"Positive Perspective" support group

Independent Perspective 1716 with guest Terrence Lockett on his "Positive Perspective" support group.

 

Host:  Welcome to Independent Perspective, a public affairs presentation of Western New York Independent Living (WNYIL). Our guest today is Terrence Lockett, a Peer Support Specialist with Mental Health PEER Connection (MHPC) and I'm your host Ernie Churchwell. Welcome to the program, Terrance.

Guest:  Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Host:  It's our pleasure. As some of our regular listeners may be aware, MHPC has a number of support groups to help people with behavioral health diagnoses and issues. And some are virtual, some are in person and some are both. And you're have just taken over a group that it's kind of been around for a while but never really got serious about doing what it was supposed to do called Positive Perspective. And since the show you’re on is Independent Perspective, that name is a warm place in my heart, you might say. So, first question is, for whom is Positive Perspective intended?

Guest:  Well the group that it is intended for is people that have mental health issues, but mostly for people that have high anxiety. Their perspective is always negative about themselves, about other people, how they see things, and how they see their mental illness. You know, the group really is for anybody that wants to come. Right now, the participants that I have, and have committed, some of their issues are anxiety, stressors in their life, their situational stressors, so we can get your perspective changed on how to deal with the things that's going on in their life, then we can change things that are going on your life.

Host:  So, meeting with other people with similar issues as well as yourself means that they can have the advantage of people with lived experience dealing with these types of issues. Because you're just taking over the group, you can't really give success stories, but you can certainly tell us what direction you plan to take the group in. What are some of the ideas you have in mind for how to pursue these goals?

Guest:  Well, what I want to focus on mainly is that I want them to know that is this person centered and I want them to engage. A lot of people have problems with speaking or just talking, so the one main thing, one of the issues is I wanted is just to get people to start to open up, to honestly just talk about how they think and what's going on in their head. Because sometimes our perspective makes us think negative, so we won’t tell anybody, so I want the group to feel comfortable enough and to understand that we are here together, going through the same issues. And that sometimes it’s a struggle and that we can change our perspective on how we see things that maybe we have a better handle on how we handle our life.

Host:  Well that really sounds promising. I guess you might say that your group has the maximum availability, as I understand that it is approachable both as an online and an in-person meeting. First can you tell us where will the in-person meetings take place?

Guest:  The in-person meeting will be at our site at 3108 Main Street in the basement in our community room. That's where we'll have our group. Now depending on the size, if it begins to grow, they will have to explore maybe getting a room upstairs, but it'll be here at WNYIL.

Host:  And for the benefit of people that don't know it just from the address, 3108 Main Street is near Highgate Avenue in Buffalo's University District. And the other option is online and for that people would need to call in so they can get the link, right?

Guest:  That’s right. So, what I'm doing right now is I’m trying to get things set up. So, once I get the link, I will put it out, and people will be able to get it. It'll be on either the website, we'll get it out to people.

Host:  We're running short on time, if people have questions, how can they reach you?

Guest:  If they have questions about the group or anything about our agency, they can reach me at 716-836-0822 and my extension is 132.

Host:  And Terrence, could you tell us the date and time that your group meets and when you're starting it?

Guest:  The group will meet every Thursday, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. and there will be starting on September 29.

Host:  Thanks for being with us, Terrence.

Guest:  Thanks for having me.

Host:  You've been listening to Independent Perspective, a public affairs presentation of WNYIL. Our guest today was Terrence Lockett, Peer Support Specialist with MHPC. And I've been your host Ernie Churchwell.