www.namigdm.org (515) 277-0672 namigdm@gmail.com

Find Help. Find Hope.

1

azzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

June 2012 Journal Email: namigdm@gmail.com Website: www.namigdm.org

Mailing address: Box 12174, Des Moines 50312 Phone number: (515) 277-0672

“Education, Support, Advocacy and Research” Serving Polk, Dallas, Warren, and Madison counties

Mission statement Empowering individuals, families and community by providing

hope and education about brain disorders Join NAMI with a single click of your mouse! Become a member at the local, state, and national level. www.namigdm.org (click on blue “donate” box at the right on the task bar at the top of the screen) - or – go to www.nami.org/JOIN

Letters to the Editor

You are welcome to send letters to the editor by mail or email. Communicate to Box 12174, Des Moines, Iowa 50312 or email: tbomhoff@mchsi.com or namigdm@gmail.com

NAMI Greater Des Moines is the local affiliate 515-277-0672. NAMI Iowa Office is the state affiliate 254-0417 or toll free 1-800-417-0417 www.namiiowa.org. NAMI National’s website is www.nami.org and their Help Line is 1-800-950-6264 M-F 10-6.

Each level of the organization is a separate 501(c) (3).

In this issue –

Page 1 Calendar of events Page 2 NAMI Educational Opportunities Page 3 Support Group Opportunities Page 4 Resources Page 5 NAMI GDM information and articles of interest Page 6 Advocacy information Page 7-13 Articles of interest Page 14 Invitation to volunteer

NAMI National Convention in

Seattle, Washington June 26 – July 1, 2012

Visit www.nami.org/convention for more details.

Make your hotel reservation early! Register online at Sheraton/NAMI 2012 Hotel Reservation or call Sheraton Reservations at (888) 627-7056. Specially discounted rates starting at just $145 per night (plus tax) are available for convention attendees.

Thursday nights , June 7 through July 19

NAMI Basics class for parents and

caregivers of children and adolescents with severe emotional disorder

Location: Magellan Health Services - 2600 Westown Parkway, Suite 200 (2nd Floor),West Des Moines, IA 50266 – Contact Larry Schaffer, 707-5366 ls1005@q.com

Friday, June 8 NAMI GDM Executive Board meeting Applebee’s, SE 14th

and Army Post Road

Monday, Tuesday June 11-12

“Pursuing the Promise” – special

education conference in Des Moines Travel expenses will be reimbursed exclusively for students and parents (contact: Deb Samson at 515-242-5295).

For more information on the conference, go to http://educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2600:2012-special-education-conference&catid=666:highlights. To register, go to http://iowaspecialed.eventbrite.com. There’s room for only 1,200 participants, registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Tuesday thru Thursday June 12-14

Trauma Informed Care Conference

Preconference Institute June 12($100) Conference June 13-14 ($150) All 3 days $200

Sheraton West Des Moines Hotel, 1800 50th St.

Limited to 300 paid registrations – no preregistration available. For more information, contact: Nancy Boggess 515-246-3531 nboggess@orchardplace.org

Wednesday, June 13 NAMI GDM Business meeting Eyerly-Ball Community Mental Health Center, 1301 Center, Des Moines

Tuesday, Wednesday June 19-20

IAMHR Conference – Road to Recovery: A Whole Health Approach

Holiday Inn, 4800 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines Applications and stipends available in April. Contact info@iarecovery.org or call 877-IAHOPE4U

Thursday, June 21 MHDS Commission United Way Conference Center, 1111 9th

St., DM Room E – 9:30 AM to 3 PM

Wed., June 27 National Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day

Wednesday, June 27 thru Saturday, June 30

NAMI National Convention Sheraton Seattle Hotel, Seattle, Washington Convention theme: “Think, Learn, and Live: Wellness, Resiliency, Recovery” – www.namiconvention.org

Month of July National Minority Mental Health Month

www.namigdm.org (515) 277-0672 namigdm@gmail.com

Find Help. Find Hope.

2

Mental Health First Aid

A 12 hour Mental Health First Aid Training Course Cost is $25 per person. Minimum class size is 10 with a maximum of 20 to 25. To read more about the program, go to: http://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/cs/program_overview/

If your organization would like to schedule the training – or – if you would like to sign up for an open enrollment class, please contact Cece at 276-7871 or cece.arnold@mchsi.com or Teresa at 274-6876 or tbomhoff@mchsi.com -

Family to Family – a

free 12 week class for family members of adults

with mental illness. Another set of classes will be held in the fall starting the last week in August. To sign up, contact Teresa at 274-6876 or tbomhoff@mchsi.com or Grace at 961-6671 or rsivadge1@juno.com

To read more about the class go to: http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Family-to-Family&lstid=605 or go to www.namigdm.org

Peer to Peer – a free 10

week course for persons stable and working

towards recovery. To attend the class, contact Jim Goodrich jmrich523@gmail.com or 490-2758. To read more about the class – go to: http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=Peer-to-Peer or go to www.namigdm.org

NAMI Basics is a free program for

parents and other caregivers of children and adolescents living with mental illnesses. The course

consists of six classes, each lasting for 2 ½ hours. To sign up, send an e-mail to Larry Schaffer LS1005@q.com or call 440-0515.

To read more about the class – go to: http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=NAMI_Basics1 or go to www.namigdm.org

The NAMI Provider Education Program is a 5-week course

that presents a penetrating, subjective view of family and consumer experiences with serious mental illness to line staff at public agencies who work directly with people experiencing severe and persistent mental illnesses. For more information, http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=Provider_Education or go to www.namigdm.org

Parents and Teachers as Allies is a two hour in-service

mental health education program for school professionals. To see more information, go to: http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Schools_and_Education&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=38215 or go to www.namigdm.org

30 Pearls of Wisdom is a 1 hour in-service for

medical professionals on the treatment of persons with mental illness. It is a presentation offered to clinicians who want to lead the way to reduce and

help extinguish the stigma of mental illness. Opening a dialogue about mental illness and treatment programs remains a challenge among providers and the public.

Quotes from 30 Pearls participants: A psychiatric nurse at Lutheran said, “this is not just about good professionalism, it is about being a human being to another human being.”

Dr. Dean Moews, Mercy Family Practice, said, ”I believe the program was well received…some of the changes such as having more resource materials available to our patients are points well taken and I expect that will happen very soon…I may mention that we will definitely want you back here in the future.”

Please contact tbomhoff@mchsi.com or call 274-6876 to schedule a lunch ‘n learn at your workplace.

WRAP - Wellness Recovery Action Planning

NAMI Greater Des Moines is offering a new educational course -“WRAP” for the first 12 people who sign up!

WRAP® -Wellness Recovery Action Plan is a structured plan developed by YOU. It is a system that you devise for yourself that helps you work through mental health challenges or life issues. It is adaptable to any situation. Through careful observation, you identify those things you do to help yourself feel better when you are not feeling well, and those things you do to stay well and enjoy your life (Wellness Tools), and then use these wellness tools to develop personal action plans. WRAP is on the National Registry of Evidenced Based Programs and Practices.

Class will be held on Saturdays for an hour and a half – for 8 weeks. Cost is $20 per person for materials.

When 12 adults have signed up for the class – we will schedule the beginning date and finalize the location.

If you want to sign up for the class – please give Terri a call at 729-0147 or send an email to Terri at rileylee2@yahoo.com

For more information on WRAP, go to: http://www.mentalhealthrecovery.com/

Hearing Voices That Are Distressing: A Training and Simulation Experience

Hearing Voices is an immersion learning experience which allows participants to have a glimpse into the lived experience of trying to function and perform tasks while hearing voices that are distressing to many people. The ideal length of the training is 3 hours but can be abbreviated to a shorter time frame. There is a program for members of the general public and a program for members of the law enforcement community. Minimum class size is 15 and maximum is 40.

