Road to Recovery: Employment and Mental Illness

To download the entire report, please click here.

Also see:

National Alliance on Mental Illness

NAMI Principles of Support

National Alliance on Mental Illness (United States)

Principles of Support

• We will see the individual first, not the illness.

• We recognize that mental illnesses are medical illnesses that may have environmental triggers.

• We understand that mental illnesses are traumatic events.

• We aim for better coping skills.

• We find strength in sharing experiences.

• We reject stigma and do not tolerate discrimination.

• We won’t judge anyone’s pain as less than our own.

• We forgive ourselves and reject guilt.

• We embrace humor as healthy.

• We accept we cannot solve all problems.

• We expect a better future in a realistic way.

• We will never give up hope.

Source

Police learn to use words instead of force

An August 23rd posting by bryancountynews.net:

A recent Crisis Intervention Team graduate went to work one day earlier this month, expecting just another day on the job, but the situation he faced could have ended in violence had he not been part of Georgia’s CIT training program.

The CIT-trained police officer recently shared his story:

“We were called to a situation where a male was physically abusing his mother. He had been drinking and was armed with a gun. The individual was known to be schizophrenic and had been noncompliant with his treatment,” the officer said. “Using our CIT training skills, we de-escalated the situation and got him to give his gun to us. I couldn’t believe it. We had just graduated the week before from CIT training.

“Through the intervention skills we learned, we were able to bring a safe conclusion to this potentially deadly situation for the mother, the individual and our team.”

Law enforcement from the sheriffs’ offices of Tattnall, Toombs and Bulloch counties, along with the police departments of Pembroke, Glennville, Reidsville, Vidalia and Baxley, spent 40 hours in CIT training to help them effectively and humanely interact with persons affected by mental illness, developmental disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease and addictive diseases.

Since 2004, the Georgia CIT program has sought to equip Georgia law-enforcement officers with the skills to recognize and assist people with behavioral-health disorders in crisis, thereby advancing public and citizen safety and reducing stigma, according to a news release.

The recent training class was hosted Aug. 8-12 by the Tattnall County Sheriff’s Office and staffed by local Georgia Association of Community Service Boards member Pineland MH/DD/AD, with assistance from NAMI.

It included clinical classroom instructions, practical de-escalation role-play exercises, experiences of consumers and family members and site visits to Pineland facilities.

The training covered a variety of subjects, including understanding and preventing suicide, signs and symptoms of mental illness, de-escalation techniques, legal issues and mental health law, addictive diseases and child and adolescent interventions.

“CIT is vital for law enforcement to take part in, and our goal is to have our whole team trained,” Capt. Kevin Keyfauver of the Tattnall County Sheriff’s Office said. “On a day-to-day basis, we not only encounter individuals on calls that may be experiencing behavioral issues, but we also regularly transport individuals to our community mental-health care facilities. CIT helps our team learn how to use words instead of force when diffusing situations. It makes it safer for everyone involved.”

Through Georgia CIT partnerships, more than 4,000 law enforcement officers have received special training since the program’s inception.

“The specialized training of CIT enables officers to better understand and relate to individuals with mental disabilities or disorders when in the field,” said GBI Special Agent Debbie Shaw, CIT coordinator for state law enforcement. “This program brings law enforcement, mental-health providers and the community at large together to provide the best service possible to all its citizens.”

Image credit

A new schizophrenia brochure from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

Please click on the image to magnify it.

To download the entire brochure (PDF), please click here.

Also see:

National Alliance on Mental Illness

NAMI launches new schizophrenia website and brochure

An article posted on April 1st by News-Medical.net:

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has launched a new website on schizophrenia and published a new brochure on the medical condition which affects more than 2.4 million American adults each year.

Onset of schizophrenia often strikes men in their late teens or early twenties, while appearing in women in their late twenties or early thirties. The cause and course of treatment are different for each individual.

"NAMI has launched the new schizophrenia website and published the new schizophrenia brochure to provide up-to-date information to individuals, families and others," said NAMI Executive Director Michael Fitzpatrick.

"Everyone should know the nature of schizophrenia and its symptoms. Everyone should know the latest medical thinking on prevention, triggers and treatment."

The schizophrenia brochure can be downloaded from the website at www.nami.org/schizophrenia or ordered in packets of 25 copies each for local groups, physician offices, health fairs, conferences or workplace education.

The website highlights two areas of recent research relating to onset of schizophrenia:

• "Fish oil" supplements may help prevent psychosis during critical years of brain development. Further studies are needed, but NAMI Medical Director Ken Duckworth advises individuals in their teens or twenties with early symptoms of psychosis to take Omega-3 fatty acids—available in supermarkets and pharmacies. There appear to be few risks compared to the potential benefit.

