here - NAMI Sacramento

Sacramento
Newsletter
Sacramento’s Voice on Mental Illness
General Meeting
Monday, July 11 Unlisted: A Story of
Schizophrenia
Join us for a special screening of an
award winning documentary.
Unlisted: A Story of Schizophrenia is
a gripping documentary that depicts
the struggle of the filmmaker,
Delaney, as both daughter and doctor,
to bring her father with paranoid
schizophrenia back into her life after
hiding from him for 10 years.
What starts as a powerful story of
reconciliation suddenly shifts when
Delaney’s father goes missing.
Unlisted is a riveting story about one
daughter’s determination to mend her
torn family that challenges audiences
to reflect upon their own ideas of
mental illness, compassion, and
responsibility.
For more info, visit
www.unlistedfilm.com.
NAMI Sacramento General Meetings
are free and open to the public.
Meeting Location
SMUD Headquarters Auditorium
6201 S Street
Sacramento 95817
Time
June 2011 Issue No. 9.6
The 2nd Annual Northern California NAMIWalk
a Big Success!
Despite some strong winds, the Northern
California NAMIWalk was a wonderful
event, and we thank the 900 participants
who used their hearts, voices, and feet to
stomp out stigma.
We are very close to reaching our goal to
raise $100,000 through the NAMIWalk,
and it isn’t too late to help us achieve that
goal. Donations to the Walk can be made
online through June 29th and
contributions can be mailed to the NAMI
Sacramento office at any time. Funds
raised from the Northern California
NAMIWalk support NAMI programs in
El Dorado, Sacramento, San Joaquin,
Stanislaus and Yolo Counties.
Thank you to the sponsors, team captains,
walkers, donors and volunteers who
made the NAMIWalk possible. Without
you we wouldn’t have been able to raise
valuable funds and promote awareness of
the need for a better mental health
treatment and recovery system.
There are too many volunteers to list in
this publication, but we want you to
know how much we appreciate the time
and energy you gave to support the event.
Special thanks goes out to Pat Pavone
whose tireless dedication as Walk
Manager earns her the title of
Extraordinary Walk Volunteer. Pat
volunteered countless hours since last
summer planning, coordinating and
executing the NAMIWalk.
Thank You to Our 2011 NAMIWalk Sponsors
SILVER ($2500)
Heritage Oaks Hospital
Sutter Center for Psychiatry
Turning Point Community Programs
START/FINISH LINE ($1500)
AstraZeneca  Bristol Myers Squibb  Merrill Lynch (Lela Bayley)
BRONZE ($1000)
E. & J. Gallo Winery  Janssen  Sierra Vista Hospital  Telecare
 The BluSoul Band
General Meetings start at 7:30 p.m.
Contact Us
NAMI Sacramento
3440 Viking Drive, Suite 125
Sacramento CA 95827
(916) 364-1642
NAMI Sacramento e-mail address:
office@namisacramento.org
Website: www.namisacramento.org
SUPPORTING ($500)
CounselingCalifornia.com
 Dian Calkin Beckett Memorial (Belinda & Brenda Beckett)
 Hanson McClain Advisors  Law Office of Juan J. Vera
 Mennemeier, Glassman & Stroud  Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
 St. Joseph’s Behavioral Health
KILOMETER ($250)
Bank of Stockton  John Pavone Memorial (Pavone Family)
 Sound by Bill Limpus and Bert Blondin  CCT Telecomm
 Military Family Support Group of El Dorado County  UC Davis Medical Center
 D.J. & Judi Peterson  Safeway Stores
NAMI Sacramento · 3440 Viking Drive, Suite 125 · Sacramento, California 95827 · 916.364.1642 · www.namisacramento.org
Support Groups
Balanced – A Bipolar Support Group
Every Wednesday from 7:00–8:30 p.m.
Trinity Lutheran Church, 1500 27th
Street, Sacramento, CA 95816
Call Joe Long at (916) 834-0004.
