October 2014 NAMI Newsletter

National Alliance on Mental Illness
555 Northgate Drive, #280
San Rafael, CA 94903
Marin’s Voice
On Mental Illness and Recovery
Office Hours: Monday-Friday 1-3 pm
415-444-0480 namimarinoffice@gmail.com www.namimarin.org
SHOT IN THE HEAD
At NAMI Marin’s September General Meeting, author and mental health activist Katherine
Flannery Dering gave a presentation based on her
new book, Shot In The Head, about her family’s
experience caring for her brother Paul diagnosed
with schizophrenia as a teenager in 1976. The
title is a reference to Paul’s delusion that his illness was due to being literally shot in the head.
Katherine said she wrote this book because most
of the literature she found on schizophrenia was
filled with facts and statistics but didn’t offer
much in the way of a family’s experience carIlene and Katherine at NAMI Conference in
ing for a loved one with schizophrenia.
Washington DC, September 4, 2014
Letting the Voices Out
Flannery Dering read a number of passages to the audience from the book that illustrated
the problems experienced by her brother Paul and the family’s difficulty understanding, adjusting to and caring for him. After Paul’s first outbreak of bizarre behavior at age 16, he
drove away in the family car, was later stopped by the police for erratic driving and, after
babbling incomprehensively, was brought to the psych ward of the local hospital. “That was
when local hospitals still had psych wards,” she commented. At the hospital, a psychiatrist
told Katherine’s parents, “You won’t believe me right now but your son is schizophrenic
and he will never get better. You can spend money on private doctors but it won’t make any
difference. You have nine other children, see to them. Paul will be better off at a state mental
hospital.”
Flannery Dering’s parents ignored the advice and took Paul to Cornell Medical Center
and NYU where doctors essentially repeated the prognosis they had already been given.
Paul was hospitalized, put on medication and enrolled in a program with cognitive group
behavior sessions. He was let out for weekends to spend with the family, but that went rather
badly. Increasingly, Paul argued with his father, stayed up all night talking to himself and
chain smoking cigarettes, or left the house to meet friends and get stoned. Once, asked what
he was doing in the bathroom with a razor he said, “I’m shaving my hair at this one spot
above my ear to let all the voices out.”
After a series of similar incidents and one episode where he threatened family members
with violence, Katherine’s parents decided that maybe the doctors were right and that they
could not handle him by themselves, even for limited visits. They then committed Paul to
the state mental hospital in New York State.
Lack of Progress
The C.U.RE For Schizophrenia – Care Until Recovery
Flannery Dering told the audience
that
despite significant progress in
Schizophrenia
Recovery
Rates
Vary
Schizophrenia Recovery Rates Vary
treating bipolar with new medications,
40%
40%
researchers have been unable to make
35%
35%
much progress treating schizophrenia.
In recovery
In
Recovery
30%
30%
She showed slides depicting schizo25%
25%
25%
25%
Much improved
Much
Improved
phrenia recovery rates. “After 10 years
20%
20%
Req
Extensive
from diagnosis, only 25% of those with
Req extensive support
15%
15%
Support
schizophrenia have shown significant
10%
Hospitalized
Little
10%
Hospitalized,
Improvement
improvement, 25% have showed parunimproved
5%
5%
Dead (mostly
suicide)
tial recovery and require assistance,
Dead
(mostly
0%
0%
suicide)
after10
10 years
after 30
years After
and another 25% require extensive
30years
years
0% After
social, medical and psychological supwww.shotintheheadbook.com
www.paulslegacyproject.org
Source: Surviving Schizophrenia, by Dr. E. Fuller Torrey
October 2014
NAMI Marin Calendar
Second Monday,
Board Meeting, 6:30 pm
555 Northgate Dr., San Rafael
Third Monday,
NAMI Marin General Meeting
see page 8
1st Wednesday,
FamFest, see page 8
1st & 3rd Thursdays
Latino Family Support Group, page 7
2nd & 4th Tuesdays
Family Support Group, page 7
Family-to-Family 12 Week Course
Call (415) 444-0480 see page 8
4th Wednesday,
Volunteer Lunch Meeting, 11:301pm in the NAMI Conference Room.
Inside
HR-3717 Update
3
Why Implement Laura’s
Law in Marin County?
Repeal Medicaid Exclusion
3
Become an Advocate
3
Seek to Stop Schizophrenia
Before it Starts
4
NAMI Marin
Summer FamFest Picnic
5
Non-Profit
Community Resources
6
Help in a Crisis
7
MHSUS Support Group
7
NAMI Marin Free Services
7
NAMI Marin
General Meeting
8
FamFest October/November
8
3
Page 2
NAMI Marin Office 415-444-0480
namimarinoffice@gmail.org
www.namimarin.org
October 2014
port. With the last quartile, 15% are still hospitalized in locked
The author also showed slides to indicate what has happened
facilities and 10% are dead, mostly from suicide,” she added.
to those with serious mental illnesses since 1965 when Medicaid
“However just in the last week, researchers at Washington Uniwas enacted and excluded payment for institutions of mental disversity in St. Louis reported that schizophrenia isn’t a single dis- ease (IMD) of more than 16 beds. “Essentially, we have transease but a group of eight genetically distinct disorders, each with ferred those with schizophrenia and severe bipolar disorder
its own set of symptoms,” she said. “That may be why certain
from state institutions to prisons and to the streets where they
medications work for some people but not others.”
are homeless or receive very inadequate care,” she said.
About 80 percent of the risk for schizophrenia is known to be
The irony is that the arguments that swayed conservatives to
inherited, but scientists have struggled to identify specific genes end most federal payments to states for mental health facilities
for the condition. This latest research analyzed genetic influences have actually ended up costing taxpayers more while degrading
on more than 4,000 people with schizophrenia and identified dis- the level of care. Paying for expensive emergency room treattinct gene clusters that contribute to eight different classes of
ment, prison costs, court costs, and crime is much more expenschizophrenia. (see https://news.wustl.edu/news/
sive than keeping a mentally ill person in congregate housing and
Pages/27358.aspx )
providing assisted outpatient treatment. For example, Bexar
County Texas has saved over $9 million by diverting mentally ill
Need for AOT, Laura’s Law
people from incarceration into treatment and supportive housing.
“So as you can see from the charts on the slides, at least half
of people with schizophrenia need coordinated support, the kind Ultimately, Paul Flannery spent 20 years in a New York State
of support that only can be given with Assisted Outpatient Treat- mental hospital. Later, he was released but never received the
ment (AOT), or here in California, what’s called Laura’s Law.
necessary level of care and supervision in the assisted-living
“Without AOT, people with schizophrenia have to circle the
houses he was moved to. Near the end of his life he finally did
drain a few times, suffer multiple breaks, end up hospitalized, in receive decent care after he was diagnosed with lung cancer and
was brought to a nursing home for treatment.
jail, or homeless before they really get helped,” she said. “Why
do we tolerate this situation?
With
any
other
disease,
people
are
Support
Laura’s Law and HR-3717
The C.U.RE For SchizophreniaGet
– Involved,
Care Until
Recovery
treated before they get worse. For example, if it’s coronary heart
Katherine Flannery Dering encouraged all present to become
disease, we don’t wait until people have a terrible heart attack to mental health advocates by letting friends, neighbors and voters
treat them. People are treated with cholesterol and blood pressure know about the importance and benefits of providing good menmedications and counseled on diet and exercise,” she added.
tal health care for the whole community. She asked the audience
to support the implementation of Laura’s Law in Marin County
and to support the federal bill HR-3717, Helping Families in
Mental Health Crisis Act of 2013, introduced by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA). She said that NAMI Marin should try to get Jared
Huffman to co-sponsor this important legislation that removes the
IMD Exclusion, encourages states to adopt AOT, and ensures that
the federal government will spend more on serious mental illness.
You can read more about Katherine Flannery Dering and her
book Shot In The Head at http://bridgeross.com/
shotinthehead.html
Where
Did Hospital Patients Go?
Where Did Hospital Patients Go?
• Community-based
facilities promised
in 1963 legislationRick Roose
never materialized.
The C.U.RE For Schizophrenia – Care Until Recovery by Katherine Flannery Dering
Become an Advocate
• Independent
living
• Contact your
representatives.
is beyond ability
• Educate them on the
issues
level of many
. and VOTE.
Community-based facilities
promised in 1963 legislation never
materialized.
www.shotintheheadbook.com
 Independent living is beyond the
ability level of many.