The program can also be requested by an organization. Please contact Jim Goodrich at jmrich523@gmail.com – phone: 288-1149.

Cost? We would appreciate a donation to NAMI Greater Des Moines.

Educational Opportunities

www.namigdm.org (515) 277-0672 namigdm@gmail.com

Find Help. Find Hope.

3

SUPPORT GROUPS for Family Members

Third Sunday of the month - Family members, if you are

interested in participating in a NAMI family support group, please contact Glenn Hobin

IowaGH@aol.com or call 965-9799 - or contact Grace Sivadge rsivadge1@juno.com 961-6671. Meetings are at Eyerly-Ball Community Mental Health Center, 1301 Center St., Des Moines – 2:30 – 4:00 P.M.

4th

Monday of each month – 5:30 – 7 PM – a support group for

Polk County parents and caregivers of children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbance (SED) or mental illness – a sibling support group meets separately - at Capitol Hill Lutheran Church, 511 Des Moines St., in the basement – child care provided, can also provide free transportation and interpretation services – pre-register, if possible – call Angie at 558-9998.

2nd

Thursday of each month – 6:30 P.M. – a support group for

Family members – Lutheran Church of Hope, 925 Jordan Creek Parkway, West Des Moines – in Room 213. Supper (free will offering) is available at 5:30 prior to the support group. Bonnie and Randy are facilitators.

Friends of Iowa Prisoners has a meeting at Noon on the 3rd

Tuesday of the month at Wesley United Methodist Church, 800 12th St., Des Moines – the June speaker is Jerry Bartruff, Deputy

Director of Offender Services for the Dept of Corrections

1st

and 3rd

Tuesdays of each month –Des Moines CURE/Voices

to be Heard Support group – Union Park United Methodist Church –East 12

th & Guthrie - Light meal at 5:30 P.M. Support group for

adults and program for children from 6 PM to 7PM. –If you have a loved one in prison or parole system you are concerned about or if you are concerned about those in prison, please feel free to join us. If you have questions, please call Jean Basinger at 277-6296 or Melissa Nelson at 280-9027.

Every Thursday evening will be “NAMI Night” at Broadlawns

from 6 to 8 P.M. in the Nauraine conference room. Information and support will be given to family members of persons with mental illness. For more information, contact Kay at 252-0714.

Friday mornings 9-11 AM at Child Guidance Center, 808 5th Ave

– a parent support group for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents with severe emotional disorder or mental illness. For more information, contact Diane at work 273-5054 cell 240-4854 DLJohnson@magellanhealth.com

First Saturday of each month –Family Support Group – 10

AM at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1120 North 8

th Avenue, Winterset. Call Grace at 961-6671 or Pat

at 515-462-3479 for information.

Coping After a Suicide Support Group – Polk Co. Crisis and

Advocacy Services – Contact: Kate 286-2029 - Meeting day – 2nd

Thursday of each month 6-7:30 P.M. and last Saturday of each month 9-10:30 A.M. Meeting place is 2309 Euclid Avenue - park at the west end of the building near the flags and come in the glass doors. Victim Services Phone: 515-286-3600

Family Peer Support Services Program 1-866-219-9119 www.familytofamily.org

This service is available to families of children under the age of 21 who have a severe or chronic emotional disorder. Trained specialists provide these services.

National Parent Helpline 1-855-4A PARENT/855-427-2736

www.nationalparenthelpline.org

A telephone and web-based resource for parents and caregivers. Trained advocates provide parents and caregivers with the help, referrals, and resources they need.

SUPPORT GROUPS for Persons in Recovery

Every Monday evening 7-8:30

P.M. – a support group for persons with mental illness – facilitated by

persons with mental illness – at the NAMI Iowa office – 254-0417 – or 1-800-417-0417 - 5911 Meredith Drive, Suite E, Des Moines or contact Jim Goodrich 288-1149

First Monday of each month – 7-9 P.M. –GDM CHADD Support

Group – support for those families struggling with ADHD – Attention Deficit Disorder - West Des Moines Public Library, 4000 Mills Civic Parkway –call Julie for more info –515-223-6730.

2nd

& 4th

Mondays of each month – 7 P.M. – depression and

bipolar support group., St. Boniface Catholic Church, 1200 Warrior

Lane, Waukee. Candlessupportgroup@q.com Julie 710-1487

Every Tuesday evening – 8-10 P.M. - Recovery Inc., a self-help

group for people who have nervous and mental troubles – at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 3120 E. 24

th St., Des Moines – Call 266-

2346 – Marty Hulsebus.

2nd

& 4th

Tuesdays of the month – New Light Support Group –

6:30 to 7:30 P.M. -for persons experiencing depression or anxiety disorders– at Westkirk Presbyterian Church, 2700 Colby Woods Drive, Urbandale, Iowa – 515-253-0330 – Pastor Michael Mudlaff

Tuesday evenings 5:30-7:00 Dual Diagnosis support group at

Eyerly Ball Mental Health Services – call 243-5181 for more information.

Every Thursday evening – 7:45 – 9:45 P.M. – Recovery, Inc. - a

self-help group for people who have nervous and mental troubles – at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, 1020 24

th St., in West Des

Moines. Call – 277-6071-Deb Rogers.

Every Saturday afternoon – 2:00 – 3:30 P.M. – the Depression

and Bipolar Support Alliance meets at Iowa Lutheran Hospital – University at Penn Avenue – Level B – private dining room.

For persons suffering from postpartum depression – a support

group entitled “Amazing Girls Accepting Peace Everyday (AGAPE)”. Information can be found at Meetup.com – enter AGAPE. You need to request to be a part of the group – contact Tricia at jrivas76@hotmail.com

Every Tuesday from noon until 1pm – an Eating Disorders

support group at the Mercy Franklin West Conference Room, West Entrance, 1st room on the right - 1750 48th, in Des Moines. For information, please call 515 255-6185 and visit with Sue.

Also offered at Eyerly Ball: Anger Management, Women’s STEPPS program - call 243-5181 for more information

Support Group Opportunities

www.namigdm.org (515) 277-0672 namigdm@gmail.com

Find Help. Find Hope.

4

Looking for Community Resources?

Phone 211 www.211Iowa.org

Iowa Compass – Disability Information and Referral

www.iowacompass.org iowa-compass@uiowa.edu 1-800-779-2001

Polk County Health Services

Polk County River Place – 2309 Euclid Avenue – 243-4545 http://polk.ia.networkofcare.org/mh/home/index.cfm

Go to the Visiting Nurses website www.vnsdm.org

click on “links” – then click on Community Resource Directory

Polk County Community Mental Health Centers Child Guidance Center – 808 5

th Ave – 244-2267

Eyerly Ball Community MH Center 1301 Center St. – 243-5181 Broadlawns Medical Center- 1801 Hickman Road – 282-6770

Eyerly Ball Golden Circle – 945 19th

St – 241-0982

Dallas County Mental Health Center

West Central Community Mental Health Center 2111 Green, Adel – 515-993-4535

Madison County Mental Health Center

Bridge Counseling Center 300 West Hutchings St. – 515-462-3105

Primary Health Care & Behavioral Health

Engebretsen Clinic, 2353 SE 14th

St. – 248-1400 The Outreach Project, 1200 University, Suite 105 – 248-1500

East Side Center, 3509 East 29th

St. – 248-1600 Primary Health Care Pharmacy,1200 Univ.,Suite 103 262-0854

Clubhouse Passageways,305 15th

St., Des Moines 515-243-6929

Narcotics Anonymous Help Line 515-244-2277 Drug and Alcohol Help Line 1-866-242-4111 Alcoholics Anonymous (515) 282-8550 Al Anon/ Alateen 1-888-425-2266 IA Substance Abuse Information Center Hotline 1-866-242-4111 Alcohol & Drug Information Referral & Crisis Counseling – www.drugfreeinfo.org

Polk County Jail Contacts on Mental Health Concerns

Medications – Sharon Chambers 323-5479 Court appearance/Jail Diversion – Tim Larson 875-5779

Veterans - will visit incarcerated veterans in need

Covers Central Iowa –Jennifer Miner– (515) 577-8892 or 699-5999 Ext. 4875 – jennifer.miner@va.gov Covers eastern Iowa – Sherri Koob, Veterans Justice Outreach Coordinator – cell 563-320-9887 sherri.koob@va.gov Veterans – will accept phone calls for assistance

Rebecca Buch, Administrator, Polk Co Veteran Affairs 286-3670 rebecca.buch@polkcountyiowa.gov

Feeling Signs of Stress? Contact: Iowa Concern Hotline 1-800-447-1985

Or Polk County Mental Health Response Team (515) 954-0409

Choices in Recovery – a free newsletter and website for mental

health recovery support. Go to http://www.choicesinrecovery.com – the newsletter can be accessed on-line or in hard copy. It offers

support and information for schizophrenia, schizoaffective, depression and bipolar.

