I am the Evidence

 Once in a while I get inspired. Such is the case with my angel cards. Some time ago people at work started asking me to make cards for various occasions. Shortly after I came up with the angel motif. Eventually I decided to make copies of them. Before I knew it I had seven cards. [...]

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We are the sensitive ones. The intelligent and depressed. The deep and thoughtful.  The troubled and searching. We love words. It takes time to process the words, because of the nuances and semantics and complexities that many don’t comprehend. So if a person needs time to chew on a sentence it’s because they care. Diner [...]

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Normal Sometimes my thoughts spiral down into a black hole where I am unable to process and even speak. I have been brilliant and witty on stage. I have had a room full of people cheering and laughing and hanging onto my every word. I have been confident and entertaining and quick. This can’t be [...]

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Hi all, Cone check out our new art display developed in conjunction with the Gallery on High Street in Pottstown.

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Ed Schwenk, a Peer Specialist at Creative Health Services was a co-author of an article on work done by peer specialists. The findings are the result of a national survey. To access this article follow the instructions below. Google “Psychiatric Services” Browse content Past issues 2010 May 2010 Brief reports Mark S. Salzar, Edward Schwenk, [...]

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  Sometimes the things we do are for survival. At times I eat to smother “The pain of being”. At times my mind makes up stories to deal with intense and scary realities. I don’t follow the news. I don’t get involved in politics or heated arguments on disturbing subjects. My Dad on the other [...]

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Hi All, Be sure to check out our Certified Peer Specialist extraordinaire, Frank, on WPAZ,  1370 AM, Thursday, March 17th, between 9am and 12 noon for a radio show dedicated to the spoken word. One of Frank’s peers will be there as an observer.

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Good Days             I jump out of bed bright eyed and bushy tailed; shake my fist at the travails of yesterday, and say a hopeful prayer for the next twenty four hours. I am very aware that there is a balance between living in the moment and giving myself things to look forward to. As [...]

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This is a speech I am planning to give at the Spring Valley YMCA Friday the 7th of January (weather permitting) as part of a mandatory training.            Did anyone else here learn to swim at the Y? At the age of four I was a Polliwog at the YMCA in Pottstown. It turns out [...]

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Time Wednesday, January 12, 2011 · 7:00pm – 10:00pm Location Steel City Coffee House, Phoenixville 203 Bridge Street Phoenixville, PA   More Info Writers Night at Steel City featuring Nikki Caplan, Gary Carter, Cartier, Ross Cohen, Tim Essex, Anders Gunther, Jeff Mastroberti, Tree Chopper’s Tomboy, Patrick Walsh and Frank Wolfe $5 BYOB $3 (21+)

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Each year, we ask kids in our waiting room to create the ornaments for our tree. Here it is four days before Christmas.

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I used to have the audacity to think I could just sit down with pen and paper and create a masterpiece straight off with no edits or re-writes. But writing is hard. It’s a puzzle. It’s a challenge. That’s why I like it. I used to have the audacity to think I could just go [...]

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Like it or not, the first thing that comes to mind in regards to my motivation these days is finding an intelligent, attractive significant other. Exercising, losing weight, making more money, creating, writing, performing, drawing, educating, swimming, walking, dancing, organizing, driving, facebooking , cooking, taking meds, seeing the Doctor, and trying to be a better [...]

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The IOP Open Mic: “A Rockin’ Good Time”           Sometimes things just fall into place. Such was the case for the IOP Mic on Wednesday October 20th in the Creative Health computer library. Ten performers had worked hard for weeks if not months on their acts. One by one they got up behind the mic [...]

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Fearless             Could I ever be fearless? What does bravery look like? When disaster strikes, war breaks out, someone close gets seriously ill, or something painful  has to be confronted, (Dentist), I would hope to bite the bullet, damn the torpedoes, and take it on the chin. I would like to be a shining example [...]

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 I graduated from Spring Ford High School in nineteen eighty seven. I was voted scholar athlete of the year and had an academic scholarship to Penn State “Happy Valley”. I remember the day mom and dad dropped me off at Hartranft Hall. My dorm room was number 212 and my roommate was Matthew F. It [...]

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What’s it like, you might wonder, to live with a mental illness?  How about weighing nearly 400lbs? I’m sitting at a Starbucks in a chair I might have broken three years ago. I am drinking a fat free, sugar free beverage as opposed to a frappacino and apple fritter. It’s a bright morning in the [...]

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Bette is an amazing lady. For a long time Bette wanted a volunteer job. As a peer specialist I was determined to find her one.  We applied to many different places and did not have any luck. One day Bette’s therapist suggested that we call the pastor of the church that Bette and I both [...]

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Right now, for me, being a CPS is all about options.  There is no worse feeling for me than to feel trapped. And I think it’s the same for many of the people I work with. Four years ago I was running out of options. I had no job. My health was failing (I weighed [...]

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Great News for the Creative Health Community July 2010 Amy S., a member of Creative Health Services, recently performed on the piano in public. She had not done much work of late, whether paid or volunteer. She just played for peers at Creatiive Health. The chance to give a concert was a great opportunity for [...]

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