• Be an ambassador to
community
• Alert them to promise
www.paulslegacyproject.org
of early intervention.
Dorothea Lynde Dix
www.shotintheheadbook.com
www.namimarin.org
www.paulslegacyproject.org
Page 3
NAMI Marin Office 415-444-0480
Repeal the Medicaid IMD E
namimarinoffice@gmail.org
Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act
(HR 3717) Update
The C.U.RE For Schizophrenia
–
www.namimarin.org
October 2014
Care Until
Repeal the Medicaid IMD Exclusion
Repeal the Medicaid IMD Exc
One of the fixes for the broken mental health system included
in HR 3717 – Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act – is a
change in the Federal Medicaid rules that now force individuals
with severe psychiatric disorders into homelessness, due to lack of
inpatient psychiatric beds.
•
Rep. Tim Murphy, discussed this flawed policy known as the
“Institutions of Mental Disease” exclusion (IMD) that bans Medicaid reimbursement for inpatient care of adults with serious mental illness. Created in 1965 to motivate states to close large mental
•
health hospitals, the archaic rule is one of the main reasons more
than 90% of psychiatric hospital beds have gone offline, leaving
the most severely mentally ill to end up in jail, prison, emergency
rooms and the streets. Marin has only 17 inpatient beds a Marin
General Hospital and needs more.
Doris Fuller, Director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, de•
scribed how the IMD is discriminatory. “It is not rational, humane
nor cost-effective to deny Medicaid coverage for medically necessary treatment to a specific population of poor people with mental
illness, a practice that falls disproportionately on minorities living
below the poverty line.”
Source: Bernard E. Harcourt, "The Mentally Ill, Behind Bars"
On the House floor, before the August break, Rep. Murphy
Source:
Bernard
E. Harcourt,
"The
Mentally
University
of Chicago
Law School
Faculty
Blog Ill, Behind Bars"
urged his colleagues to take action and pass comprehensive mental University
of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog
health reform. The Murphy bill now has nearly 100 bipartisan
www.pauls
www.shotintheheadbook.com
Mentally ill prisoners are often brutalized
cosponsors and has received numerous endorsements from news-  www.shotintheheadbook.com
www
paper editors, physicians, and parents of adult children with men-  Supportive congregate housing more
tal illness. NAMI National and many NAMI affiliates, including
humane
NAMI Marin have endorsed this bill.
 Shortage mainly due to exclusion of
You can help pass HR 3717 – the Helping Families in Mental
Medicaid funds to “Institutions for Mental
Health Crisis Act, by calling and emailing your Congressional
Disease” (IMD)
Representative, Jared Huffman, at 415-258-9657 or email:
CA02JHima@mail.house.gov and asking him to sign on as a
cosponsor on this bipartisan bill. Your call is tallied and does
count!
Barbara Alexander
• Me
ofte
Mental
often
b
• Sup
Suppor
con
congre
mo
more h
• Sho
Shortag
exc
exclusi
funds
funt
for Men
for
Why Implement Laura’s Law in Marin County?