Substance Abuse Treatment Centers –a list of providers can be

found at the Iowa Dept. of Public Health website, Bureau of Substance Abuse at: http://www.idph.state.ia.us/bh/admin_regulation.asp A map is located at: http://www.idph.state.ia.us/bh/common/pdf/treatment_service_map.pdf To enter a facility, you must have an assessment done first to determine the level of treatment needed.

Warning: Regular or heavy alcohol use can worsen

most psychological states, such as anxiety, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, or eating problems. Alcohol can

change the way a person feels in the short run; however, the overall effect only worsens a disorder. Marijuana and other drugs can have similar or more serious effects on the brain.

Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255

If you are thinking of hurting yourself, tell someone who can help. If you cannot talk to your parents, your spouse, a sibling - find someone else: another relative, a friend, or someone at a health clinic. Or, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-TALK (8255)

If you have a mental health crisis in your family and are in need of emergency assistance – call 911. Be clear with the dispatcher what the situation

is, that it is a mental health crisis, and you need the DM Mobile Mental Health Crisis Unit to assist. The goal is to keep everyone safe and to seek the appropriate level of assistance for the ill family member or friend. If you live in a surrounding city (not Des Moines), call your dispatch center. The non-emergency phone number for the mobile crisis team is 283-4811. The police liaison to the Mobile Crisis Unit is Officer Kelly Drane. Her hours are 8 to 4 Mon-Fri phone number is 205-2270.

A new team leader for the Mobile Crisis Unit is in the process of being hired. We will update this article when the hire is made.

In response to your phone call, the first people to arrive to the situation will be Des Moines police officers. Officers will determine if it is a mental health related issue and maintain safety at the scene. Officers make a request through dispatch if the Mobile Crisis Unit is needed. Mobile Crisis only takes referrals from law enforcement.

When DM Mobile Mental Health Crisis Unit staff arrive, a mental health assessment will be done, on-site counseling and problem solving, crisis plan development, coordination with hospitals if transport to a medical facility is necessary, and medication can DM suburbs also use the mobile crisis team services – their officers make the decision whether or not the mobile crisis team is called. The Mobile Crisis Unit is available 6:30 AM to 2:30 AM – 7 days week. It is staffed by licensed mental health professionals and registered nurses.

Excellent Magazines to Subscribe to:

Esperanza http://www.hopetocope.com/

for articles on Anxiety and Depression BP magazine http://www.bphope.com/

for articles on Bipolar SZ Magazine http://www.mentalwellnesstoday.com

for articles on Schizophrenia

Resources

www.namigdm.org (515) 277-0672 namigdm@gmail.com

Find Help. Find Hope.

5

MENTAL ILLNESS: THE FACTS From NAMI: In Our Own Voice

Mental illnesses are brain disorders. They are not defects in someone’s personality or a sign of poor moral character or lack of faith. They certainly do not mean that the ill person is a failure. Chemical imbalances in the brain, from unknown or incompletely known causes, are much of the reason for symptoms of mental illnesses.

Mental illnesses are like other organ diseases in which body chemistry changes. The abnormal chemistry of mental illnesses affects brain function the same way that too little or too much of other body chemicals damage the heart, kidneys or liver. A heart attack is a symptom of serious heart disease, just as hearing voices, mood swings, withdrawal from social activities, or feeling out of control are common symptoms of a mental illness.

Mental illnesses can affect people of any age, race, religion, education or income level. As you read this, five million people here in the United States are dealing with serious, chronic brain disorder. Major brain disorders include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic-depression), major depression, anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

There are many points on the continuum of wellness, and different degrees of recovery that can be reached with medication, therapy, and a strong support system.

Please send a big THANK YOU to Mara Swanson and the

Kids at Ruby Van Meter School for their assistance in

assembling our monthly newsletter.

NAMI GDM highlights of April Activities

April newsletter emailed to 1000+, mailed to 2300+ and posted to website

Newsletters and magazines to 4 area hospitals

NAMI family support groups meet in 4 locations

NAMI Connections support group meets in 1 location

One to one relational meetings continue with GDM members

2 classes of Family to Family continuing – Thursdays at Lutheran Church of Hope and Mondays at Tifereth Israel Synagogue

4-1-12 Mental Health First Aid to Class 1 at Ankeny police

4-3-12 Board orientation meeting at Smoky Row

4-4-12 GDM Executive Bd meeting and another Board orientation meeting at Smoky Row

4-5-12 Mental Health First Aid to Class 2 of Ankeny Police

4-9-12 Advocacy Group meeting at DHS Hoover Building

4-10-12 Des Moines Cluster meeting at First Christian

4-10-12 Speak to PACT Family Support Group

4-10-12 NAMI Night training at WDM Library

4-11-12 Hearing Voices presentation to Mainstream Living employees

4-11-12 NAMI GDM Board meeting at Community CPA & Associates on Ingersoll

4-12-12 CJCC meeting at HyVee Hall

4-12-12 Presentation to Children’s & Family Services at 1111 University

4-12-12 The first “NAMI Night” at Broadlawns

4-13-12 IDAN (Iowa Disability Advocacy Network) meeting

4-13-12 CIT training planning meeting

4-16-12 AMOS MH workgroup meeting

4-17-12 AMOS House meeting culmination event

4-18-12 ICORN technical assistance call

4-19-12 MHDS Commission meeting in Altoona

4-24-12 Advocacy Group meeting at DHS Hoover Building

4-24-12 Informational meeting with Warren Co. Health Dept.

4-24-12 DM VA Council meeting

4-24-12 Mitchellville Re-Entry Resource Fair at ICFW

4-25-12 NAMI Walks meeting at NAMI Iowa

4-26-12 Training at Community CPA & Associates

4-27-12 Training at Community CPA & Associates

People with Cancer Diagnosis Face Heightened Risk of Suicide:

People who learn they have cancer face a heightened risk of suicide or a fatal heart attack in the days and weeks that follow, according to a new study. Using nationwide census and death registry data that covered more than 6 million people over a 15-year period ending in 2006, Swedish researchers tabulated the suicides and cardiovascular fatalities among people with new cancer diagnoses and compared them to similar deaths in those without cancer. The risk of suicide was more than 12 times higher for people with cancer during the first week after diagnosis and nearly five times higher during the first three months, researchers report in the New England Journal of Medicine. (HealthDay News, 4/4/12)

VA Short of Psychiatrists

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is short of psychiatrists, according to government data. Vacancy rates are as high as 20 percent in many areas served by VA hospitals. The vacancies occur at a time when the number of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder is increasing by about 10,000 every three months. The VA needed to hire 266 psychiatrists last September. It took an average of eight months to fill each job, according to an internal report. (USA Today, 4/4/12)

Did You Know?

