NAMI on WQED-TV's "On Q"

NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania is set to appear live tonight on the WQED-TV show "On Q" at 7:30 p.m.

A follow-up to last night's documentary "A Cry For Help," tonight's 30-minute show will cover the topic of teenage depression and suicide.

Host Michael Bartley will lead a panel including NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania Executive Director Christine Michaels, MSHSA, and NAMI Board Member Charma Dudley, PhD, FPPR, the clinical director at Family Resources of PA. Dr. Dudley has authored a book called Treating Depressed Children.

Rounding out the panel will be Maria Silva, the mother of a local teen who has depression. Maria is employed by the Allegheny Family Network.

For more information about depression, suicide and other forms of mental illness, visit the NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania website or call (412) 366-3788.

NAMI On Channel 11 News

Nearly 300 people attended NAMI's annual education conference on Saturday, April 18. They raved about the speakers, whose presentations, panels and workshops enlightened and educated the audience. We were pleased to welcome a special guest, David Johnson, anchor of Channel 11 News. With David's support, the conference received television coverage on a couple of newscasts. Above is a clip from Saturday's 6 o'clock news. If you cannot see this, click here for a free download of Apple's Quick Time, which you can install easily in under a minute.

The Day Has Come!

It is with great excitement that we leave our office this afternoon for the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott in preparation for the NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania Annual Education Conference tomorrow from 8 to 4:30 p.m.

The topic Take Back Your Life: Living Longer with Serious Mental Illness is something we have focused on for the past year. We will continue to explore this issue until we find a way to reverse the fact that people with serious mental illness are dying 25 years sooner than the rest of the population.

With an exceptional roster of speakers traveling from as far as Montana, the conference will highlight a variety of reasons people with mental illness are dying prematurely. More important, our attendees will leave the conference informed and inspired to "take back" those potentially lost years.

For those who have not registered, walk-ins are welcome. Click here for event details.

Thank you to all of our supporters, especially the sponsors who funded this event, including Lilly, Community Care Behavioral Health, Allegheny HealthChoices, Staunton Farm Foundation, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Value Behavioral Health of PA and the Allegheny County Department of Human Services.

Join our fiesta

It's not too late to join us for the Max Mex benefit dinner one week from today on Tuesday, April 21 from 6 to 9 p.m.

For a $25 donation to NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania, you will enjoy appetizers, entree, dessert and soft drinks at Mad Mex in Robinson. Tax and gratuity are included. All proceeds benefit NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania.

For more information or to reserve your seat at our fiesta, call Alan Corn at (412) 281-7333 or email acorn@cartallegheny.org.

Support the The Post Deployment Health Assessment Act of 2009

Matt Kuntz, the keynote speaker at our upcoming Annual Education Conference, has asked us to take a few minutes to contact our Congressional Representatives and Senators to ask them to support comprehensive mental health screenings for our returning soldiers.

Two years ago, Matt, the Executive Director of NAMI Montana and one of President Obama's "18 Ordinary Americans Making an Extraordinary Difference," lost his step-brother Chris Dana to a post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) induced suicide sixteen months after he returned from Iraq.

The events around Chris’s death led Governor Brian Schweitzer and the Montana National Guard to develop the premier program in the country for caring for National Guard members suffering from PTSD. Matt says, "The foundation of this successful system is a series of five face-to-face mental health screenings that every returning service member must complete upon their return home from combat."

This broad screening program overcomes the traditional barriers that have kept service members from receiving treatment for PTSD. Over forty percent of the individuals that have completed the screening asked for help in dealing with their combat stress injuries.

Senator Max Baucus introduced “The Post Deployment Health Assessment Act of 2009” to implement this common sense screening program throughout our fighting force. The Act would require face-to-face screening before deployment, upon return home, and then every six months for two years. This basic and effective program will help safeguard the mental health of our entire fighting force for approximately the same price tag as a single F-22 Fighter. The Act is supported by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the National Guard Association, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

Please take a few minutes out of your day to contact your Congressional Representatives and Senators to ask them to support this critical legislation. Our military suicide rates are at record levels and climbing. We can’t afford to wait any longer to help our heroes get the care they deserve. You can follow this link to find your Representatives’ and Senators’ contact information: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/.