Become and Advocate
Four times the number of people with mental illness receive  HR 3717 Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act
treatment in jail or prison than in treatment facilities;
Call and email your Congressional Representative,
Jared Huffman at 415-258-9657 or email
 People with mental illness have a 25 year reduced life span
(and that is factoring out those who commit suicide);
CA02JHima@mail.house.gov
 37% to 68% of people with mental illness have a co-morbid  AB 1421 Laura’s Law, California’s law for Assisted
medical disorder;
Outpatient Treatment (AOT). It’s up to your County
Supervisor to implement the law.
 For the person with mental illness, the symptoms, hallucinaContact: Your County Supervisor
tions and delusions are often terrifying and cause tragic sufwww.marincounty.org/government/board of supervisors
fering—a living hell. With any other medical illness a person
(415) 473-7331
is given treatment based on symptoms.
Susan Adams/Damon Connolly
 In California under the L.P.S. law a person with mental illness
has to become gravely disabled or an immediate danger to self
Katie Rice
or others.
Kate Sears
 That’s wrong and it’s discrimination.
Steve Kinsey
 People with mental illness are the most severely disabled and
Judy Arnold
least served in our society.
 Health & Human Services Director
 People with mental illness should not have to deteriorate to
Larry Meredith lmeredith@marincounty.org
the point they are on the street, end up in jail or prison, vic(415)473-6924
timized or dead. Waiting for danger is too late. We need
Laura’s Law now.
( visit www.namimarin.org home page for sample letter)
Randal Hagar, California Psychiatric Association
www.namimarin.org
Page 4
NAMI Marin Office 415-444-0480
namimarinoffice@gmail.org
Seek to Stop Schizophrenia
Before it Starts
Amy Standen, KQED Science | July 28, 2014
www.namimarin.org
October 2014
The programs draw on research suggesting that schizophrenia
unfolds much more slowly than might be obvious, even to families.
A genetic predisposition, perhaps triggered by environmental factors,
the thinking goes, sets the course of a process that can play out over
months, even years.
The important thing is that Reagan knew something was wrong.
When I met her, she was 23, a smart, wry young woman living with
“You start to see a decline in their functioning,”
her mother and stepdad in Simi Valley, about an hour east of
says Daniel Mathalon, who studies brain developVentura.
“Reagan” had just started a program that would train her to be a
ment in the early stages of psychosis at UCSF.
respiratory therapist. Concerned about future job prospects, she
“They were doing better in school, now they’re doing worse,” he says.
asked me not to use her real name.
“Maybe they had friends but they’re starting to be more isolated.”
Five years ago Reagan’s prospects weren’t nearly so bright. At 19,
Eventually, these subtle behavioral shifts may take on a surreal
she had been severely depressed, on and off, for years. During the
quality. A young person may hear faint whispers or hissing, or see
bad times, she’d hide out in her room making thin, neat cuts with a
flashes of light or shadows on the periphery.
razor on her upper arm.
“They lack delusional conviction,” explains Mathalon. “They’re ex“I didn’t do much of anything,” Reagan recalls. “It required too
periencing these things; maybe they’re suspicious. But they’re not
much brain power.”
sure.”Scientists have a word for that state of uncertainty: prodromal.
“Her depression just sucked the life out of you,” Kathy, Reagan’s
‘We Can Stop the Progression of the Disease.’
mother, recalls. “I had no idea what to do or where to go with it.”
Reagan took a screening test developed at Yale
One night in 2010, Reagan’s mental state took an
University that identified her as, possibly, within the
ominous new turn. Driving home from her job at
In
schizophrenia,
prodromal stage of psychosis.
McDonald’s, she found herself fascinated by the
the loss of insight She was referred to a clinic in an office park about an
headlights of an oncoming car.
hour from her house called Ventura Early Interven“I had the weird thought of, you know, I’ve never nosignals a psychotic tion Prevention Services, or VIPS, operated by Alaticed this, but their headlights really look like eyes.” To
Telecare Corporation and run by an
Reagan, the car seemed malicious. It wanted to hurt her.
break, the formal meda-based
affable
former
football player with a doctorate in
Kathy tried to reason with her.
commencement of psychology named Barry Boatman.
“I’m like ‘honey you know it’s a car, right? You know
we can slow or stop the progression of that thing
those are headlights, right?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘So you understand
the disease itself. “If
as
it’s
beginning,” Boatman says, “not only are we
that this makes no sense.’ ‘I know, but this is what I see,
changing
that person’s life, forever, and those who
and it’s scaring me.”
love them, we can save the system millions of
In other words, Reagan had insight, defined in psychiatry
dollars.”
as the ability to understand that one’s experiences are
There are about ten clinics like this one in California.
attributable to a mental illness.
(Schizophrenia.com
offers a resource guide, www.schizophrenia.com/
What Reagan saw did not fit with what she believed. She knew she
earlypsychosis.htm, to early-intervention clinics across the U.S. and
was hallucinating.
internationally). VIPS, which has a $600,000 annual budget, is one of
A Disease That Unfolds Over Time
several run by for-profit companies that contract with counties to
In schizophrenia, the loss of insight signals a psychotic break, the
provide mental services.
formal commencement of the disease itself. Typically, a first
Others partner with non-profit providers or research institutions like
psychotic break occurs in a person’s late teens or early 20s. In men,