As part of their community service project work, some Iowa Wesleyan College juniors are starting a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) chapter in Henry County. Their organizational meeting was on April 17.

NAMI Greater Des Moines Board of Directors

Effective March 1, 2012

President Jim Goodrich jmrich523@gmail.com 490-2758 Vice-Pres Teresa Bomhoff tbomhoff@mchsi.com 274-6876 Treasurer Our accountant is Community CPA & Associates. Secretary Grace Sivadge rsivadge1@juno.com 961-6671 Board members

Kay Kopatich kaykopatich@q.com 252-0714 Terri Shipman rileylee2@yahoo.com 277-0672 John Hickling johnhickling515@msn.com 277-0672 Barb Glass b.b.glass@att.net 277-0672 Dawn Hansen dawn.hansen2@iowa.gov 277-0672 Jamie Lamb keno68@msn.com 277-0672 Mollie Mertens molliemertens@gmail.com 277-0672

www.namigdm.org (515) 277-0672 namigdm@gmail.com

Find Help. Find Hope.

6

State Legislation Here are 3 places on the web to access E-mail to figure out who your legislators are, to contact your legislators, get mailing addresses, and phone numbers. http://www.infonetiowa.com/ - Has the latest on legislation. Check out their great newsletters online. http://www.legis.iowa.gov http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=state_advocacy

Important Bills:

Senate File 2315 Mental Health Redesign bill Senate File 2312 Judicial bill Senate File 2336 Health and Human Service Budget bill

Polk County Waiting List Update

Here are the waiting list numbers for April 2012. They currently are admitting folks to the system as soon as they have enough information to determine their level of care:

81 – total on the waiting list

45 have mental illness 26 have intellectual disabilities 9 have developmental disabilities 1 unknown

36 are emergency cases – at risk of

hospitalization or homelessness.

Longest time on the waiting list: 266 days

Average time on the waiting list: 166 days

Average time on the waiting list for those admitted to Polk County Health Services for assistance: 60 days

Kids on Referral List: 74

2012 State Legislative Session

The 2011 State Legislature passed SF 209 which repealed the present mental health care system and the county’s ability to generate funds for mental health care effective 7-1-13. SF 525 was passed to set up a process to redesign the system.

A report of preliminary recommendations by 6 workgroups was released on 11-1-11. To read a summary of each of the redesign workgroups, please see our December newsletter posted at www.namigdm.org Click on “news & events”, then click on “newsletters”. The final DHS report on Redesign was released on Dec. 9 and included cost estimates and a timetable for implementation. To reach documents described above, go to http://www.dhs.state.ia.us/Partners/MHDSRedesign.html.

Adequate funding is a critical issue in the passage of redesign

for both FY 2013 and for long term viability of the mental health system. 1. We support the state assuming the cost of Medicaid match. 2. We support the reinstatement of the county’s ability to levy for

mental health and disability services. 3. 2013 allowed growth funding needs to be for a minimum of

$65 million to prevent system collapse. 4. We support funding for implementing the redesign. Please contact your legislator to express your support for mental health redesign and adequate funding.

Mental Health Beds in Iowa

Dec 2011 Total Beds

Adult Children and

Adolescents

Geriatric

Total State Hospital Beds At the 4 Mental Health

Institutes

140

88

32

20

Private Hospital beds statewide

609

463

90

56

Total

749

551

122

76

Crisis Stabilization beds

Sub-acute Care beds

The prevalence rate is 1 in 4 who can experience mental illness in a given year. In Iowa, of 3,000,000 people – 750,000 can experience mental illness in a mild, moderate, or severe form.

The prevalence rate for severe mental illness is 6%. In Iowa, of 3,000,000 people – 180,000(e) live with serious mental illness. 749 acute care beds for an estimated180,000 persons with serious mental illness. . .no wonder we have system failure.

Better mental health care is a human issue, medical issue, community issue and public health issue. The public needs to invest in this public health issue by demanding we have a system of care in the community, not a default system in the criminal

justice system.

"The time is always ripe to do what's right." -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

These are Medicaid waiver programs Iowa offers eligible residents to allow persons to receive necessary services to remain in their home and community rather than an institutional setting. Waiver Programs # slots there are

$’s for # on Waiting List

May 2012

Ill & Handicap, 3163 1119

AIDS/HIV 56 0

Elderly 12052 0 Intellectual Disabilities (Child) 2851 0 Intellectual Disabilities (Adult) 572 0 Brain Injury 1168 333 Physical Disability 1292 1566 Children's Mental Health 1117 674 22271 3692

Total persons on all waiver waiting lists across the state 4377-Jan 12 5471–July 11 4722-Jan 11 4918-Jan 10 3644–Jan 09 Go to: www.ime.state.ia.us Click on "Medicaid A to Z" Then choose "Home & Community Based Services." If you scroll further down on the page you will see a section called "HCBS Funding Slots." Click on the link for "Slot and Waiting List Information."

(generally placement of last resort for the most difficult to treat persons)

www.namigdm.org (515) 277-0672 namigdm@gmail.com

Find Help. Find Hope.

7

New Guidelines Shake Up Treatment of Agitation

By Scott Zeller, MD | March 27, 2012 Dr Zeller is the current President of the American Association for

Emergency Psychiatry. He is also Chief of Psychiatric Emergency Services at the Alameda County Medical Center in Oakland, CA. He is co-

editor of the comprehensive textbook Emergency Psychiatry: Principles and Practice (Lippincott, 2008).

Agitated individuals—defined as displaying “excessive verbal and/or motor behavior”—can be loud, disruptive, hostile, sarcastic, threatening, or hyperactive, even combative. Agitation is a common occurrence in emergency settings, estimated to occur nearly 2 million times per year in the United States alone.

A patient acting in an agitated way is traditionally dealt with sternly, with large, strong staff members and security personnel who typically “take down” the patient physically, and then forcefully restrain him or her to a bed using thick leather shackles. Next, clothing is lowered and as many as 3 painful sedative medications are injected into the bare hip.

This rather harsh sounding process, also known as “restrain and sedate,” has been a standard of practice for many years. The approach has staunch advocates, who insist that it is the best means of maintaining safety for the staff and others in the area.

But this stance can fail to recognize that at the center of this raucous activity is a human being— one who is commonly very scared, vulnerable, and fragile — and that the acts of forcible restraint and involuntary medication can often cause more harm than good. Further, quite often, takedowns, restraints, and injections can be easily avoided, in a way that is safer and faster —while improving both short- and long-term outcomes.

More humane, patient-centered interventions for agitation are endorsed as part of new, comprehensive best practices guidelines, published this month with open access in a 6-article special section of the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine.

1

Called Project BETA—an acronym for Best practices in Evaluation and Treatment of Agitation—the articles are the

summation of 16 months of work and over 30 physicians and mental health professionals collaborating under the auspices of the American Association for Emergency Psychiatry (AAEP).

Past guidelines for agitation have primarily focused on medication strategies. Yet Project BETA differs in recognizing that not only can agitation result from myriad origins, but its treatment is multifaceted, with pharmacology only playing one part. Thus the guidelines address the entire agitation clinical spectrum, including triage, diagnosis, and interpersonal calming skills, as well as medicine choices.

The articles are designed to be interconnected and part of a complete therapeutic approach, with the soothing techniques collectively known as “de-escalation,” an important component to

all aspects of agitation treatment. Some who question this philosophy may argue their busy emergency department does not permit time enough to attempt to engage with the patient —but they might be surprised to find these methods can often be much faster than “restrain and sedate.”

BETA Chair Garland H. Holloman, Jr, MD, PhD, of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, writes, “Verbal de-escalation can typically be quite effective in a relatively

brief period, while placing a patient in restraints can require significant staff involvement—from the time needed to ‘‘take down’’ and restrain the patient to the obligation for one-to-one observation .”