• Smoking marijuana is increasingly seen as a causal factor that can trigger onset of schizophrenia in some people. NAMI cites three studies published in February and March 2011. As an environmental factor, marijuana is believed to "trigger" genetic factors, increasing the risk of psychotic incidents and ongoing experiences.

The schizophrenia web site includes discussion of anosognosia, more commonly known as a lack of insight. Individuals may lack awareness of their own illness—believed to be the result of problems with neurological processes in the frontal lobe of the brain. The condition can lead to tension within families and complicate treatment.

NAMI offers education and support programs to individuals and families confronting schizophrenia.

SOURCE: National Alliance on Mental Illness

Eleanor Owen's tireless battle for mental-health care

An article published in the March 12th edition of The Seattle Times:

Having a son with schizophrenia, Seattle's Eleanor Owen knows firsthand the heartache and worry families face. She joined others to found the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

By Maureen O'Hagan

HE IS your child.

You watch him go from artist to hermit, from scholar to stranger. He starts sleeping in the basement, in a box. You tell yourself it's an adolescent phase.

He walks the streets, barefoot and disheveled, a blanket around his shoulders and letters shaved into his head. Could it be drugs?

Then one day you find a noose he'd hung from a pipe.

Another day, he gets arrested after creating a disturbance at the train station, trying to get from Seattle to San Francisco on a movie-ticket stub.

Eleanor Owen [pictured] was teaching and staging children's plays. Her husband, John, was an engineer. They were well-educated and comfortable and endlessly resourceful. Yet they felt helpless.

Their son's life, Eleanor says, "became more and more tragic."

At some point, she realized two things.

Her son had schizophrenia.

And she would fight for him with all her might.

To read the entire story, please click here.


Photo credit

NAMI Applauds New Report on Caregiving

A December 17th news release from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI):

Arlington, VA — The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) praises a new report, Caregiving in the U.S. 2009, which offers a revealing portrait of the nearly one-in-three American adults who serve as a family caregiver.

The study is based on interviews with 1,480 caregivers chosen at random and offers a national profile of people caring for adults, the elderly and children with special needs. It follows similar studies conducted in 2004 and 1997, but for the first time, caregivers for children, as well as those caring for adults over the age of 18, were surveyed.

The report echoes the findings of NAMI’s own depression survey and schizophrenia survey, which include the perspective of caregivers for people living with these serious mental illnesses. All these reports suggest that caregivers face daily stresses that can impact their own health and other relationships. For example, NAMI’s depression survey, released in November, found that while almost one-half (48 percent) of caregivers for people with depression have been diagnosed with depression themselves, only about 25 percent were engaged in treatment at the time of the survey.

“We know from our own studies that caregivers make significant sacrifices to care for their loved ones living with mental illness,” said Michael Fitzpatrick, NAMI executive director. “The findings of this new report will help us anticipate the needs of caregivers so that we can improve NAMI’s education and support programs.”

NAMI offers a variety of peer education and support programs, including those specifically for caregivers.

Family-to-Family is a free, twelve-week course for family caregivers of individuals with severe mental illnesses. The course is taught by trained family members and more than 115,000 family members have graduated from this national program. The course is also available in Spanish.

NAMI Basics is an education program for parents and other caregivers of children and adolescents living with mental illnesses. The course is taught by trained teachers who are the parent or other caregivers of individuals who developed the symptoms of mental illness prior to the age of 13 years.


About NAMI:

The National Alliance on Mental Illness is a non-partisan organization with 1100 state and local affiliates, dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. Dedication, steadfast commitment and unceasing belief in NAMI's mission by grassroots advocates have produced profound changes.

http://www.nami.org/
http://twitter.com/namicommunicate
http://www.facebook.com/pages/NAMI/85273022315

In Our Own Voice

For further information on In Our Own Voice, please click here.

The Soloist: A Call to Action

A press release from the National Alliance on Mental Illness:

April 23, 2009

Arlington, VA— The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has launched a new Web site, www.nami.org/soloist, as part of a social action campaign with Participant Media surrounding Friday’s release (April 24) of The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr.

"The movie will help humanize people who live with schizophrenia and are homeless," said NAMI executive director Mike Fitzpatrick. "It will help people look beyond stereotypes and create better understanding of the challenge for treatment and recovery."

"The mental health care system is in crisis. After people exit theaters and leave popcorn behind, we want to translate new awareness into action."