UCSF or UCLA.
the range is 15-24; in women, 25-34.
In California, participants pay nothing. The programs are funded out
Often, says Rachel Loewy, an associate professor of psychiatry at
of the state’s Mental Health Services Act, a one percent income tax on
UCSF, the onset coincides with an abrupt change in a young
millionaires that voters passed in 2004.
person’s life, such as leaving home for the first time.
That money buys what’s essentially a two-year, full-court press on
Every November we get a huge influx of people who went off to
kids like Reagan, whose symptoms could be early signs of schizocollege, into a stressful environment, heading into finals. That’s
phrenia: family therapy, individual therapy, homework help, job
when we see a lot of first psychotic episodes.”
counseling, exercise, often medications. Clients can be as young as
At the Cusp of Delusion
ten years old.
Loewy, who has helped develop several early-intervention proAfter meeting Reagan, I went to San Diego to meet Ashley Wood and
grams in San Francisco http://prepwellness.org/prep-san-francisco/
a 13-year-old named Tony at John’s Incredible Pizza Company, an
and elsewhere, says schizophrenia’s timeline –- hitting a young perarcade and all-you-can-eat buffet in a mall just south of town. They
son at what should be the brink of independence — can make the
were playing Whack-a-Mole.
disease devastating for parents.
Wood is an occupational therapist for another prodrome-intervention
“The [young person] drops out of college, goes home, doesn’t get a
program called Kickstart, based in San Diego. Tony is one of her
job. He or she never transitions to adulthood,” Loewy says.
That first psychotic break can precede a cavalcade of disasters: social clients. He has spiky black hair and wears cargo shorts and a plastic
rosary around his neck.
isolation, hospitalization, medications with sometimes disabling
Before he started with Kickstart, Tony had been getting in fights. He
side effects.
was angry at his mom, angry in school. And there was something else.
So, what if you could intervene earlier, before any of that? Could
“I used to see and hear stuff,” he tells me, “like weird objects.”
you stop the process from snowballing?
When I press him for more details, he turns the questions on me. “Are
At 19, Reagan hadn’t had a psychotic break. She still had insight.
you a reporter?” he asks.
That made her eligible for a new type of program taking shape in
Wood laughs, looking at Tony. “Too many questions, eh?” He smiles.
California that aims to prevent schizophrenia before it officially
(Continued on page 5)
begins.
www.namimarin.org
Page 5
NAMI Marin Office 415-444-0480
namimarinoffice@gmail.org
(Continued from page 4)
Wood’s job is to help Tony with basic life skills, such as asking
for things he needs without getting frustrated. When the pizza
parlor’s ice cream machine sputters, she coaches him on how to
ask an attendant for help.
“When he’s frustrated at school or at home, instead of immediately responding,” Wood says, she’s helping him “find a way to
communicate.”
“We’re trying to work on the impulse control as well.
He’s come a long way, I think
An Experiment Before Its Time?
Impulsive, unruly, prone to angry outbursts, Tony sounds like a
lot of 13-year-old kids. And that’s what makes this type of
program controversial.
Last year, the American Psychiatric Association opted to exclude the idea of “psychosis risk syndrome” from its DSM-5
manual of mental disorders, largely because the screening test is
generally considered to be only 30 percent accurate. Of three
kids who seem to fit the prodrome, only one will actually go on
to develop psychosis, or schizophrenia.
In 2011, a review of prodrome intervention programs called the
idea of intervention in pre-schizophrenia “inconclusive.”
One of the most vocal critics of prodrome intervention is Allen
Frances, a former professor of psychiatry at Duke University.
“This is an experiment far before its time,” says Frances. “We
need to be doing this as research before we spread this across
the country and risk the harm to the individuals and risk the
misallocation of resources in a society.”
‘We’re running up against the limits of
what we can do for patients with chronic
schizophrenia.’– Daniel Mathalon, UCSF
Bill McFarlane, a Maine psychiatrist whose PIER Training
Institute helped establish several prodrome clinics in California,
says he’s seen clear benefits — including reduced hospitalization rates — in Portland, Maine, where the Portland Identification and Early Referral Program he established served psychosis
risk clients for over a decade.
He and other proponents say schizophrenia’s early window may
be too precious to miss.
“We’re running up against the limits of what we can do for patients who develop schizophrenia, once it goes to chronic
stages,” UCSF’s Mathalon says. “I think this is a direction we
have to go in, but we have to do it carefully.”
Of course when you’re the parent of a kid in trouble you aren’t
asking those questions.
Before she started the program, Reagan’s mom and step-father,
Charlie, say they saw very little future for their daughter.
“I thought we were going to have to take care of her for the rest
of her life,” says Kathy. “I thought she’d forever be marginal,
forever be medicated. I thought we’d just have to get used to it.”
Today Reagan is off all her medications. She’s animated, playing board games with her family, excited about going back to
school.
Her family credits the VIPS program.
“We were blessed to have this for her,” Charlie says. “We really
were. It saved her life.”
Reagan’s family will never know whether the program prevented her from developing schizophrenia. But even if the diagnosis didn’t fit, they say, the treatment did .
www.namimarin.org
October 2014
http://blogs.kqed.org/science/audio/new-clinics-in-california-seek-to-stopschizophrenia-before-it-starts/
Resources:



www.telecarecorp.com/programs/124
Prevention & Recovery in Early Psychosis Program (PREP),
www.prepwellness.org
PART Program www.partprogram.ucsf.edu
NAMI Marin FamFest Picnic at the
Bocce Ball Courts in San Rafael
August 23, 2014
Cup Pham Maher
Charles Acocella
Chief “cooks & bottle washers” Beverlee Kell,
Jim and Judy Finn, Sue Roberts. Barbara Coley
Roberts Family: Laura, Sue, Son-inlaw
Rafael, Leslie, Phil
Matt Tasley,
Maggie Baker
Nellrose Graham, Rick Roose
and son
Kathy Williams, Carrie Morgan,
Kay Rodden,
Front: Barbara Alexander
David Moss and Friends
www.namimarin.org
Elaine Goldman,
Bob & Helen David
Page 6
NAMI Marin Office 415-444-0480
Buckelew Programs
900 Fifth Ave.#150, San Rafael, Administration Office: 457-6964 www.buckelew.org


Buckelew Employment Services Free orientation meeting held at 3270 Kerner Blvd.
Suite A, 12pm every Tuesday, San Rafael.
Contact: Jacob Lapides 456-9350 X 159.
Buckelew Housing Contact MHSUS
Intake and Referral 1-888-818-1115