2

It is perhaps not often recognized that agitated patients can be very paranoid, delusional, and frightened by their symptoms and surroundings. Their agitation is thus more of a “fight or flight” response than actual belligerence. Agitated patients commonly want help and respond positively to collaborative, empathetic clinicians. The articles thus encourage a therapeutic alliance between staff and patients, and provide helpful step-by-step principles and algorithms to guide professionals in calming individuals without resorting to force.

The articles also report that safety is typically improved by such non coercive approaches, noting that as many as two-thirds of staff injuries involving assaultive patients occur during the avoidable physical “ takedown” process.

Studies are cited showing facilities with reductions in restraint use decreasing in staff assaults and injuries as well. Patient-staff collaboration extends to the pharmacology article also, with calls for involving patients in medication decisions, using orals over parenterals when possible, and choosing agents with more benign side-effect profiles.

Treatment recommendations are delineated by etiology of the agitation, with several alternatives for each category. The authors do note that in the present day, total elimination of the use of restraints and coercive treatments may not be possible but that attempts to decrease such interventions are worthy.

Quoting the introduction, “It is hoped that these guidelines will assist clinicians in recognizing that agitated individuals need not necessarily go straight into restraints, but instead can be treated in a more benign, collaborative fashion, which will lead to less injuries, better therapeutic alliance, improved throughput and superior long term outcomes.”

2

Table. Highlights of Project BETA’s new guidelines for agitation

De-escalation can work far more often than many clinicians might be aware; it is nearly always worth attempting verbal calming as part of agitation treatment approaches

De-escalation to the point of patient cooperation can be faster and safer than takedowns, restraints and injections

Voluntarily taken oral medications are preferable to forcible involuntary injections and enhance therapeutic alliance

Second-generation antipsychotics are as efficacious as first-generation antipsychotics in agitation, and preferable because of side effect profiles

Stimulant intoxication agitation should be treated with benzodiazepines alone

Emergency programs that have reduced use of restraints do not show increased staff assaults, and frequently have fewer staff assaults and injuries

References 1. Behavioral Emergencies: Best Practices in Evaluation and Treatment of Agitation. See: West J Emerg Med. 2012(13):1. Accessed March 27, 2012. http://escholarship.org/uc/uciem_westjem?volume=13;issue=1. 2. Holloman GH, Zeller SL. Overview of Project BETA: Best practices in Evaluation and Treatment of Agitation. West J Emerg Med. 2012;13:1-2. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/4kz5387b [pdf]. Accessed March 27, 2012. http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/psych-emergencies/content/article/10168/2051278

www.namigdm.org (515) 277-0672 namigdm@gmail.com

Find Help. Find Hope.

8

How Are Health Homes Different From Patient Centered-Medical Homes?

Category Health Homes Medical Homes

Populations served

Individuals with approved chronic conditions

All populations served

Staffing

May include primary care practices, community mental health centers, federally qualified health centers, health home agencies, ACT teams, etc.

Are typically defined as physician-led primary care practices, but also mid-level practitioners

Payers Currently are a Medicaid-only construct

In existence for multiple payers: Medicaid, commercial insurance, etc.

Care focus

Strong focus on behavioral health (including substance abuse treatment), social support, and other services (including nutrition, home health, coordinating activities, etc.)

Focused on the delivery of traditional medical care: referral and lab tracking, guideline adherence, electronic prescribing, provider-patient communication, etc.

Technology

Use of IT for coordination across continuum of care, including in-home solutions such as remote monitoring in patient homes

Use of IT for traditional care delivery

Source: Smith, Alicia. (2011, June 7). Overview of the Medicaid health home care coordination benefit. National Council webinar

Des Moines Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT)

The MCRT consists of 10 full time and part time mental health professionals – nurses, social workers, and counselors. They are employed by the Eyerly Ball Community Health Center. The team was formed in 2001.

The MCRT provides short term crisis management for people of all ages experiencing a mental health crisis.

The team is designed to assist law enforcement on these types of calls. The Mobile Crisis Response Team responds to calls from law enforcement in Dallas and Polk counties.

The goals of the Mobile Crisis Response Team are: Stabilize clients in their homes Prevent unnecessary hospitalizations Prevent unnecessary incarcerations Save valuable police time

Type of Calls

The average Police Time spent per call in 2002 was 180 minutes. The average Police Time spent per call in 2011 was 20 minutes.

Disposition of Calls

Hospital assessments for mental health cost an average of $250 – which does not include emergency room costs.

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

2002 2004 2006 2008 2010

Mobile Crisis Response Team Calls Per Fiscal Year

2002 – 445 2005 - 1894 2008 - 1930 2003 - 1224 2006 - 2138 2009 - 1915 2004 - 1789 2007 - 2038 2010 – 1912 2011 - 2101

0%

5%10%

15%20%

25%30%

35%40%

45%

FY 02 FY 03 FY 11 FY 12YTD

Suicidal

Psychosis

Child/Adol

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

FY

2002

FY

2003

FY

2011

FY

2012

YTD

Stabilized in Field

Jail

Voluntary Hosp

Involuntary Hosp

www.namigdm.org (515) 277-0672 namigdm@gmail.com

Find Help. Find Hope.

9

(cont’d - Des Moines Mobile Crisis Response Team) –

The Des Moines Mobile Crisis Response Team is financed by $450,000 annually from Polk County Health Services and from Medicaid.

Room, meds, and doctor evaluations are not included in this cost. An ambulance transport cost $500. MCRT may transport if the client is safe and not under the influence.

Costs saved from mental health evaluation for those stabilized in the field:

FY 2002 - $65,500 (262) FY 2003 - $177,500 (710) FY 2011 - $294,750 (1179) FY 2012 - $168,750 Year to date (675)

This information was provided by Officer Kelly Drane, Police Liaison to the Des Moines Mobile Crisis Team at the Polk County Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee meeting on 4-12-12.

Jail Diversion Update

Presented to the Polk County Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee 4-12-12

Jail Diversion began in Polk County in the fall of 2008 for people being served in the Polk County mental health/intellectual disability/developmental disability system.

The two program elements are:

Identification and assessment

Community support

The goals of jail diversion are:

Assess the efficacy of overlaying some functions of a mental health court approach to jail court

Identify, discuss options and get people out of fail and back to providers or link to services

Provide community support while person is waiting to access traditional supports

The number of bookings involved in jail diversion over the last 9 months (from July 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012) was 374 involving 285 people – 184 males (64%) and 36 females (36%).

Of the 285 people – 208 were already connected with Polk County mental health services and 165 were not.

Of the 208 already connected to the Polk County mental health system – 191 (91%) were linked back to the system, 15 went to prison, 1 could not be engaged, 1 in outreach

Of the 165 not connected to the Polk County mental health system – 58 were linked to the system, 66 could not be engaged, 23 in outreach, and 14 went to prison.

With the use of Community support – the number of days incarcerated dropped: 2207 days incarcerated before entering community support 1233 days incarcerated after entering community support A difference of 974 days

Lessons learned:

The jail diversion program is working with a substantial number of people that fall outside the intended target group. Results with the non-target group are mixed.

Diversion in jail court works when people have services to return to.

The number of bookings in which the person could not be engaged was surprising. These are the types of situations that a Mental Health Court best addresses.

Percentage of Prison Inmates with Psychiatric Diagnosis

Dec. 18, 2011 Des Moines Register

Fort Madison 52.8% Anamosa 42.8% Oakdale 48.3% Newton 45.4% Mount Pleasant 45.8% Rockwell City 38.5% Clarinda 47.6% Fort Dodge 39.1% Mitchellville 79.3% 2011 - # of inmates = 8787 The design capacity of Iowa’s prison system is 7666

Study: The State Of Emergency in the Emergency Rooms

Treatment Advocacy Center

In a study of more than 1,000 emergency room patients at five general hospitals in Massachusetts, a team of researchers found that, compared with the typical ER patient nationwide, psychiatric patients:

waited three times longer for care,

had four times the rate of admission or transfer, and

were 20 times more likely to stay at least 24 hours.

