Advocates of resilience or "positive psychology" like to debunk the common theories about people with risk factors for mental disorders or behavioral problems.
For example, a long-term study of crack babies found that, as they grew older, they didn't have anticipated problems with brain damage and language development. Other studies have found that risk factors such as poverty or family violence predict outcomes about 15 percent of the time.
The secret, according to this school of thought, is that people are resilient. They may suffer traumatic experiences or grow up in lousy environments, but they have innate abilities that help them work through adversity.
Often, these "at-risk" individuals find a teacher, friend or minister who helps them develop their personal strengths.
"We absolutely need to know in our hearts that people have the capacity for change," said Bonnie Benard, an author and senior program associate for the WestEd Health and Human Development Program in Oakland. "We really need to partner with (organizations) that have this belief."
Benard was a keynote speaker at the Prevention and Early Intervention Summit held Tuesday by Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services at the Modesto Centre Plaza.
The representatives of schools, social service agencies and other groups who attended the conference got more than a pep talk from the keynote speakers.
Resilience thinking is a cornerstone of the county's Mental Health Services Act plan, which calls for schools, family resource centers and community groups to be involved with early intervention and prevention programs.
The plan, which awaits approval from the state, includes $8.2 million in funding requests over three years for programs to assist children living in adverse conditions, support adults who have suffered a traumatic experience or make social connections with at-risk seniors.
The money comes from Proposition 63, the 2004 measure that taxed wealthy Californians to fund new mental health programs.
The statewide measure was a step forward for mental health, but the overall funding situation has gotten worse for county mental health systems.
Next week Stanislaus County supervisors will consider another round of cuts to bridge a $6.9 million deficit in the 2009-10 mental health and recovery services budget. Services in outlying communities could be shut down and the remaining services focused on the patients with the most severe disorders.
The county is serving about 27 percent of the 35,000 residents with mental illness or emotional disturbances. But the new prevention efforts will focus on those who aren't being served.
Given the budget shortfalls, counties need to have a mind-set for building community assets for improving mental health, said John Ott, a consultant who advises counties with budget shortfalls.
Ott said he slept in cars and couch-surfed as a child, but went on to become a community organizer and lawyer. As a young person, he said, he stayed away from counselors and social workers out of fear of being tagged with the labels of risk-focused prevention.
He and other conference speakers said it's more effective to tap into the resilient nature of people and find ways to encourage social competence, problem solving and a sense of purpose.
Jodi Latronica of Modesto said that early intervention programs are good, but existing county services for people with mental disorders need to be preserved.
Latronica, who has Medicare coverage for treating her depression, was turned away from county offices when she needed a change in medication. She found that private mental health providers were not accepting Medicare because of payment issues; a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness referred her to a psychiatrist in Merced.
"I think the county should be doing more," she said.
Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at kcarlson@modbee.com or 578-2321.
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