Directions In Life

(Sept. 13, 2003) - Jeff Baskis, 51, of Pinellas Park, has been in the Systematic Therapeutic Education Program (STEP) at Directions for Mental Health Inc. in Clearwater, Florida, since about 1998.

Baskis said he participates in the program "to keep even."

"I have major depression, paranoid schizophrenia. I have feelings that I'm not worth a spit. I am learning I'm worthwhile."

The STEP program is a long-term day treatment program for adults with mental illnesses. The structured combination of therapy and instruction is meant to help rebuild lives.

Baskis attends therapy and classes three mornings a week to learn both independent living skills and ways to manage the symptoms of his illnesses.

Baskis particularly enjoys the cooking class. "I used to be afraid of fresh vegetables. I didn't know how to cut them, prepare them. I've also learned to do measurements," he said.

At a recent cooking class, five students in the STEP program, including Baskis and Lisa Poutre of Clearwater, prepared a meal of baked eggplant, Waldorf salad and marbled brownies in the facility's model kitchen.

Led by Doris Rudisill, a teacher with Pinellas County Schools' Office of Adult Education, the pupils listened attentively to instructions, and then took up their individual tasks of chopping, cutting, measuring and stirring.

Baskis was in charge of making the salad.

He has come a long way since he first came to Directions nearly a decade ago, two years after his illness became evident. His problems began in 1991 when, while working as an industrial electrician, he made a mistake at work.

Then, Baskis said, his tools started disappearing. "I was convinced my co-workers were out to get me. I went to the counselor at work, who sent me to a psychiatrist, who talked to me and said I needed help."

Suddenly unable to work in his profession because needed medications slowed him down too much, Baskis said he quickly slid deeper and deeper into depression.

Before first coming to Directions in 1993, Baskis didn't bathe for two or three months at a time, had paranoid thoughts and just didn't want to get up in the morning.

"Getting out of bed is a big job. It's hard."

Even so, Baskis is beginning to gain confidence, and is able to live on his own and cope with being alone. ``I'm making progress,'' he said.

Baskis particularly enjoys spending time with his dog, Tilly. "She's my best companion."

While Baskis is doing better, he expects to always need assistance coping with his illnesses.

``I've been going here 10 years. I don't see myself ever leaving the STEP program,'' said Baskis. "If I wasn't here, I swear to God I don't know where I'd be. I depend on these people."

And that's fine. Clients can stay in the program as long as necessary.

"The goal is to improve their quality of life, and get them to be as independent as possible," said Dan Herper, supervisor of adult day treatment. ``The program is not time-limited.''

Baskis' long-term goal "is to get control over the paranoia and depression, and to be treated the same by people."

"The stigma of mental illness divides people," said Baskis. ``It's hard to have a relationship; there aren't a lot of people comfortable with the words `psychotic' or `schizophrenic.'

"But I don't want to hurt nobody."

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In addition to counseling and therapies, Directions assists Baskis and some other clients with the cost of needed medications through a prescription assistance program, provided by pharmaceutical companies. "I come here for medications. I don't make enough to buy them, but I don't qualify for Medicaid because I have a house," Baskis said.

Another client at Directions for Mental Health, Lisa Poutre, 34, of Clearwater, is learning to cope with the effects of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Memory issues, a side effect of both her medications and the disorders, are also a problem for her. She attends the STEP program four mornings a week, attending discussions on managing both symptoms and anger and communication skills in group therapy.

``Within the groups, there are people with different intellectual levels and different mental illnesses and symptoms,'' said Poutre. "We have a lot of compassion for each other, a lot of insight, and a lot of support for each other."

She also receives individualized therapy from Joan Dyer.

"The benefit is being able to talk to someone, realize what you're feeling and get feedback," said Poutre. "You learn things and coping techniques you've never heard before."

Poutre also participates in cooking, sewing and art classes.

She has been attending the STEP program for three years. She began having problems with delusions and hallucinations when she left home to study in California at 23. She was first hospitalized at 26.

"There was a lot of stress in moving to California, going to college, making new friends," she said.

After her stint in the hospital, Poutre returned home. She struggled on her own until finally being admitted into the STEP program three years ago.

Poutre said her mental illness has cost her the dream of being an artist, and much of her self-esteem: ``Restarting your life is not easy.''

But she keeps trying. Now, Poutre, who has an AA degree in art, is particularly focused on improving her study skills and memory, and on "getting stable," so she can eventually pursue obtaining a degree in social work from the University of South Florida.

``Eventually,'' she said, "I'll achieve my goals."

"We're not people who don't want to work or people who don't have dreams. We are intelligent, worthwhile human beings with goals and wants, the same as everyone else," she said.

Poutre spends her afternoons with friends, working on crossword puzzles or at Vincent House in Pinellas Park, where she does volunteer work in the kitchen and is learning computer skills.

Vincent House is a "clubhouse for mental health patients," Poutre said. "We do socialize there, but it is also work oriented - the volunteer work and classes are meant to help us when we eventually have jobs."

"It's a neat place."

The STEP program is divided into two sessions - morning and afternoon. The morning program is for more highly functioning people; the afternoon is more rehabilitative. Each program serves 30 to 35 clients, and is at or near capacity, said Herper.

``We are close to needing a waiting list,'' He said, but "so far we've been able to avoid it by doing things like changing clients' days."

Most STEP program clients attend Directions two to three days a week and are funded through Medicaid or Medicare, but some do pay their own costs. The agency does provide a sliding fee scale that can go as low as zero, depending on need, said Herper.

The STEP program is just one of several ways Directions for Mental Health assists people with mental illnesses.

With a $6.5 million budget and a staff of more than 150, the agency serves 6,000 clients annually.

Directions offers a variety of programs, including a outreach to people who are homeless, independent living assistance, counseling for parents and children, early childhood services, senior services, and adolescent day treatment.

The organization receives 50 referrals a day.

Overall, the goal is to prevent the need for residential care, said Tom Riggs, chief executive officer. "With treatment, people with mental illnesses often can lead a normal life."

Source: Tampa Tribune

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