namimarinoffice@gmail.org
www.namimarin.org
Non-Profit Community Resources  www.schizophrenia24x7.ca Provides anyone
affected by schizophrenia helpful resources, infor415 Area Code
mation and interactive tools.
Marin General Hospital-Behavioral
Community Resources
Health Outpatient Services Most Insurances & Medicare/Medi-Cal combination
Larry Cunniffe 925-7674, Greenbrae
 Partial Hospitalization Services & Intensive
Outpatient Services DBT, CBT, Life Skills,
Case Mgt, Psychotherapy & Planning Groups.
PATH Program for Transitional Age
Mental Health & Substance Use
Youth (TAY) Provides mental health
services for young adults 16 to 26 years old. Services (MHSUS)
Contact Lucia Melano 460-2167
 Marin Community Mental Health Services
24/7 Access Line 1-888-818-1115. Talk to
 The Helen Vine Recovery Center (detox)
somebody who can help you find mental
492-0818. A 26 bed co-ed residential prohealth services.
gram. Provides recovery services for indi Adult Medication Intake Clinic
viduals with alcohol and drug addiction is Marin Mental Health Plan authorizes
sues, as well as co-occurring psychiatric
Medi-Cal services for MHSUS and other
problems.
services in the community.
Community Action Marin (CAM )

Adult Case Management Intake
www.camentalhealth.net

C.A.R.E. Team 847-1266 Mobile outreach
program for people who are homeless or at
risk of being homeless.

Prevention & Early Intervention Crisis
Planning Program Seth Friedrich 306-3289,
sfriedrich@camarin.org;
Jennifer Mann 302-0753

Enterprise Resource Center (ERC) Offers
mental health programs. Located at the
Wellness Center, 3270 Kerner Blvd., Suite
C, San Rafael 457-4554. For class schedule
visit: www.camentalhealth.net


Family Partnership Program
www.camarin.org/mental-health/
Family-Partnership.html Director473-7814
 Adult Linsey Maldonado-Sciutti, 473-4382
 Youth Michelle Kemp, 368-5221
Leticia McCoy 473-3649
 Youth Bilingual Spanish Rosa Lopez
240-6920, Maria Garcia 473-4169
 Adult Bilingual Spanish
Gloria McCallister, 473-2261
Mon thru Thurs, 10-3pm
 Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES)
Anne Lauver 473-4182

Family Support Group facilitated by
MHSUS staff, see page 7 for details.

HOPE Program for seniors over age 60 who
suffer from mental illness 473-4306.

Marin County Jail Mental Health Team
473-2127
Community Institute for
Psychotherapy (CIP)

Provides individual, family and couples counseling. To schedule an appointment call
459-5999, X102 and leave a message, San
Rafael Medi-Cal/sliding scale.
www.cipmarin.org
Marin County Prisoner Services provides
assistance in visiting inmate 473-7218

Odyssey Team- Homeless Outreach
Program, Janice Wells 473-3240

Alliance in Recovery (AIR) for individuals
with co-existing substance use and mental
illness, Janice Wells 473-3240
Individual and group counseling services.
Medi-Cal/sliding scale, 491-5700 (491-5720
en espanol) Sausalito office, 332-3129


Public Guardian 473-6186
In Home Services
 Apple Family Works Therapy and Life

West Marin Human Services Center
100 6th Street, Pt. Reyes 94956 473-3800
Warmline Peer Counseling over the phone
459-6330
Catholic Charities
Offers counseling, psychiatric services to
individuals, couples, families, and groups.
Bi-Lingual, San Rafael Medi-Cal/sliding scale
507-4262
Family Service Agency
Skills Center. Adjustable fees 492-0720
Marin Community Clinics
Online Help



www.StrengthofUs.org A social networking
website for young adults (ages 18-30)

www.ReachOut.com A safe, anonymous,
peer-to-peer community for teens & young
adults to discuss a range of social, health &
mental health issues, or call 800-448-3000
Dental Appointments 526-8555

AD/HD (attention disorders) parent and
adult support/education groups by CHADD
789-9464 www.chaddnorcal.org

Beyond Hunger Program for Eating Disorders
459-2270 www.beyondhunger.org

College of Marin Disabled Students Program
Supportive services for students recovering
from mental health issues in the Learning
Center, Room 115 485-9406

Social Security Disability Benefits Fastract
(RISE) Simon Tiles, Benefits Advocate,
457-8182 X117

Integrated Community Services 455-8481
Offers employment, housing, recreational
and referral services for disabled.
www.connectICS.org

www.namimarin.org
Kaiser Psychiatric Services Advice and
education, San Rafael 444-3522

Managing Voices and Negative Thoughts
2nd Tuesday, Noon to 1 pm, New Location:
Enterprise Resource Center, 3270 Kerner Blvd,
San Rafael, bucherir@usfca.edu or 497-0651

Matrix Parent Network & Resource Center
Provides information and support groups for
families of children with disabilities. Visit
www.matrixparents.org or 1-800-578-2592

Marin Recovery Connection Center
Screening & Assessment for alcohol, tobacco,
other drug problems and mental health issues
755-2345, San Rafael

NAMI Marin HelpLine provides additional
nonprofit and private service providers,
444-0480 Monday-Friday, 1 to 3 pm.