Depression and Bipolar Support
Alliance (DBSA)
2nd and 4th Wednesday each month from
7:30–9:00 p.m. Sutter Center for
Psychiatry, 7700 Folsom Blvd.,
Sacramento
See: www.dbsasacramento.org. Contact:
Andrea Hillerman-Crook at hillermancrooka@saccounty.net or (916) 8754710; or Marilyn Hillerman at
marilynhillerman@yahoo.com or
(916) 648-1358.
Early Psychosis Family Support Group
For families with a member who has a
newly diagnosed brain disease. Imaging
and Research Center Conference Room,
UCD Med, Center, 4701 X Street,
Sacramento.
Call Jane Du Bet at (916) 734-2964.
Emotions Anonymous
For people working toward recovery
from emotional difficulties. Tuesdays
from 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. 890 Morse
Ave. (corner of Morse and Northrop.)
Thursdays from 7:00–8:30 p.m. Lutheran
Church of the Good Shepherd, 1615
Morse Ave., Sacramento. Meet in the
choir room. Newcomer Orientation:
Saturdays from 1:00–1:30 p.m., followed
by a Topic/ Discussion Meeting from
1:30–2:30 p.m. Wellness and Recovery
Center, 3815 Marconi Ave, Sacramento.
Contact (916) 366-0699 or
allone.com/12/ea/
NAMI Connection Recovery Support
Group
A recovery support group for adults with
mental illness regardless of diagnosis.
Held every Sunday from 7:00–8:30 p.m.
at Sutter Center for Psychiatry, 7700
Folsom Blvd., Sacramento. No preregistration.
OCD Kids Sacramento
For kids 18 and under and their families.
Meetings also attended by a therapist
experienced in treating OCD. 1st Sunday
of the month 2:00–4:00 p.m. at Kaiser
Permanente Point West Clinic, 1650
Response Road, Sacramento 95815.
See: www.ocdkids.com.
NAMI Family Support Groups:
North Area
Held on the second Thursday of each
month from 6:30–8:00 p.m. Heritage
Oaks, 4300 Auburn Boulevard,
Sacramento CA 95841. The group meets
in the building to the left of the hospital,
not in the hospital itself. The meeting
room is the first door to the right in the
main hallway.
Call facilitator Pat Pavone at (916) 3977831 for more information.
Elk Grove
Fourth Wednesday of each month from
6:45–8:15 p.m. Sierra Vista Hospital,
8001 Bruceville Road, Sacramento
95823. Call facilitator Caroline Caton at
(916) 204-4512 for more information.
Obsessive-Compulsive Support
Meeting Every Monday from 7:00–9:00
p.m. Sutter Center for Psychiatry, 7700
Folsom Blvd., Sacramento.
Call Jim (916) 223-6541 or Steve at
(916) 456-8239.
Educational Meetings
Family to Family Education Classes
Offered twice a year, spring and fall.
 www.namisacramento.org
For the current class schedule see the
Sacramento NAMI web site or call
(916) 364-1642.
Peer-to-Peer Education Classes
 www.namisacramento.org
The NAMI Peer-to Peer education
course is a nine-week experiential
recovery course for any person with
serious mental illness.
General Interest Meetings
Sacramento Mental Health Board
Meeting
Held the 1st Wednesday of each month
at 7:00 p.m. Sacramento Mental
Health Treatment Center (Media
Room), 2150 Stockton Blvd.,
Sacramento.
NAMI Sacramento Board of
Directors Meeting
4th Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m.
conference Room 1A, 3331 Power Inn
Road, suite 140, Sacramento, 95826.
Recovery, Inc., Self-Help Mental
Health Meetings
Promotes a cognitive-behavioral
approach to managing symptoms and
changing attitudes and behavior. Groups
meet weekly.
Contact: www.recovery-inc.com or call
(916) 483-5616 for meeting locations.
