We're so excited to announce the launch of our latest initiative to help children, families, and their providers: The CMHRC Member Toolkit! This new web app is an easy way to track symptoms, medications, diagnoses, summaries of the day, and even the weather to see how these key elements interact and to get a clear picture of your or your loved one's stability.

Providers, we have a special version for you where you can view your patients' data directly in real time!

After a demo of this new Toolkit one member parent said, "Can I go back in time? Having this Toolkit years ago would have saved me so much time, work, and worry, not to mention all the paper I had to save trying to keep track of diagnoses, medications, and moods. This tool is a gift!"

CMHRC Members at all levels have free access to the Toolkit, and family members can choose whether or not to automatically share their daily reports with their participating providers. Mental health professionals who are CMHRC Members have access to a professional dashboard which shows them reports from all of their participating patients. CMHRC Professional Members also receive a discount code for their patients to use. 

A nurse in our community recently told us, "This Toolkit, it's so simple yet so profound, a true work of genius and a labor of love for all involved."

If you're already a CMHRC member, and want to start using the Toolkit, please email us to request access. Your invitation email will be sent promptly. 

If you're not already a CMHRC member, please go to our website to join and then email us to request access to the Toolkit. (Remember, CMHRC membership has lots of perks, including online face-to-face support groups; important FAQs about mood disorders, bipolar, and Fear of Harm; family testimonials; our full webinar archive; and of course the access to the Toolkit.)

So, how does this incredibly useful and innovative web app work? Let us show you...

The Toolkit allows you to create a profile for each individual you'd like to keep track of in the app. The profiles are anonymous, and each individual is represented with a different cartoon drawing of an animal. 

With the click of just a few buttons the Member Toolkit allows you to select and customize anywhere from 4-10 symptoms you'd like to track. Then, each day, with a few quick taps on a straightforward interface you can record how significant or impactful each of those symptoms are. 

After you've recorded your symptoms each day the Toolkit automatically scores your responses and provides a simple and easy to read rating for the day called the Symptom Severity Index Score. This score tells you in one quick glance how severe symptoms were overall that day. The Toolkit automatically graphs these scores to give you a picture of mood stability over the course of weeks, months, or even years. 

The Toolkit also provides graphs of each individual symptom that you've chosen to track and with a single click can show you how that symptom has presented, again over weeks, months, or years. You can change the symptoms you're tracking at any point if you realize that they've resolved or if there's something new you'd like to add.

In the Toolkit set-up you can customize it with all of the medications and supplements you or your loved one takes, document when they were started, and when and why doses changed.

The Toolkit's medication section also allows you to save when and why medications are stopped, and will archive all previous medications. This is a crucial tool in effective treatment and planning because it gives you a record of medication effects and outcomes which can be clues to illness progression. 

Each day the Toolkit will log whether medications were taken as prescribed. By logging medication compliance and changes at the same time as symptom intensity you'll quickly get a clear picture of how the prescribed medications are impacting stability, which is incredibly important for long term wellness.

The Member Toolkit logs each day’s weather. For those who understand how closely weather impacts symptoms of bipolar, and especially Fear of Harm, this will be especially helpful.

Best of all, the Toolkit gives you the opportunity to summarize each day in just a few sentences. Over time, this key feature allows you to document the highs and lows in a more personalized way. You're able to record achievements and struggles which give you a clear idea of how you or your loved one is doing on a day to day basis. 

The Toolkit's diagnoses tracker lets you document and record current as well as previous psychiatric and medical diagnoses. This can help families and providers understand illness and symptom progression as well as intersections between psychiatric and medical diagnoses. When this information is cross-referenced with the Toolkit's data on medication impacts and outcomes it helps to inform diagnosis, treatment planning, and cut the time it takes to get an accurate diagnosis and successful treatment. 

So, are you ready to get started with this incredible tool? If so, select the button below to get started today!

WEDNESDAY WEBINARS

A Conversation with Steven Hoersting, Mental Health Professional and Author

March 15th, 7:30pm Eastern Time

Join us for an in depth conversation with Steve Hoersting, a mental health professional with decades of experience working with children and families. His book, Maintaining the Truth, begins with this reminder:

“It is important to remember that no two children or adolescents are alike. However… many will continue to treat these children and teens the same. Let us, together, attempt to discover and promote nurturing and problem-solving rather than punitive measures. The process begins with parents and other caregivers.”  

GIVING CORNER

Sustaining Supporters

Who are Sustaining Supporters you ask? Well sustaining supporters are transformational donors who display their commitment to this and future generations through ongoing support.

Establishing a gift to CMHRC that automatically recurs on a monthly or yearly basis builds our capacity to bring guidance, resources, and hope to children, families, and providers. These sustained gifts help us plan, develop, and implement projects and programs, so your support has an even greater impact!

Did you know that there are the benefits for you, the donor, to becoming a sustaining supporter?

Benefits of Sustained Monthly Giving

• Practically speaking, monthly giving is easier to fold into your budget than a one-time gift, and just like Netflix, you’re able to “set it and forget".
• You'll also avoid emails and notifications about specific fundraisers, because we know you’re doing your part to support children and families all year long.
• Sustaining gifts allow you to be more generous. During our semi-annual fundraisers, a gift of $100 or more may feel too big. But, if you spread your support out throughout the year and give $15 or $20 a month, at the end of the year you will have been able to give so much more!
• You'll feel more connected to the Children's Mental Health Resource Center, the work we do, and the families we support.

So, consider setting up a sustaining gift today by clicking the button below and selecting "Every Month" or "Every Year" from the giving options. 

Sent by ::organization::

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