Ritter Center, 16 Ritter, San Rafael will assist
application for Medi-Cal, accepts Medi-Cal,
& provides drop-in psychiatric assessment &
medication management.


Tobacco Prevention Services

Veterans Services Officer
Sean Stephens, San Rafael, 473-6193
Veterans@marincounty.org
www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/HH/main/ag/
veterans.cfm
STAR After Release From Jail Program
Ziya Dikman 473-2725
In Larkspur, Novato & San Rafael.
www.marinclinic.org Medi-Cal/sliding scale.
Medical Appointments 448-1500
October 2014
1-800-NO-BUTTS (English-Teens)
1-800-CHEW (for chewing tobacco)
1-800-45-NO-FUME (Spanish)
UCSF Programs—Dept. of Psychiatry
Call 476-7278 or email Kaman.chow@ucsf.edu
Waiting list required for Marin County residents.
All insurance providers are accepted.


Prevention & Recovery in Early Psychosis
Program (PREP), www.prepwellness.org
PART Program www.partprogram.ucsf.edu
(The list of services does not represent an
endorsement of NAMI Marin)
Page 7
NAMI Marin Office 415-444-0480
namimarinoffice@gmail.org
Help in a Crisis (415 Area Code)
24 Hour Crisis Lines
 Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) 473-6666
 Suicide Prevention & Community Counseling 499-1100
 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
 Grief Counseling 499-1195
 Marin General Emergency Room 925-7200
 Novato Community Hospital Emergency Room 209-1350
 Kaiser Medical Center Emergency Room 444-2400
 Center for Domestic Peace—Call: English 924-6616;
Spanish; 924-3456; Men 924-1070 www.centerfordomesticpeace.org
 Veterans Crisis Line 1-800-273-8255 Press 1, or online chat at
http://veteranscrisisline.net/
Urgent Care
 C.A.R.E. Team I, 847-1266 Mobile outreach program for mentally ill
people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.
 C.A.R.E. Team II, 847-6798 Central San Rafael Area
 Family Partner Adult System of Care 473-4382
 Family Partner Children’s System of Care 473-7814
 NAMI Marin Helpline 444-0480, 1-3 pm. Monday-Friday
 NAMI (National) Helpline 1 (800) 950-6264 between 10am to 6 pm, ET,
Monday through Friday
 Warm Line 459-6330 Phone support for peers. Operated by peers through
the Enterprise Resource Center.
 Phone number of your local police department. Ask for a Crisis Intervention Team Officer (CIT) and request a 5150 evaluation. Stay Calm and
Be Prepared.
Prepare for a Crisis Crisis Planning is offered by Seth Friedrich 306-3289
and Jennifer Mann 302-0753. Please call for an appointment.
www.namimarin.org
October 2014
NAMI Marin Services
(415 Area Code)
NAMI Marin Services are free. Our office is open
Monday through Friday, 1-3pm and is located at
555 Northgate Dr. #280, San Rafael, 444-0480.
namimarinoffice@gmail.com, www.namimarin.org
 General Meeting, open to the public. See page 8

Family-to-Family Course, Twelve week class
structured to help caregivers understand and
support individuals with serious mental illness
while maintaining their own well being. Open to
family members, caregivers, partners and friends.
The class meets in San Rafael every Tuesday for
twelve weeks. Call the office to sign up for the
next session.

Family Support Group 2nd and 4th Tuesdays,
6-8pm, ERC, Kay Browne, MD (drop-in)

Latino Family Support Group,
1st & 3rd Thursday, 7-8:30pm, ERC, Gloria
McCallister, 473-2261 in collaboration with
Community Action Marin (drop-in).


FamFest Dinners, See page 8 for schedule.