Sacramento Borderline Personality
Disorder Non-BP Support Group
For people who have a family member or
friend who suffers from Borderline
Personality Disorder. Second Tuesday of
each month from 7:00–9:00 p.m. Call
Lee Gassaway at (916) 421-7354 or
contact www.meetup.com.
Social Skills Group
For teens and adults who feel socially
awkward or shy. Sponsored by Fall
Creek Counseling, 5900 Coyle Ave. suite
D, Carmichael, CA 95608.
Contact:
www.sacramentopsychology.com Call
Dr. Debra Moore at (916) 344-0900
Women’s PTSD and Anxiety Support
Group
contact: highestgood2000@yahoo.com.
Family to Family
This is a free 12-week class offering
information about mental health issues
for families with members who have
mental illness.
The next Family to Family class is
offered in early fall. Registrants will be
contacted mid-August with class details.
The hours are 6:30–9:00 p.m. For further
information and to register please contact
the NAMI Sacramento office at 916-3641643, or visit www.namisacramento.org.
NAMI Sacramento does not necessarily
endorse the organizations and groups
listed above. This information is offered
as a convenience to our members. Go to
NAMI Sacramento’s web site at
www.namisacramento.org for an
extensive list of resources and crisis help
available in the Sacramento area.
Important Notice
NAMI programs should not be used to
replace the specialized training and
professional judgment of mental health
professionals. We cannot, and will not,
assume the role of a physician or
therapist.
NAMI cannot be held responsible for the
use of the information we provide. Please
always consult a trained mental health
professional before making any decision
regarding treatment of yourself or others.
NAMI Sacramento Newsletter June 2011 -2-
NAMI Sacramento · 3440 Viking Drive, Suite 125 · Sacramento, California 95827 · 916.364.1642 · www.namisacramento.org
Thank you NAMI Sacramento Team Captains!
Susan Abrams
Annette Allen
Patricia Allison
Alison Anderson
Belinda Beckett
Isabella Blackman
Mitzi Caguiat
Jennifer Carras
Yasmin Rivera Castenada
Caroline Caton
Tom Dahlberg
Kathleen Derby
Diane Ewing
Justin Fleury
Marilyn Hillerman
Ed Hunter
Sherry Hunter
Jamie Johnson
Stacy Judkins
Sontine Kalba
Albert Lipson
Larry and Corinne Liseno
Carol McCormick
Karin Michaelson
Diane Mintz
Theresa Mora
Beth Muehe
Jane Nelson
Patsy Pavan
Pat Pavone
Lanette Reeves
Sandra Reynoso
Sarah Roberts
Samantha Sanchez
Jennifer Snell
Catherine Stroughter
Christie Westall
Rafael Weber
Sarah Wersan
Diane Yee
Congratulations to the Top-Earning Sacramento Teams
 Team B'nai Israel – Albert Lipson: $3,801
 You'll Never Walk Alone – Pat Pavone: $3,390
 Sutter Center for Psychiatry – Mitzi Caguiat, Sherry Hunter, Catherine Stroughter:
$3,269
 F2F Stars – Lanette Reeves: $2,775
 Beckett Brigade – Belinda Beckett: $2,585
 TeamUCDPsych – Stacy Judkins: $2,577
 Sontine's Stigma Stompers – Sontine Kalba: $2,500
 Peace Within The Storm – Patsy Pavan, Patricia Allison, Christie Westall: $1,925
 NAMI CA Stigma Busters – Kathleen Derby: $1,550
 Wellness Walkers – Marilyn Hillerman: $1,355
 Emily's Team – Isabella Blackman: $1,269
 Team Kristen McCulloch – Annette Allen: $1,205
 Caroline's Crew – Caroline Caton: $1,155
 Team Faith – Sarah Roberts: $1,075
Honorable Mention goes to ―Balanced,‖ a team that raised $3,654. Balanced chose for
their funds to be shared among all 5 participating NAMI affiliates, so NAMI
Sacramento will receive a portion of the funds raised by Balanced.
