On April 19, 2019, I was honored to attend the First Year Celebration for the UW Medicine Behavioral Health Institute(BHI) at Harborview Medical Center. From the beginning Zia Larson’s Ray of Light Foundation has partnered in the development of the Early Psychosis Intervention Program which has evolved into STEP(the Specialized Treatment Program for Early Psychosis) which will be part of this institute. Those in attendance where introduced to the brilliant dedicated leadership and teams implementing this program. We are excited for our continued collaborative work together and look forward to the benefits and hope created within our community.
Peace and Love.
Verneta
Zia Larson Ray of Light Foundation's vision is to illuminate the pathway to mental health recovery. Our mission is to encourage the acceptance of mental disease as readily as physical disease and to eradicate the public stigma associated with certain behaviors which are a result of mental illness along with the stigma associated with the diagnosis. Our dedication is to educate individuals, families, and societies on the devastating ripple effects of brain disorders.
THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INSTITUTE AT HARBORVIEW MEDICAL CENTER
Harborview Medical Center - UW Medicine has created a center of excellence and research with the creation of the Behavioral Health Institute (BHI) - where innovation, research and practice come together to advance mental health and addiction stabilization and treatment with a goal of reaching people earlier. The BHI is a group of services and people dedicated to key issues in behavioral health. Through the institute, we will expand programs and open new doors, so more people have access to effective behavioral health care. The BHI will also develop curricula and train the next generation of behavioral health care professionals in evidence based treatment and disseminate effective practice. In partnership we want to drive dialogue: to have an even stronger voice in the community to advocate for awareness, reduce stigma and to support evidence based policy decision making. Harborview serves as a critical safety net for disadvantaged and vulnerable patients with serious mental health and substance-use problems. Our experts evaluate more than 5,000 patients a year in Harborview’s psychiatric emergency department, and we have three times more psychiatric inpatient beds than nearby medical centers.