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that affects about 2 million Americans—twice the number living with HIV/AIDS.

The Soloist is based on the true story of the unlikely friendship between Nathaniel Ayers, a street musician living in Skid Row, and Steve Lopez, a columnist with the Los Angeles Times. In a series of columns, Lopez reports on Ayers’ journey as a gifted student from the Julliard School of Music to the streets of Los Angeles, living with schizophrenia.

On NAMI’s special Web site, visitors can:

• Watch The Soloist trailer

• Test their schizophrenia knowledge

• Listen to Dr. Ken Duckworth, NAMI’s medical director, answer questions about schizophrenia, diagnosis and recovery
  

• Learn more about NAMI’s education programs

• Alert state and national representatives to NAMI advocacy goals

• Register for a local NAMIWalk to support people living with mental illness

OTHER RESOURCES

Participant Media: Take Part

NAMIWalks

NAMI Schizophrenia Report

NAMI 2009 Grading the States Report

Photograph of Nathaniel Ayers and cellist Yo-Yo Ma (2007) courtesy of G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Grading the States 2009

From the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI):

A Report on America’s Health Care System for Adults with Serious Mental Illness

Mental health care in America is in crisis. The nation’s mental health care system gets a dismal D. As the nation confronts a severe economic crisis, demand for mental health services is increasing -- but state budget cuts are creating a vicious cycle that is leaving some of our most vulnerable citizens behind. We must move forward, not retreat ...

For more information, please click here.

For a video, please click here (Windows Media Player).


Click on the image to enlarge it.

Misunderstanding Defines Most Americans' View of Schizophrenia

From the August 15th edition of Psychiatric News:

By Eve Bender

Services and support are seriously lacking for people with schizophrenia and their caregivers, according to the results of a recent NAMI poll.

Schizophrenia is an oft-misunderstood disorder that remains shrouded in mystery, according to the results of a poll released by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in June.

The survey, titled "Schizophrenia: Public Attitudes, Personal Needs: Views From People Living With Schizophrenia, Caregivers, and the General Public," examined attitudes about the disorder from the perspectives of those who have firsthand knowledge of the illness as well as the general public.

To read the entire article, click here.

Also see:

Schizophrenia: Public Attitudes, Personal Needs

Schizophrenia: Twice as Common as HIV/AIDS, But Survey Shows Americans Misinformed

Schizophrenia: Twice as Common as HIV/AIDS, But Survey Shows Americans Misinformed

From the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), June 9, 2008:

Arlington, VA — Twice as many Americans live with schizophrenia than with HIV/AIDS, but a major report by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reveals most Americans are unfamiliar with the disease.

"Americans are not sure what to think about schizophrenia," said NAMI executive director Mike Fitzpatrick. "They know schizophrenia is a medical illness affecting the brain, but it is largely misunderstood. There are gaps in knowledge— and access to treatment. Misinformation, misperceptions, and misunderstanding represent a public health crisis."

The report is available at www.nami.org/schizophreniasurvey. It is based on an on-line survey conducted by Harris Interactive among the general public, caregivers and individuals living with schizophrenia.

Approximately two million Americans live with schizophrenia. Two-thirds do not receive treatment, even though the disease can be managed successfully.

The survey found the average age at onset was 21, but a nine-year gap exists between symptoms and treatment.

• 85% of Americans recognize schizophrenia as an illness, 79% believe that with treatment, people with the diagnosis can lead independent lives, but only 24% are familiar with it. Many cannot recognize symptoms or mistakenly believe they include “split” or multiple personalities (64%).


• 79% want friends to tell them if they have schizophrenia, but only 46% say they would themselves. Even with treatment, 49% are uncomfortable with the prospect of dating a person with schizophrenia.


• Among people living with schizophrenia, 49% said doctors take their medical problems less seriously, even though the report notes that the death rate from causes like heart disease or diabetes is 2-3 times that of the general population.


• A vast majority believe that better medications (96%) and health insurance (82%) would be most helpful to improving their condition.


• Caregivers agree better medications are needed. Approximately 80% have difficulty getting services for loved ones, 63% have difficulty finding time for themselves, and 41% have provided care for more than 10 years.
  

"We know what to do to increase recovery, but it requires public support, which depends on public attitudes," Fitzpatrick said.

The report offers five recommendations:

• Public education


• Closing the gap between symptoms and treatment


• A welcoming healthcare system


• Education and support for caregivers and individuals living with the illness


• Greater investment in medical research
  

# # #

Elaine Purpel: Mental illness course helps families cope

To read this January 5th news-record.com article on NAMI's Family-to-Family Education Program, click here.