Catholic Healthcare West Sacramento
Region Reaches Agreement with
Heritage Oaks Hospital
Catholic Healthcare West has reached
an agreement that will allow Heritage
Oaks Hospital—a mental health care
facility—to provide services to patients
with mental health conditions who
arrive at four Sacramento-area CHW
hospitals on weekends or after hours,
the Sacramento Business Journal
reports. Sierra Vista Hospital—a
psychiatric facility—also will provide
services for CHW hospitals.
Under the agreement, a mobile team
created by Heritage Oaks will provide
assessments for psychiatric patients
who arrive at the emergency
departments of CHW's Mercy General,
Mercy Folsom, Mercy San Juan and
Methodist hospitals. The mobile team
will work with the Sacramento County
Mental Health Treatment Center and
CHW's Woodland Memorial Hospital to
coordinate care for the patients
(Robertson, Sacramento Business
Journal, 5/13).
2011 NAMIWalk Photos
NAMIWalk Information Booths
At this year’s NAMIWalk information booths were offered to NAMIWalk sponsors
and various community organizations. If you missed the opportunity at the Walk,
here’s the rundown on the information booths that were there:
AstraZeneca’s Take on Depression – Info and resources on depression and bipolar
disorder. www.TakeonDepression.com
Balanced – A bipolar support group. http://www.meetup.com/balanced
Friends for Survival – Support for people touched by a suicide tragedy. (916) 3920664 http://www.friendsforsurvival.org
Sacramento Medical Oasis – A medical clinic that provides primary care and
outpatient psychiatric services to adults and children. (916) 282-0889
http://www.sacmedoasis.com
SeniorLink – Support services to older adults (50+) demonstrating early signs of
isolation and/or depression. SeniorLink is a program provided by El Hogar
Community Services. http://www.elhogarinc.org
Suicide Prevention & Crisis Services – A crisis phone line for people considering
suicide and for people concerned about a friend or loved one who may be suicidal.
(916) 368-3111 http://www.theeffort.org/suicide_prevention.htm
Sutter Center for Psychiatry – A psychiatric hospital in Sacramento that serves
adults and children. (916) 386-3000 http://www.suttermedicalcenter.org/psychiatry
NAMI Sacramento Newsletter June 2011 -3-
NAMI Sacramento · 3440 Viking Drive, Suite 125 · Sacramento, California 95827 · 916.364.1642 · www.namisacramento.org
May Meeting: Forum on Postpartum Mood Disorders
Four speakers presented information on
postpartum depression and other
postpartum mood disorders at the May
NAMI Sacramento General Meeting.
Jeanne Templeman, RN, CNS, LCSW
discussed the forensic and legal issues
that can arise for women with severe
cases of postpartum mood disorders.
Dennis and Carolyn Luchay shared the
heartbreaking story of their daughter’s
experience with postpartum psychosis
and talked about what they have done to
ensure that fewer families go through
what they’ve experienced. The Luchays
have set up a perinatal depression,
awareness, and support warm line where
people can leave a voicemail message
and receive a call back from a trained
volunteer. Amy Mansfield Weinberg,
volunteer for Postpartum Support
International who serves as their
Northern California Co-Coordinator,
spoke about her experience with
postpartum anxiety that developed when
she weaned her baby at 14 months
postpartum. Weinberg also spoke about
the support and information that is
available to the public through
Postpartum Support International.
mania/bipolar disorder, postpartum
obsessive-compulsive disorder,
postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder,
postpartum psychosis and postpartum
depression.
One of the themes that arose during the
meeting was the lack of knowledge about
postpartum mood disorders among
medical professionals. As with many
areas of life, we need to educate
ourselves and share that knowledge with
others.