Library, located in our office. Members may
borrow from an extensive collection of resources

Speakers Bureau family and consumer speakers
available for events free of charge 444-0480, Ext.
242. In Our Own Voice (IOOV) is a unique public
education program in which trained speakers share
compelling personal stories about living with
mental illness and achieving recovery. IOOV
presentations are given free of charge. Call the
office to book a date.
HelpLine, Call 444-0480, press 0, 1-3 pm
weekdays for support/resource info.
Also visit www.namimarin.org and download and prepare the following
documents:
 Guidelines for Effective Communication with 911 Dispatch, study
scripts
Mental Health First Aid Training
 Authorization/Release Forms
FREE one-day trainings available English Only
 Inmate Mental Health Information Form
1. Monday, November 20, 2014, 8:30-5:30pm
 If you need assistance visiting an inmate at the Marin County Jail, who
Marin County Office of Education Marin Room
has a mental illness, please call prisoner services at 473-7268.
1111 Las Gallinas Ave., San Rafael
2. Monday, January 26, 2015, 8:30-5:30pm
Marin County Office of Education Community Rm
Mental Health & Substance Use Services
1111 Las Gallinas Ave., San Rafael
Family Support Group Facilitators
3. Monday, March 9, 2015, 8:30-5:30pm,
Free drop-in group held Thursdays, 7-8:30pm
West Marin, Point Reyes Library,
250 Bon Air, Greenbrae, 1st Floor Conference Room
11431 State Route One, Point Reyes Station
lst Thursday: Janice Wells, Mental Health Program Manager
Registration is Required.
Jessy Winnick, Nurse Practitioner
Give your Name, Affiliation, Phone #, email,
2nd Thursday: Facilitator to be determined. There will be a session.
address, and date you would like to register for.
3rd Thursday: Kathy Chestnut, Adult Case Management Supervisor
Send to ERockwell@marincounty.org (473-2543)
Linsey Maldonado-Sciutti, Family Partner
Confirmation will be approximately 3 weeks before
4th Thursday: Larry Lanes, MD, Mental Health Medical Director
course date.
Kristine Kwok, Adult Case Management Supervisor
Participants must attend full day. Lunch will be pro5th Thursday Ziya Dikman, STAR Program
vided. Anyone can take the course. Someone you
Due to their schedules the order of the facilitators may shift from time to time. know could be experiencing a mental illness or crisis.
Questions? Call Access Line 1-888-818-1115 (Kathy Chestnut, Coordinator).
You can help them.
www.namimarin.org
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage Paid
San Rafael, CA
Permit No. 641
National Alliance on Mental Illness
555 Northgate Drive, #280
San Rafael, CA 94903
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
THIS MATERIAL IS TIME RELATED
October 2014
NAMI Marin
Board of Directors
President
Peg Super
Vice–President/
Secretary
Rick Roose
Treasurer
Beverlee Kell
Directors
Maggie Baker
Kay Browne, MD
Penny Labourdette
Robert Reiser, PhD
Sue Roberts
Matt Tasley
Time to Renew NAMI Membership?
NAMI Marin General Meeting
Everyone is Welcome
Monday, October 20, 2014— 7:00-8:30pm
Connection Center, Room 110 on the Marin County Wellness Campus
3240 Kerner Blvd, San Rafael
Take the “loop” of Francisco Blvd E, left on Irene St, left on Kerner Blvd.
The Wellness Campus is on the right, just before Bellam Ave.
Our General Meetings are open to the public and free of charge.
For more information call NAMIMarin (415) 444-0480.
Update: Family Partners
Family Partners is a service for families with youth/adult loved
ones. They work with the full range of our system of care and are
funded by CMHSUS and operated by Community Action Marin.







The 6 family partners will:
Listen to concerns and problem solve with family members
Inform family of their rights and limits of family involvement
Receive complaints and follow-up on concerns regarding Marin
County Mental Health
Liaison between family members and Marin County Mental
Health
Provide support during acute crisis
Assist families in assessing their own self-care needs
And more...
The expiration date is on the label of this newsletter.
Instructions of how to renew or join online visit www.nami.org
NAMI Marin is an affiliate of NAMI CA and NAMI National.
Annual membership is $35 for a family or individual. Reduced membership fee available upon request. With your membership you will
receive this newsletter (9 times a year) along with state & national
publications, and access to our extensive mental health library.
Newsletter Editor/Designer: Penny Labourdette pennyal@aol.com
Circulation: Karen Illich, David Illich, Sue Roberts, Jim Finn
FamFest
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
House of Lee Chinese Restaurant
885 Fourth Street, San Rafael
Clients, family, friends, and support staff, all welcome. No Host. Walk-ins
are welcome. For those who have difficulty paying the usual $10,
NAMI offers partial assistance.
Wednesday. November 5, 2014
San Rafael Joes
931 Fourth Street, San Rafael
Kay Blackwill has volunteered to serve as the
Famfest Coordinator!!!
Call 444-0480 if you have any questions.