Greetings brothers,
The MKP-USA community has recently received tragic news. I am writing to let you know that the MHRT is available to advise and support you in helping men who may have serious and potentially unsafe reactions to the news.
Some background about the MHRT:
The MHRT began more than two years ago with the task of pre-screening men for the NWTA, to identify men who may not be psychologically safe on the Weekend. Most men who we reviewed were deemed safe, and post-NWTA follow-up bore out the accuracy of our assessments. Some men, perhaps five to ten percent, were advised that they would get more from the training if they were more stable, whether with regard to psychiatric medication, sobriety, adjustment to severe life-changes, and the like. Most received the advice well, and returned later to do the Weekend safely and productively. I should emphasize that the MHRT does not make the actual decision but advises the weekend leader of our assessments. The Team consists of licensed mental health clinicians.
Recent events have reminded us of the reality that, however powerful the NWTA, the I-Group, and the Project are, there are situations and men that who need a professional level of intervention that MKP’s self-help structure cannot provide. The MHRT does NOT provide therapy; we are a resource to help men realize that help is available, and to help them find and get to the help they need. Also, we are available as a resource to you, the men who may be the first point of contact for these men in need.
Here’s how to contact the MHRT:
We have a toll-free number to use that forwards messages to me several times a day. (1-800-870-4611) Please call and leave your name and phone number/s and best time/s to call you back. I’m on the East Coast of the United States, and I’m a night-owl, so I will almost always be able to call you back within an hour or two of your call. Another way to reach me is to email me at mhrt@mkp.org. That comes directly to me, and I also check that frequently during the day. We have several men on the MHRT who have made themselves available. If you are calling to ask one of us to contact a man in need, it would be most helpful for us to talk to you first so we have some information going in.
David Rose
Loving Red Cat
MKP-Greater Washington
Charter Lifetime Member of MKP-USA