Perinatal Depression, Awareness, and
Suport Warm Line
Call (888) 977-6955 or email
communityppdresources@yahoo.com
Some facts about Postpartum Mood
Disorders:
The ―Baby Blues‖ affects approximately
80% of women postpartum, typically
comes on within one week after giving
birth and lasts for a few days or up to 3
weeks.
Postpartum mood disorders last longer
than 2-3 weeks, interfere with daily life
and affect approximately 15% of women
postpartum.
Postpartum Depression is the most
common complication of childbirth.
There are several types of postpartum
mood disorders, not just depression. They
are postpartum panic disorder,
postpartum anxiety, postpartum
Symptoms can vary, be mild or severe,
come on slowly or quickly, appear during
pregnancy or not until one year after
delivering a baby or at the time of
weaning, and may or may not have been
experienced by the person at an earlier
time of life.
For more information:
If you need immediate help,
Call the Sacramento County Crisis Line
at (916) 732-3637.
Call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency
room if it is an emergency.
Jeanne Templeman, RN, CNS, LCSW
In addition to teaching nursing students,
Jeanne has a private clinical
psychotherapy practice and is
experienced at working with people with
postpartum mood disorders.
http://www.jtempleman.com (916) 3206051
You will receive a call back from a
trained volunteer. Their volunteers are
available to listen, validate your feelings,
help you feel understood and provide you
with community resources. This warm
line is not a substitute for professional
care.
Postpartum Support International
Postpartum Support International is a
nonprofit organization whose mission is
to increase awareness about the
emotional changes that women
experience during pregnancy and
postpartum. Their informative website
provides facts and resources and states
their motto: ―You are not alone. You are
not to blame. With help, you will be
well.‖ www.postpartum.net (800) 9444773
and well-organized blog on postpartum
depression and other mental illnesses
related to childbirth.
www.postpartumprogress.com
Postpartum Depression for Dummies
Postpartum Depression for Dummies by
Shoshana S. Bennett, Ph.D., is a book
that covers a range of postpartum mood
disorders and provides reassuring,
positive guidance to help you understand
and recover. Dr. Shosh (as she is called)
presents a balanced approach that
includes psychological, medical and
alternative treatments.
NAMI Sacramento General Meetings
happen six times a year, and are free and
open to the public. We are open to
suggestions. If there is a topic or speaker
you that you’d like for us to include in a
future general meeting, please email
patsyp@surewest.net.
Volunteer Opportunities
at NAMI California's
Annual Conference
NAMI California’s Annual Conference is
just around the corner! This year’s event
will be held in Sacramento at the Double
Tree Hotel on August 19–20th. They are
looking for volunteers to help with the
event. If you are interested, please
contact Nikki Townsend at
nikki.townsend@namicalifornia.org.
Volunteers will receive a half day
entrance to the event for free (details will
be worked out with you closer to the
event). Below is the list of available
volunteer shifts.
Thursday, August 18th
(3pm-7pm): Early Bird Registration
Volunteers
Friday, August 19th
8:00am-12:00pm
12:00pm-5:00pm
Saturday, August 20th
8:00am-12:00pm
12:00pm-5:00pm.
Postpartum Progress Online Blog
Postpartum Progress is an informative
NAMI Sacramento Newsletter June 2011 -4-
NAMI Sacramento · 3440 Viking Drive, Suite 125 · Sacramento, California 95827 · 916.364.1642 · www.namisacramento.org
My Letter to Karen
By Larry Liseno, NAMI Sacramento
Board Treasurer
Balancing is what happens on a child's
seesaw. Balancing is an appropriate
amount of medication; a try-this-and-getthat effect. Balancing is walking a
straight line when asked to by a police
officer. Balancing is many things in life,
and balancing is my letter to Karen.
Karen is my little sister. She's younger by
twelve years, and, I re-established a close
relationship with her upon the death of
our parents in 1996. She and our brother
had been living with them at our family's
home in upstate New York into their
adult years, because our parents believed
this to be the best way to cope with their
schizophrenia. Since embracing hers and
my brother's care after our parents’ death,
I have learned much about mental health.