Scholarships Available for NAMI Conference

The Human Services Administration Organization (HSAO) is offering tuition scholarships for parents in Allegheny County to attend NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania's Annual Education Conference on Saturday, April 18.

Parents with children under the age of 18 in Allegheny County qualify for this scholarship. Regular cost of tuition is $40 for consumers of mental health services or family members, and $75 for mental health professionals.

To qualify, complete the Conference Registration Form, writing in "HSAO Scholarship." Then fax it to (412) 366-3935.

There are a limited number of scholarships available, and they are awarded on a first come/first serve basis.

For more information on the conference, see our Conference Brochure. For more information on mental illness or to register online, visit our website.

Online Support Group for OCD

We recently learned of a free online support group for individuals with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, also known as OCD.

What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?

Obsessions are intrusive, irrational thoughts -- unwanted ideas or impulses that repeatedly well up in a person's mind. Again and again, the person experiences disturbing thoughts, such as "My hands must be contaminated; I must wash them." Or "I may have left the gas stove on" or "I am going to injure my child."

On one level, the sufferer knows these obsessive thoughts are irrational. But on another level, he or she fears these thoughts might be true. Trying to avoid such thoughts creates great anxiety.

Compulsions are repetitive rituals such as handwashing, counting, checking, hoarding or arranging. An individual repeats these actions, perhaps feeling momentary relief, but without feeling satisfaction or a sense of completion. People with OCD feel they must perform these compulsive rituals or something bad will happen.

Most people at one time or another experience obsessive thoughts or compulsive behaviors. OCD occurs when an individual experiences obsessions and compulsions for more than an hour each day, in a way that interferes with his or her life.

OCD is often described as "a disease of doubt." Sufferers experience "pathological doubt" because they are unable to distinguish between what is possible, what is probable and what is unlikely to happen.

Click here for more detailed information on OCD. For more information on other mental illnesses, visit the NAMI Southwestern Pennsylvania website and click on "Inform Yourself."

NAMI's Neighbor Offers New Support Group

NAMI is all about supporting its neighbors, especially when they are offering a new support group to help people in our region.

Our neighbor in the North Hills of Pittsburgh -- Spiegel Friedman Psychological Associates -- is providing a new support group specifically for male survivors of sexual abuse. Here is what Dr. Jeffrey Freedman shared with us below:

It is estimated that 16 percent of males – or roughly one of every six – are sexually abused prior to the age of 18. More often than not, the perpetrator is someone who is well known and had been trusted.

The effects of abuse reach far beyond physical violation. For these survivors – both boys and men – the safety of their world has been violated. As children, they often isolate themselves and keep private the experience of being abused. It is common for them to have overwhelming feelings of shame and fear. Without caring attention, these children can grow into adulthood with heightened feelings of anxiety, depression, and symptoms associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Many of these men report experiencing a number of disturbances including: confusion between sexual orientation and gender role, the fear of intimacy, eating disorders, sexual and substance addictions, aggressive behavior, self-harm, self-blame and self-hate.

Childhood sexual abuse does not stop with the violent act; its emotional, social, and physical effects can, without help, continue to plague the person well into their future.

Spiegel Freedman is offering group therapy for males with histories of childhood sexual abuse. Group treatment will begin in April and run for 10 weeks on Tuesday evenings. These groups will be facilitated by Jozef Spiegel, Ph.D. Dr. Spiegel, is the author of numerous articles, books and plays, including the award-winning publication, “SAM: The Sexual Abuse of Males.”

For information, call (412) 367-9800 or visit http://www.spiegelfreedmanpsych.com/.

In addition, NAMI Southwestern PA is hosting a workshop on Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) at its annual conference on Saturday, April 18. Visit our website for registration information, and download our conference brochure for more details (see page 10) on the PTSD workshop.