A.W.A.R.E.

Contact JanetWerner@UHaveMyWord.com to join our virtual AWARE coalition. This AWARE Coalition is for Religious, Spiritual & Mental Health Leaders & First Responders who are on mission to positively impact crisis care by raising awareness on the spiritual & religious aspect of mental health.

Our action plan includes:

• Orientation of mental health consumers, healthcare professionals & first responders on the spiritual dimension in mental health treatment.
• Training on the competencies and protocols to address spiritual emergencies & spiritually transformative experiences from a multicultural perspective honoring all religious & spiritual traditions.

Film brief: We are looking to restore faith in the mental health system by highlighting the less intrusive humanistic and integrative care in services that already exist.  We are making a public service announcement to inform the public of the alternatives that exist which include the spiritual side of crisis care and the value of peer support.

BREAKING NEWS: We will post new developments in mental health care as we are informed. Latest news will be included in our upcoming films produced as a public service.

Do you know about DEPRESCRIBING as it relates to psychiatric medication reported in Psychiatric Times, May 2025? We will host a podcast conversation soon. PSY0525_eZine.pdf

Do you know about the WPA Position Statement on Spirituality and Religion in Psychiatry – World Psychiatric Association ?

Do you know that as of 1994 the DSM (Diagnostic Statistical Manual) included a new V code entitled “Religious or Spiritual Problem”: V62.89: This category can be used when the focus of clinical attention is a religious or spiritual problem.

Do you know that most patients in psychiatric hospitals say that spirituality is never raised in treatment & that they wish it was? This is why we are influencing the importance of including chaplains as part of the mental health care team.

Do you know that the American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s Mental Health and Faith Partnership brings psychiatrists and other mental health professionals together with faith leaders? Faith | APA Foundation

Do you know that the American Psychiatric Association Board & DSM Steering Committee approved definition for Religious or Spiritual Problem (V62.89) as of December 2024 includes the terms by name “MORAL injury, MORAL distress, and MORAL dilemmas?” 

Our AWARE USA partner now offers support for Moral Injury.

Do you know Z71.81 is a valid billable ICD-10 diagnosis code for Spiritual or religious counseling. It is found in the 2025 version of the ICD-10 Clinical Modification (CM) and can be used in all HIPAA-covered transactions from Oct 01, 2024 – Sep 30, 2025. Z71.81 ICD 10 Code – Spiritual or religious counseling – Billable 2025 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code Z71.81: Spiritual or religious counseling

Do you know?

V Codes (used in the DSM-5 and ICD-9) and Z Codes (used in the ICD-10), also known as Other Conditions That May Be a Focus of Clinical Attention, are codes used to identify issues treatment that are a focus of clinical attention or affect the diagnosis, course, prognosis, or of a patient’s mental disorder. However, these codes are not mental disorders. Both V and Z codes are underused by clinicians, and there is often a lack of awareness about these codes. It is often helpful to put V or Z codes in a patient’s clinical documentation when there is no evidence of a mental disorder, but if they are presenting with significant impairment. Compared to the DSM-5 V Codes, ICD-10 Z Codes are much more comprehensive and cover a wider variety of psychosocial problems. These codes capture important social determinants of health information that psychiatric diagnoses do not capture. Sometimes, it is these codes that are more important than any psychiatric diagnosis! V Codes (DSM-5) & Z Codes (ICD-10) – PsychDB

Do you know that AWARE NJ, USA, Global is on a mission to raise awareness on these issues & offer solutions to improve psychiatric services inside hospitals and to prevent wrongful hospitalization with forced medications? We provide preventative & alternative solutions that improve outcomes.

Ask us about our AWARE orientation & training programs.

How to HELP

1. Advance our A.W.A.R.E. footprint in NJ, New York and around the US.  Host an AWARE orientation in your community or online with first responders, hospitals, houses of spiritual worship, mental health organizations.  Join our AWARE team/become an ambassador/meet quarterly with AWARE US/Global.
2. Sign up for our 1-1 mentoring in spiritual emergency support. Introduce us to a healthcare organization who sponsors our 4-8 hour fee based training.
3. Donate to our AWARE video.  Speak into our AWARE video. Co-produce our AWARE video. Contact JanetWerner@UHaveMyWord.com

How did we get started on raising AWAREness?

We started A.W.A.R.E at the Rutgers University Medical School Conference in 2023 to raise attention to the spiritual & religious element in mental health care.