Gathering knowledge about mental
illnesses can be done in many ways.
Some of it can be learned in front of a
computer monitor, some from association
with NAMI, some from professionals,
some from ... well you get the idea. As a
family member mental health knowledge
is a balance of time and resources...and
energy.
Karen graduated from college with a
degree in sociology when her illness hit
and her life's dreams turned to
nightmares. Her onset of illness and the
consequences weren't unique. It's simply
what happens to thousands of young
adults each year. My mother and father
were steeped in a community of stigma
and they managed in their own way to
offer love and care. But it was care under
a blanket of shame. We in NAMI know
the road to effective treatment is better
than that. And, we come to know
balancing individual privacy with
effective treatment is both science and
art.
She has come a long way since 1996.
True, Karen lives her hours with frequent
delusions, and I often fall back on humor
to understand her thoughts; better yet, to
respect them on balance. She lives
independently in her own apartment, and,
the apartment complex houses those who
suffer similar mental health problems.
Her location remains in upstate New
York. The village is bucolic, quaint and
slow moving, by comparison to
Sacramento. The view from her living
room window is a gentle hill of woods
and flowers where deer sometimes show
themselves. She receives caregivers and
family weekly to drive her to medical
appointments, to make a grocery run, to
get her hair done or to enjoy some lunch
and conversation at a local diner. Our
extended family of cousins and their
children visit and chat and enjoy her
naturally warm and sweet personality.
Balancing resources with means seems to
be working, but it isn't perfect.
During the early years of my active
advocacy, I wanted her to live with me in
Sacramento, but this hasn't happened.
After many attempts to motivate her to
make the major change, two of which left
airline tickets unused, I realized it would
be best to find a satisfactory living
arrangement where she was most familiar
with her surroundings. And true, at times
I see sadness in her eyes and hear
loneliness in her voice on the phone,
which grates against my sense of what
could be. Balancing her fears with her
happiness is challenging.
And so I write her a letter each week and
I telephone frequently, and I encourage
her to do the same. I visit her twice a year
and we have a grand time socializing
with family. With good consistent
medication over the past several years
she now enjoys brief gatherings, and
she's a sharp card player, who enjoys
humor as she enjoyed it in her BS
days...not that kind of BS, rather Before
Schizophrenia. My letter will tell her of
family events, of a good recipe, of my
hopes for her day, of plans when we are
together, of a good book, of brotherly
advice to ward off her devils, and
sometimes I choose a Samuel Clemens
style of writing that I know will get her to
laugh out loud.
yearly battle with squirrels is on again.
Squirrels store nuts by digging holes in
the ground, and dig up nuts to get at them
when they're hungry, which is always.
The front lawn looks like a mine field!
So, I've decided to kidnap Mama
Squirrel's little boy. Oh, don't worry I'll
only be cruel if I have to. When the
situation demands it, you gotta do what
you gotta do. I'll see if Mama S. will
cooperate first. If she will fill in all the
holes, reseed the lawn, I've got no
problem, right? And, I want her to move!
She's no longer welcome here. I want her
and her kind to stay on the opposite side
of the street from now on. Or, I'll tell
Mama S. my ultimatum....it's cooperate
or it's squirrel burgers tonight! Stay warm
in love, Larry"
You see, after all, balancing is my letter
to Karen.
New NAMI Program for
Parents
NAMI Sacramento will offer a NAMI
program called Basics for the first time in
September. This is a free course for
parents and caregivers of children and
adolescents living with mental illness,
including attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder. NAMI Basics is taught by
trained instructors who are also parents or
caregivers of individuals who developed
symptoms as a child or young teenager.
Course elements cover the biology of
mental illness, impact of the child’s
illness on the family and the latest
research and advances in treatments
The course includes information on the
types of major mental illnesses and also
tips on getting educational help for your
child.
