Join Our 2014 NAMIWalk Event!  

  

When: Saturday, October 11, 2014 - 8:30 AM registration, 10:00 AM walk
Where: Fitton Center for Creative Arts, 101 S. Monument Ave, Hamilton, OH 45011

Are you registered for the 2014 NAMIWalk?  Register today at NAMIWalks Butler County to walk as an individual or register as a Team Captain!  It is not too late! Help us reach our goal of 500 walkers and $60,000.  Any walker raising over $100 will receive a free NAMIWalks T-shirt, plus a chance to win a gift basket worth at least $100!  It's as simple as "Get 10 to Give $10"! - ask ten friends to donate $10 and you've reached the $100 per walker goal!

News From NAMI On Campus - Miami University, Oxford 

by Zachary Adkins, President 

At the August 2014 Mega Fair, the recruitment fair for all the student organizations on the Oxford campus, over 150 new students expressed interest in the NAMI on Campus chapter at Miami University. The first meeting had a turnout of about 30 people and one of our existing members gave a presentation on the symptoms and effects of ADHD on individuals, as he himself experiences these effects every day. These presentations occur at every meeting and are an educational tool designed to help the club learn more about mental illnesses and experience first hand accounts of their effects, as many of the presenters live with the disorders they present. The first program that we have sponsored this semester was the co-hosting of Ross Szabo, a leader and speaker for mental health, to come and talk about his own life with bipolar disorder and how he and others can learn to live healthily. Our chapter will also be assisting the Student Counseling Services Center on campus during the upcoming suicide prevention week as September comes to a close, and is assembling a team to participate in the NAMI Walk for Butler County in October.

Upcoming Education Meeting Speakers:

Join us for our free Education Meetings the third Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM.  Meetings are held at the Mental Health Board office located at 5963 Boymel Drive in Fairfield.  All are welcome! 

November 20th:    NAMIWalk Celebration!

Join us as we celebrate our 2014 NAMIWalk successes! Everyone is welcome, individuals, Team Captains, Sponsors, donors, "virtual walkers" and even those who weren't able to participate at all this year. Come share the joy as we celebrate our 2014 event!   

 December 18th:   NO MEETING - HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

A Glimpse of the NAMI 2014 National Convention   

by Denyce Peyton, Program Director 

         

"Advocates for Change", the 2014 NAMI National conference convened in Washington, D.C. on September 3, and included some dynamic and inspirational speakers, informative workshops and the National Day of Action on Capitol Hill.   Attendees had the opportunity to visit Capitol Hill and personally address respective congressional legislative and staff aides regarding the critical need for mental health care reform. In addition to sharing lunch with Ohio legislative aides, NAMI Butler County representatives visited the House office of John Boehner and spoke with his staff and legislative aides, sharing our stories and urging him to support much needed mental health care reform.   

A comprehensive review of the convention requires more space than we have in this issue. Workshops and forums focused on proactive tools to engage people in necessary services and support, rather than relying primarily on the reactive options of court ordered treatment and civil commitment. We learned about positive, engaging options of service and support that includes clients and health care professionals working together and not as opposing parties, and groups that provide education and programs to supplement medical treatment.

NAMI engaged a myriad of speakers/presenters with impressive experiences relevant to mental health education and advocacy. A few of them included:

• Patrick Kennedy, former United States Representative from Rhode Island and co-founder of One Mind for Research, http://www.onemind.org and founder of the Kennedy Forum on Community Mental Health, http://www.patrickjkennedy.net.
• Thomas Insel, MD, the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a component of the National Institutes of Health, http://www.nimh.nih.gov.
• Melody Moezzi, an Iranian-American activist, attorney and author. Her latest book, "Halidol and Hyacinths: A Bipolar Life" is a memoir reflecting on her experiences with clinical and cultural bipolarity.
• Judge Robert Russell, an Associate Judge for Buffalo City Court and Acting Erie County Court Judge. He created the nation's first "Veteran's Treatment Court", serving veterans with substance dependency and/or mental illness by diverting them to a specialized veterans court.
• Creigh Deeds, JD, Senator from Virginia's 25th district. He has personal family experience with untreated serious mental illness with his late son, Gus, who lived with bipolar disorder. Senator Deeds sponsored legislative action in Virginia to reform the availability of inpatient psychiatry beds and expand requirements for emergency treatment and stabilization.
• Brigette Wetherby of NAMI Louisville, Kentucky, the mother of a CET (Cognitive Enhancement Therapy) graduate who spoke with honesty and compassion about her personal family experience, her son's illness and his recovery process, enhanced by CET.