The researchers also found that patients with public health insurances were more likely to spend 24 hours or longer in the ER than those with private insurance.

Longer stays additionally were more likely among patients who were homeless, required transfer to psychiatric care elsewhere or required the use of restraints. Not surprising to us, the longest ER stays were in the two hospitals with the fewest inpatient psychiatric beds. The shrinking population of state hospital beds also was cited as a reason for longer ER stays.

The authors said psychiatric “boarding” in ERs contributes to ER crowding, reduces patient safety by preventing new patients from being seen, increases patient walkouts and reduces patient satisfaction with the ER experience.

To put the information in context, they said 124 million ER visits took place national in 2008 the – year of their study – and, of those, only 0.4% lasted 24 hours or more. Among the psychiatric patients they studied:

the median stay was 7.6 hours vs 2.6 hours,

the rate of hospital admission was 25% vs. 13.4%,

and the rate of transfer to a different hospital was 37.5% vs. 1.7%.

Emergency psychiatric hospitalization is a consequence of not treating severe mental illness before it reaches an acute state. As long as court-ordered outpatient treatment options are overlooked, underused or rejected, hospitals can expect to see these numbers only grow worse.

www.namigdm.org (515) 277-0672 namigdm@gmail.com

Find Help. Find Hope.

10

It Is What It Is

By Dawn Brown, NAMI Information and Referral Specialist

My son was 8 years old the first time a doctor told me he had a psychotic illness. My stunned reaction and the look of confusion on my face prompted the doctor to ask, “Do you know what psychotic means?”

Yes, I knew the meaning of the word psychotic, but I could not imagine it describing my son. I

knew him as wildly imaginative, dark and moody, prone to violent temper tantrums, unrealistically fearful and overly attached to me, but psychotic? No way.

The doctor went on to explain his clinical findings and advised a complete neurological evaluation to rule out possible medical explanations. If no neurological issues were identified, I was advised to contact a psychiatrist so that my son could begin taking anti-psychotic medications, as soon as possible. That was quite an afternoon; it marked the end of our “normal” life, and the beginning of a journey my son, Matthew, and I are still traveling.

After the initial shock of hearing the diagnosis of psychosis my first reaction was denial. The doctor must be wrong. Then as reality began to come into focus, I experienced the full range of emotions most often associated with grief including: anger, depression and a sense of loss. Finally, I came to an acceptance of my son’s mental illness and began learning all that I could about the disease, treatments, resources and support networks. I became determined to become an effective advocate for my child.

As a parent of someone with schizophrenia, I realized what an important role I played in my son’s wellbeing. If you love someone with a mental illness, you too may be the only person standing in the gap between them and homelessness, jail, abuse or suicide. At times, you may need to be their voice when they cannot speak for themselves or no one listens. Or, you may need to do the leg work involved in locating mental health services and building a support network. At others, you may need to make tough, difficult decisions that break your heart; but, if not you, who?

Being proactive in your advocacy is the best course of action. Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. Contact your NAMI affiliate or State Organization for information, support groups and referrals to local services.

Line up a trusted group of professionals: a psychiatrist, therapist, and social worker/case manager. Become familiar with your community mental health center or clinics.

Apply for disability assistance, either Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Income (SSI or SSDI) which will make it possible to access Medicaid or Medicare. Learn about supported housing and employment options. There is help available, but resources are limited.

Being patient, but persistent with mental health professionals and service providers gets the best results. However, it you believe your loved one is being abused, falsely accused, or discriminated against - a lawyer may need to represent their rights. Overtime, Matthew and I have needed to rely on all these resources.

It has been twenty years since Matthew and I began this journey. He is living with schizophrenia, and I am his mom. Schizophrenia has affected every aspect of his life, but it does not define him. Have courage, there is hope.

Scientists Identify Genes that Increase Risk of Mental Illness, Alzheimer’s

A team of international scientists have identified genes that increase or reduce the risk of certain mental illnesses and Alzheimer's disease. The researchers said they also pinpointed a number of genes that may explain individual differences in brain size and intelligence. The team of more than 200 scientists at 100 institutions worldwide measured the size of the brain and its memory centers in thousands of MRI images from more than 21,100 healthy people and screened the participants' DNA at the same time. The findings of the study, the largest brain study to date, may provide new targets for drug development. (HealthDay News, 4/15/12)

New View of Depression: An Ailment of the Entire Body

The Wall Street Journal – Shirley Wang

Scientists are increasingly finding that depression and other psychological disorders can be as much diseases of the body as of the mind.

People with long-term psychological stress, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder tend to develop earlier and more serious forms of physical illnesses that usually hit people in older age, such as stroke, dementia, heart disease and diabetes. Recent research points to what might be happening on the cellular level that could account for this.

Scientists are finding that the same changes to chromosomes that happen as people age can also be found in people experiencing major stress and depression.

The phenomenon, known as "accelerated aging," is beginning to reshape the field's understanding of stress and depression not merely as psychological conditions but as body-wide illnesses in which mood may be just the most obvious symptom.

"As we learn more…we will begin to think less of depression as a 'mental illness' or even a 'brain disease,' but as a systemic illness," says Owen Wolkowitz, a psychiatry professor at the University of California, San Francisco, who along with colleagues has conducted research in the field.

Gaining a better understanding of the mechanisms that link physical and mental conditions could someday prove helpful in diagnosing and treating psychological illnesses and improving cognition in people with memory problems, Dr. Wolkowitz says.

www.namigdm.org (515) 277-0672 namigdm@gmail.com

Find Help. Find Hope.

11

In an early look at accelerated aging, researchers at Duke University found about 20 years ago that brain scans of older people with depression showed much faster age-related loss of volume in the brain compared with people without depression. The reasons for the accelerated aging appeared to go beyond unhealthy behaviors, like smoking, diet and lack of exercise, researchers said.

Recent efforts to study what is behind accelerated aging on a cellular level have focused on telomeres, a protective covering at the ends of chromosomes that have been recognized as playing an important role in aging. Telomeres get shorter as people age, and shortened telomeres also are related to increased risk of disease and mortality.

To read the rest of the article – go to: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304587704577333941351135910.html?KEYWORDS=shirley+wang

A Veteran’s Death, A Nation’s Shame

The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof

HERE’S a window into a tragedy within the American military: For every soldier killed on the battlefield this year, about 25 veterans are dying by their own hands.

An American soldier dies every day and a half, on average, in Iraq or Afghanistan. Veterans kill themselves at a rate of one every 80 minutes. More than 6,500 veteran suicides are logged every year — more than the total number of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq combined since those wars began.

These unnoticed killing fields are places like New Middletown, Ohio, where Cheryl DeBow raised two sons, Michael and Ryan Yurchison, and saw them depart for Iraq. Michael, then 22, signed up soon after the 9/11 attacks. “I can’t just sit back and do nothing,” he told his mom. Two years later, Ryan followed his beloved older brother to the Army.

When Michael was discharged, DeBow picked him up at the airport — and was staggered. “When he got off the plane and I picked him up, it was like he was an empty shell,” she told me. “His body was shaking.” Michael began drinking and abusing drugs, his mother says, and he terrified her by buying the same kind of gun he had carried in Iraq. “He said he slept with his gun over there, and he needed it here,” she recalls.

Then Ryan returned home in 2007, and he too began to show signs of severe strain. He couldn’t sleep, abused drugs and alcohol, and suffered extreme jitters.

“He was so anxious, he couldn’t stand to sit next to you and hear you breathe,” DeBow remembers. A talented filmmaker, Ryan turned the lens on himself to record heartbreaking video of his own sleeplessness, his own irrational behavior — even his own mock suicide.

