Blog

Written by Sam Skinner

It’s time for me to get on my soapbox to love on The Early Assessment and Support Alliance: Oregon’s first episode psychosis program for youth and young adults. 

In every county in Oregon, there is an EASA program. These team-oriented programs may include a therapist, psychiatrist / medical duo, an occupational therapist, and multi-family group therapy. Depending on the resources in the county, there might be opportunities for wellness groups including DBT, yoga, art and multimedia, music, D&D, and community excursions. If these resources don’t already exist, EASA will connect you to other resources within your community. Whatever insurance doesn’t cover, EASA will take care of it.

One significant aspect of this program that I am beyond stoked about is the Young Adult Leadership Council; a group of current and graduated participants in the  EASA program and a few supportive adults. There is currently one main Council, as well as two chapters (Mid Valley and Southern Oregon) specific to the regions they encompass.

Through these chapters of the Young Adult Leadership Council, young people are able to give feedback on the Early Assessment and Support Alliance, provide a supportive space among peers and people of lived experience and create projects within their communities in response to mental health, juvenile and criminal justice, child welfare, and houselessness among other issues. Members of YALC are also able to connect to other statewide and national youth-serving agencies and projects. 

Going through life transitioning into adulthood is already hard enough, and dealing with psychosis is a huge weight and is often an obstacle to overcome and understand. It’s with programs and youth advocacy like this that such hard obstacles in life can be dealt with, through lived experience and empathy. If you’re interested in learning more about the Young Adult Leadership Council and the Early Assessment and Support Alliance in Oregon, check out these excellent resources and webpages. Alright, I’ll step off my soapbox, for now! 😉

EASA Screening:
https://portlandstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_033kbbJOtKgG3DT

YALC:
http://www.easacommunity.org/the-young-adult-leadership-council.php

EASA:
http://www.easacommunity.org/index.php

EASAart:
http://www.easacommunity.org/easa-art.php
Comics are a unique form of art and communication. They convey different registers of experience where thoughts (as bubbles), speech (balloons), actions and agency (“motion lines”), things happening on a somatic “gut level” (stomach butterflies representing anxiety) can be represented in a single frame. They allow readers the freedom to take their time with a single element or let their eyes drift from panel to panel.

We chose this medium for our latest campaign to de-stigmatize psychosis and psychosis treatment because we felt comics would be helpful in giving different perspectives. In this first trio of comics, we get a “behind the scenes” look at a physician workroom in a teaching hospital, eavesdrop on a coffee shop conversation between two mothers, and attend an EASA Workshop where our protagonist, Carlo discusses his lived experience.