Here is a summary of a few workshops:

• CET: An EBP [Evidence Base Practice] Improving Cognitive and Social Functioning, presented by Ray Gonzalez, ACSW, LISW-S of the Center for Cognition and Recovery in Cleveland, Ohio. CET or Cognitive Enhancement Therapy involves a combination of specialized computer exercises, social cognition groups and individual coaching. The program focuses on helping those with poor concentration and memory, difficulty understanding or expressing feelings, difficulty integrating thoughts, feelings and behaviors and slow thinking processes. CET uses a coaching methodology and involves 48 weekly sessions. The attendance rate is 80% to 90% and the graduation rate is 80% to 85%. You will find more detailed information at http://cetcleveland.org. Plan of Southwest Ohio in Blue Ash also offers CET training http://www.planswohio.org/.

• Recovery-Oriented Care in Psychiatry is a collaborative initiative by the American Psychiatric Association and the American Association of Community Psychiatrists. The initiative works to further the understanding and use of recovery-oriented services in psychiatry through developed online training modules. "The recovery process is driven by the individual and supported by the clinician", through focusing on hope and important goals, understanding people in the context of their whole lives, helping with skills, inspiring a positive self image, promoting collaborative doctor-patient partnerships and emphasizing education and self-help. This is done through creating a welcoming environment, focusing on person-centered care, creating a partnership between doctor and client and collaborative decision-making. You can access more information at http://www.psychiatry.org/recovery. Recovery-oriented care training began in 2013 and continues. In eight pilot training locations, a cross-section of psychiatrists, medical students, residents, other mental health professionals, peers and family members participated.

• Estate and Special Needs Planning. This presentation included an overview on estate planning, public benefits selecting and using trusts in planning for family members and options for decision by and for your family member. The presentation was addressed so many crucial areas that a summary description will not do it justice. If estate and special needs planning is a concern for you, I recommend you access the Special Needs Alliance website at http://www.specialneedsalliance.org. This group is a national, not for profit organization of attorneys dedicated to the practice of disability and public benefits law. The site includes numerous articles addressing disability issues, special needs trusts, estate planning and more.

This year's convention truly lived up to its name, "Advocates for Change" as workshops and speakers focused on recovery, advocacy, system reform programs and increased collaboration between medical professionals and clients.

Book Reviews

Stronger

by Jeff Bauman

 27 year old Boston native Jeff Bauman's life is changed forever when he loses both legs in the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. Jeff had been at the race to watch his girlfriend and saw the bomber set down the backpack bomb. After the blast three civilians saved Jeff's life by getting him into a wheelchair and to the hospital. Jeff became a celebrity as his photo became the face of the city and the motto "Boston Strong" took hold. Today, Jeff is able to live comfortably from charitable donations and is able to walk with prosthetic legs. He lives outside Boston in his own home with his girlfriend Erin.  

My Rating:

Membership Update 

 We currently have 98 members as of September 29, 2014 and 1,021 people who receive our email communications. Remember, however, that your NAMI membership is a one-year membership, and therefore needs to be renewed each year. Please don't forget to renew your membership before it expires!  

Sign Up or Renew Online click "add to cart" and pay with PayPal!

Annual Membership Dues:

Individual ...........................................................................$35.00

Open Door (Hardship cases).............................................$3.00