One reason for veteran suicides (and crimes, which get far more attention) may be post-traumatic stress disorder, along with a related condition, traumatic brain injury. Ryan suffered a concussion in an explosion in Iraq, and Michael finally had traumatic brain injury diagnosed two months ago.

Estimates of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury vary widely, but a ballpark figure is that the problems afflict at least one in five veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq. One study

found that by their third or fourth tours in Iraq or Afghanistan, more than one-quarter of soldiers had such mental health problems.

Preliminary figures suggest that being a veteran now roughly doubles one’s risk of suicide. For young men ages 17 to 24, being a veteran almost quadruples the risk of suicide, according to a study in The American Journal of Public Health.

Michael and Ryan, like so many other veterans, sought help from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Eric Shinseki, the secretary of veterans affairs, declined to speak to me, but the most common view among those I interviewed was that the V.A. has improved but still doesn’t do nearly enough about the suicide problem.

“It’s an epidemic that is not being addressed fully,” said Bob Filner, a Democratic congressman from San Diego and the senior Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee. “We could be doing so much more.”

To its credit, the V.A. has established a suicide hotline and appointed suicide-prevention coordinators. It is also chipping away at a warrior culture in which mental health concerns are considered sissy. Still, veterans routinely slip through the cracks. Last year, the United States Court of Appeals in San Francisco excoriated the V.A. for “unchecked incompetence” in dealing with veterans’ mental health.

Patrick Bellon, head of Veterans for Common Sense,, which filed the suit in that case, says the V.A. has genuinely improved but is still struggling. “There are going to be one million new veterans in the next five years,” he said. “They’re already having trouble coping with the population they have now, so I don’t know what they’re going to do.”

Last month, the V.A.’s own inspector general reported on a 26-year-old veteran who was found wandering naked through traffic in California. The police tried to get care for him, but a V.A. hospital reportedly said it couldn’t accept him until morning. The young man didn’t go in, and after a series of other missed opportunities to get treatment, he stepped in front of a train and killed himself.

Likewise, neither Michael nor Ryan received much help from V.A. hospitals. In early 2010, Ryan began to talk more about suicide, and DeBow rushed him to emergency rooms and pleaded with the V.A. for help. She says she was told that an inpatient treatment program had a six-month waiting list. (The V.A. says it has no record of a request for hospitalization for Ryan.)

“Ryan was hurting, saying he was going to end it all, stuff like that,” recalls his best friend, Steve Schaeffer, who served with him in Iraq and says he has likewise struggled with the V.A. to get mental health services. “Getting an appointment is like pulling teeth,” he said. “You get an appointment in six weeks when you need it today.”

On the Ground

While Ryan was waiting for a spot in the addiction program, in May 2010, he died of a drug overdose. It was listed as an accidental death, but family and friends are convinced it was suicide.

The heartbreak of Ryan’s death added to his brother’s despair, but DeBow says Michael is now making slow progress. “He is able to get out of bed most mornings,” she told me. “That is a huge improvement.” Michael asked not to be interviewed: he wants to look forward, not back.

www.namigdm.org (515) 277-0672 namigdm@gmail.com

Find Help. Find Hope.

12

As for DeBow, every day is a struggle. She sent two strong, healthy men to serve her country, and now her family has been hollowed in ways that aren’t as tidy, as honored, or as easy to explain as when the battle wounds are physical. I wanted to make sure that her family would be comfortable with the spotlight this article would bring, so I asked her why she was speaking out.

“When Ryan joined the Army, he was willing to sacrifice his life for his country,” she said. “And he did, just in a different way, without the glory. He would want it this way.”

“My home has been a nightmare,” DeBow added through tears, recounting how three of Ryan’s friends in the military have killed themselves since their return. “You hear my story, but it’s happening everywhere.”

We refurbish tanks after time in combat, but don’t much help men and women exorcise the demons of war.

Presidents commit troops to distant battlefields, but don’t commit enough dollars to veterans’ services afterward. We enlist soldiers to protect us, but when they come home we don’t protect them.

“Things need to change,” DeBow said, and her voice broke as she added: “These are guys who went through so much. If anybody deserves help, it’s them.”

What is a Psychiatric Advance Directive (PAD)?

A Psychiatric Advance Directive (PAD) is a legal document written by a currently competent person who lives with a mental illness. It describes the person’s mental health treatment preferences, or names an agent to make treatment decisions for the individual, should he or she become unable to make such decisions due to psychiatric illness. There are two kinds of PADs:

Instructive PADs, in which an individual gives instructions

about the specific mental health treatment desired should the individual experience a psychiatric crisis.

Proxy PADs, in which the individual names a health care proxy or agent to make treatment decisions when the individual is unable to do so.

Most states permit one kind or the other, or a combination of both instructions and a proxy. At times a psychiatric advance directive is combined with a general medical advance directive.

To find out more information about Psychiatric Advance Directives, go to the NAMI National website at: http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=137779&lstid=275 or go to the National Resource Center for Psychiatric Advance Directives www.NRC-PAD.org

Connie Francis: Dick Clark Was ‘There For Every Crisis’ – Including Involuntary Hospitalization

Treatment Advocacy Center

International recording star Connie Francis says the late Dick Clark – who died Wednesday at 82 – was a lifelong safety net for her, including a period during the 1980s when she was hospitalized involuntarily 17 times for mental illness.

“Yes, I had during the '80s -- actually 17 commitments, involuntary commitments to mental institutions. and the first time Dick heard about it, he flew on a private plane, and Dick didn't like to spend a lot of money,”

Francis, 73, told Piers Morgan during a CNN retrospective on the music pioneer and icon of American Bandstand.

“He begged on his knees for me to take lithium because I was diagnosed, actually misdiagnosed for bipolar,” Francis said. She didn't identify the diagnosis that succeeded bipolar, but she has previously said she attempted suicide as a result of crushing depression.

“Another time, he came to my home in Bel Air and had me committed because he thought that's what I needed to be, to be committed. He has been there for every crisis of my life.”

Francis was the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s and remained a top concert draw long after her recording career ended. She has performed as recently as November.

Within the last week, she is the second female celebrity to talk about living with mental illness. Actress Kim Novak, 79, told an audience at the TCM Classic Film Festival last week that she suffers from bipolar disorder. Rosemary Clooney, Axl Rose, Charley Pride, Demi Lovato, the late singer Amy Winehouse, and rapper DMX (Dark Man X) are among the many other celebrities who have publicly acknowledged struggling with bipolar disorder.

Acknowledgements like this help the public understand that severe mental illness can - and does - happen to anyone. Stories like the ones Francis tells about Dick Clark remind us all of the the difference "being there" for loved ones in acute psychiatric crisis can make. The interview with Connie Francis can be seen on YouTube.

Justice Department joins mental health rights suit Case cites too few community options

Concord Monitor - March 29, 2012

The federal Department of Justice has joined a class-action lawsuit that accuses the state of cutting community mental health services and instead needlessly institutionalizing people at the state hospital and at a home for the elderly.

The lawsuit was brought in federal court in February by the Disabilities Rights Center against Gov. John Lynch and state Health and Human Services officials. It alleges the state has repeatedly violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by exiling the mentally ill rather than treating them in their own communities.

In announcing the decision to join the case, John Kacavas, U.S. attorney for the District of New Hampshire, said the state responds to people in mental crisis by forcing them to spend days at local emergency rooms until they can be brought to the state hospital, sometimes by the police.

The Monitor reported last week that the waiting list to get into the state hospital has reached historic highs this month, with as many as 20 people waiting in local emergency rooms for a state hospital bed.

"This costly and traumatic process could be avoided if New Hampshire offered proven and effective services in the community to prevent and de-escalate crises, help people maintain safe housing and assist them in finding and holding employment," Kacavas said in a written statement.