Dr. Johnson offers this FEAR video as another tool in our AWARE orientation.

We moved forward by establishing a monthly NJ AWARE Coalition for Religious, Spiritual & Mental Health Leaders who are on mission to positively impact the 988-crisis line in a way that includes clergy.

“The cause is real. The need is urgent. The resources exist. The awareness is horrifically lacking.”

Rabbi Marc Kline

We invited experts & collaborators to our NJ Coalition to bridge across the USA.

How do institutions wound the soul? In this powerful and thought-provoking talk, we explore the concept of moral injury — the internal fracture that happens when individuals are forced to act against their deepest values. Drawing on lived experience, psychology, and spiritual insight, we identify three “straightjackets” imposed by authority systems. Josh Roberts, COO InspiredMindMentalHealth.com

We get invited to present a 3-part series with First Responder Health across the USA.

We issued a proposal to the State of New Jersey to include the religious & spiritual part of mental health crisis calls in 988 training. Our colleague Ernie Stevens asks why not have our faith-based leaders trained in what he calls hyper-religiosity. Prep for 720 Live short 1 1 Ernie Hyper Religiosity

Ernest Stevens speaking on spiritual/religious experiences in mental health crisis calls.

We continue to collaborate with folks across the USA & around the world to raise AWAREness on the spiritual & religious aspect of mental health.

We reach forward to collaborate with Cops, Clergy & Community in NJ and Faith & Blue across the USA. Faith & Blue – Building Bridges to More Inclusive Communities (faithandblue.org)

Reverend Ronald Sparks leads a prayer over our officers.

Pilgrim Baptist Church, Red Bank, NJ. Oct. 10, 2024.

We completed Part 3 with First Responder Health on Nov. 1, 2024.

Moving forward with orientation for CSPNJ staff & Mobile Crisis Response Units in NJ on Dec. 2, 2024 & January 10, 2025.

Trenton Psychiatric Hospital orientation Dec. 20, 2024 sponsored by CSPNJ Wellness Center.

“One Wellness Center member specifically mentioned feeling vindicated and heard after the session. Ultimately, members loved the experience and would like to know more.” Center Manager

…shared at MLK breakfast 1/17/25 sponsored by the YMCA. Shining the light on what we can do …stronger together… Representing Senator Andy Kim: Julianna Heck. Constituent Advocate and Field Representative United States Senate; Rekishia McMillan, Department of Labor & Workforce Development; Achille Dejean, ED Mental Health America; Rev. Sparks, Bethel AME; Vincent Siracusa, Army National Guard. Table Talk hosted by Dr. Calvin Chatlos & NJ AWARE.

AWARE orientation sponsored by the Department of Health & Human Services in Monmouth County NJ 2/21/25

The outcomes we aim to impact include:

• Minimize & eliminate involuntary hospitalization & forced medication of spiritual experiences.
• Prevent trauma & moral injury that occurs from spiritual experiences being discounted, misunderstood & mistreated.
• Improve inpatient & outpatient mental health care through expansion of the spiritual dimension tools and cultural competencies for religious & spiritual experiences.
• Reduce stigma from misdiagnosis of spiritual experiences.
• Advance the screening of spiritual experiences to include referrals to chaplains, clergy, peer support & alternative services.
• Reduce fear in family & friends who witness spiritual emergencies; expand response options through awareness & Open Dialogue training.

Carlito Cabelin ccabelin@gmail.com NJ

Joshua Roberts InspiredMindMentalHealth@gmail.com CA

Visit Josh at Höme | Inspired Mind

Dr. Calvin Chatlos NJ. Visit Dr. Chatlos at The Human Faith Project – The Human Faith Project

Tawanda Mutsigwa tamutsigwa@yahoo.co.uk South Africa

Janet Werner janetwerner@uhavemyword.com NJ

Mija Bradford mpb@thesoulascending.com Chicago

Visit Mija at Mija | Attracting Your Life Hear Mija’s story: Mija ISPS US University Delaware 2023

Dr. Olivia Johnson, Blue Wall Institute olivia@bw-institute.com Illinois

Visit Dr. Johnson at Blue Wall Institute | Committed to Your Safety and Wellness

Follow us on Linkedin (5) A.W.A.R.E. (Are We Aware Of Religious & spiritual Experiences?): Posts | LinkedIn

Follow us on Rethinking Mental Health Facebook.

What is our strategic plan?