting the use of an evidence based practice known as Wellness Self Management (WSM) to help mentally ill inmates manage their illness not only while they're in prison, but also once they're released. WSM is a multi-dimensional educational intervention delivered through a series of 45 classes in which participants are assisted with: becoming hopeful about recovery; becoming informed decision makers about their treatment; gaining a sense of mastery over their illness; making progress toward personal recovery goals; developing strategies for coping with symptoms; improving their health; and reducing hospitalization.

CUCS WSM trainer Michael Golub has been pleased by the response so far.

"The staff at OMH and DOCS have been so supportive of this project and they are already noticing that mentally ill inmates are responding positively to this intervention," said Golub.

Golub also said the inmates are already remarking on the difference the class is making, in particular, how the information is helping them better understand and manage their illnesses.

CUCS' mission emphasizes providing opportunities for individuals to be productive members of their communities and WSM in the prison system focuses on the inmates' transition after they are released, providing them with the tools and resources to live a healthy life outside of the correctional system. CUCS will expand WSM to two additional facilities, Sing Sing and Bedford Hills, in the fall.

Among the strategies CUCS is using within the prison system:

• Teaching concrete skills and strategies for better managing the inmate's illness
• Customized WSM to include concrete strategies and skills for managing life while incarcerated
• Assisting in transition to the community by customizing WSM to include a concentration of planning for transition to the community
• Evaluating the extent to which WSM improves participant outcomes in several areas including: increased understanding of mental illness and strategies to manage their illness; reduction in disciplinary actions while incarcerated; and improved rates of successful transition back into the community
• Provide training to staff working on-site in correctional facilities.

CUCS will provide WSM to a minimum of 120 inmates with mental illness among three state correctional facilities as well as train Office of Mental Health and/or NY State Department of Correctional Services staff at these facilities so they can continue providing WSM after the pilot ends. If the program is judged to be successful, wide-scale dissemination of the project would begin so WSM can be implemented in correctional facilities across the United States.

WSM is a "manualized" intervention, meaning class leaders follow a manual which includes specific curriculum and all of the materials required to lead a class. For each class the manual provides information, discussion questions, in-class exercises and homework assignments for the topics addressed. The manaual also prescribes a format that every hour-long class follows and provides guidance on effective teachgin emthods. Ten topic areas are covered:

• Recovery Strategies
• Practical Facts about Mental Illness
• The Stress Vulnerability Model
• Building Social Supports
• Using Medication Effectively
• Reducing Relapses
• Coping with Stress
• Coping with Problems & Symptoms
• Alcohol and Drug Use
• Getting Your Needs Met in the Mental Health System