Stop Blaming Me For My Daughter’s Illness

Susan Inman, HuffPost, Canada 4-27-12

As the parent of someone with a severe schizoaffective disorder, I'm used to being viewed with suspicion. Sometimes the pathologizing gaze occurs in unexpected places. Following the

www.namigdm.org (515) 277-0672 namigdm@gmail.com

Find Help. Find Hope.

13

(cont’d-Stop Blaming Me for My Daughter’s Illness) publication of an article I wrote for B.C. Teacher the importance of educating staff in

schools about mental disorders, a fellow teacher asked me if I knew what we'd done to cause my daughter's illness.

The unjustified suspicion of mental health professionals can be even more damaging. When we took our floundering teenage daughter

to a credentialed counseling psychologist, we knew nothing about severe mental illnesses. As it turned out, neither did she. Her training included no material on psychotic disorders. Instead, it focused on psychodynamic theories, which look for the causes of current problems in people's early childhood experiences. Her misguided assumptions, fed by her training, led to chaos in the early years of our daughter's illness and to an unnecessarily long and dangerous psychotic episode.

Even with recent decades of robust research in neuroscience, parental caregivers of people with psychotic disorders soon learn that their interactions with the mental health system will be filled with blame. Many mental health clinicians in Canada, like our daughter's counselor, have had no science-based training on schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Too often their interactions with families weaken the bonds that the illnesses have already frayed.

Psychiatry, for most of the 20th century, used the theories of Freud, which were never based on evidence-based research, to develop elaborate ways of blaming parents for schizophrenia. The Canadian Psychiatric Association now explicitly describes schizophrenia as a treatable brain disorder that is not caused by poor parenting.

Our relationship with our daughter's psychiatrist has been extraordinary. I believe it is responsible for her unexpected recovery. When the psychiatric team at Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital first met her, she was one of the most severely psychotic teenagers they had ever seen. From the time that one member of this team, our daughter's current psychiatrist, began to work with her, he listened carefully to our input as we navigated the arduous path to her stability.

Even with this history of mutual respect, my husband and I were stunned recently when we were discussing strategies for managing any difficulties that might emerge during an upcoming trip. He stopped the discussion, looked at us, and said, "You guys are such great parents!"

I'm immersed in a community of parental caregivers in Vancouver and have been asking if anyone has ever been told anything like this. The answer is, "Never." These friends, who constantly inspire me with their energy, dedication and resourcefulness in advocating for their struggling children, find it hard to imagine hearing this kind of supportive response. Instead, my question is usually greeted with yet another account of the wounding of families by the mental health system.

Some parents do receive much-needed support from their own family physicians, who also provide primary healthcare to their often unstable sons and daughters. For many years, both my husband and I have freely vented, grieved, and tried to problem solve with the informed and compassionate help of our family doctor.

In recent years, the Canadian Psychiatric Association and the College of Family Physicians of Canada have begun an active collaboration including an annual Shared Care conference. Much of the focus has been on helping family physicians become more knowledgeable in responding to the serious mental illnesses they are increasingly being asked to manage.

The upcoming Shared-Care conference in Vancouver offers richly informative sessions for family physicians. However, I don't see any sessions that provide family physicians opportunities to share their often considerable expertise in helping parents survive their daunting tasks. Fortunately, this kind of conference does invite informal communication on just these kinds of overlooked topics. Since family caregivers for people with severe mental illnesses save the healthcare system money, new ways of supporting them are well worth considering.

Susan Inman wrote the book “After Her Brain Broke: Helping My Daughter Recover Her Sanity”.

The results are in…AMOS Issues Summit

AMOS members will be meeting on Thursday, June 7, at 7 P.M. at First Christian Church at 25

th & University. Please plan to join us:

Learn how to organize an Issue Research team

Join one of the AMOS issue research teams

Take action on the issue that matters most to you!

Top issues from the Radical Justice House Meeting Campaign include:

Youth and Education – special education programs, school lunches, bullying, lack of funding

Criminal Justice – racial profiling, mandatory minimum sentencing, racial discrimination, incarceration rate of African Americans

Economic Justice – declining wages, lack of good jobs, predatory lending, lack of affordable housing

Health Care (All) – desperate need for mental health care reform, rising costs of health care, increased demands on safety net health care, access to care

Immigration – no ability to drive for immigrants without documents, bright kids can’t attend college, living in constant fear, no viable path to citizenship

Investigation Finds Long VA Wait Times

An internal investigation at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) says tens of thousands of veterans waited far longer last year to receive mental health treatment than what the VA contends. It found that claims by the VA that 95 percent of its patients are both evaluated for mental health problems and begin receiving therapy within a 14-day goal set by the department are false.

In fact, only about half of mental patients were evaluated within two weeks. The remainder waited an average of seven weeks, the investigation found. (The Washington Post, 4/24/12)

Veterans and Brain Disease

An autopsy of the brain of a veteran who completed suicide revealed his brain had been physically changed by a disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). That’s a degenerative condition best known for affecting boxers, football players and other athletes who endure repeated blows to the brain. Is this what’s increasing suicides? To read more, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/opinion/kristof-veterans-and-brain-disease.html?_r=2

www.namigdm.org (515) 277-0672 namigdm@gmail.com

Find Help. Find Hope.

14

National Alliance on Mental Illness of Greater Des Moines Box 12174 Des Moines, Iowa 50312

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

How can you help individuals with mental illness and their families?

Volunteer Tax Deductible Donations Become a member Dues of $35 or $5 (limited income) On-line at www.namigdm.org Or send a check payable to: NAMI Greater Des Moines Box 12174 Des Moines, Iowa 50312 Our email is namigdm@gmail.com Phone: 515-277-0672

NONPROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID DES MOINES IA PERMIT NO. 34

We invite you to join us and volunteer for committee and project work.

Committees Education/Program

Support Group Marketing

Development/fundraising Volunteer Engagement/Membership Governance/Nominating/Standards

Finance Legislative/advocacy

Would you like to help NAMI Greater Des Moines by volunteering? Contact Kay at kaykopatich@q.com or 252-0714

Would you like to help NAMI Greater Des Moines by volunteering? Contact Kay at kaykopatich@q.com

Your help will enable us to continue: Website Monthly newsletter Family member support groups Connections Peer support groups NAMI Family to Family education NAMI Peer to Peer education NAMI GDM Partners in Recovery NAMI Basics Mental Health First Aid NAMI Walks Presentations to the community Advocacy Conference exhibits Hearing Voices experience workshop Provider In-Service “30 Pearls”

Your help will enable us to expand to: Additional support groups like Kidshops Parents and Teachers as Allies Updated NAMI Provider Education NAMI De Familia a Familia In Our Own Voice Adequate office space

A New Opportunity – “Kidshops”!

We are asking for volunteers to help plan and implement “Kidshops”. Kidshops are for children and adolescents ages 7 to 17 who are siblings of children/adolescents with severe emotional disorder – or – children/adolescents of parents with mental illness. It is estimated there will be 4-6 Kidshops per year - each will be 3-4 hours long on a Saturday. Primary pieces to each “Kidshop” will be a support group atmosphere, age appropriate education about mental illness, and “Fun, Fun, Fun” activities. If you are interested in helping – please contact John Hickling at johnhickling515@msn.com. With financial support, we hope to offer “KIdshops” at no cost to Greater Des Moines area families.

NAMI Greater Des Moines

follows the Iowa Principles & Practices

for Charitable Nonprofit Excellence

Psychiatrists to Debate Changing Name of PTSD:

A group of psychiatrists will hold a hearing today to debate changing the name of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Military officers and some psychiatrists say dropping the word "disorder" in favor of "injury" will reduce the stigma that stops troops from seeking treatment. The potential new name would be post traumatic stress injury. Advocates supporting the name change say it would reduce stigma and encourage service members suffering from the condition to seek help. (The Washington Post, 5/5/12)