The six-week course will be held in Elk
Grove. To enroll, contact the NAMI
Sacramento office, 364-1642 and ask to
be put on the list. We will begin
contacting people the beginning of
August. For more information on Basics,
go to www.nami.org/basics.
Like my letter on April 6th when I said,
"Dear Karen, Yep, it's spring and my
NAMI Sacramento Newsletter June 2011 -5-
NAMI Sacramento · 3440 Viking Drive, Suite 125 · Sacramento, California 95827 · 916.364.1642 · www.namisacramento.org
More NAMIWalk Photos
A New Approach to
Schizophrenia?
By Bob Carolla, NAMI Director of
Communications
Medical science usually advances slowly
and incrementally, with occasional, if not
frequent missteps. So it would be
premature to get too excited about a
recent study reported in Nature magazine,
"Schizophrenia in a dish."
Still, the possibilities are fascinating.
The article describes experiments in
which neuroscientists were able to turn
skin cells donated by four individuals
living with schizophrenia into brain
cells—neurons—in order to explore
potential causes of the disease. Following
the transformation, the new cells showed
fewer connections-synapses-than brain
cells from people without the disease.
However, tests still showed that the cells
would conduct electrical impulses as well
as the others.
A Fox News report on the study points to
advances which might result from the
research: the ability to isolate biological
factors from environmental "triggers" in
seeking to identify the causes of
schizophrenia and "individualized
medicine" in which drugs could be tested
first for their effect on a particular person
without the person having to try it out
directly. The "lab dish" method might
also be issued for other mental illnesses,
such as bipolar disorder.
According to one scientist, Nature
reported, most antipsychotic drugs used
today for schizophrenia target the same
dopamine receptor. Speculatively, the
experiments might lead to new or broader
approaches in biological treatment.
But there's a major caveat: The
differences between the brain cells
derived from people living with
schizophrenia and those without the
disease could be the result of the cell
transformation itself-rather than the
illness. For the moment, the study
represents only a starting point.
No July Newsletter
The NAMI Sacramento newsletter takes
abreak in July; the next newsletter will be
August’s. Please send submissions to Jim
Larsen (JAL7@comcast.net) by July 15
for inclusion in the August newsletter.
NAMI Sacramento Newsletter June 2011 -6-
NAMI Sacramento · 3440 Viking Drive, Suite 125 · Sacramento, California 95827 · 916.364.1642 · www.namisacramento.org
Doctor’s Corner
Dr. Robin Zasio is a local Licensed Clinical
Psychologist and owner of the Anxiety
Treatment Center at:
www.AnxietyTreatmentExperts.com,
www.CognitiveBehaviorExperts.com or
www.YourGreaterGood.com.
Dr. Zasio is also featured on the A&E
television documentary, “Hoarders”.
She addresses mental health questions
submitted by NAMI Sacramento members,
consumers, and readers.
Submit your questions to:
drrobin@sierrabg.com
Dear Dr. Robin,
I have been struggling with mental health
issues for the past nine years and can’t
seem to find the right person who I feel
understands what I am going through.
Some time ago you wrote an article on
how to find a psychiatrist, which I found
very helpful, but I am now looking for a
therapist. Do you have any suggestions?
about local programs and services
including affordable treatment services.
www.networkofcare.org offers
information including descriptions of
community treatment services and other
support.
www.samhsa.gov has a mental health
facilities locator that can also help you
find community outpatient, inpatient and
residential treatment facilities, including
affordable mental health services in your
area.
Universities or teaching hospitals may
also be a source of low-cost or free
treatment services.
www.wfmh.com can assist people from
other countries throughout the world in
finding mental health services in their
area.
You can use Psychology Today's
Therapy Directory to search for mental
health professionals in your area.
www.psychologytoday.org.
The Therapist Referral Network at 1-800843-7274 and 1-858-481-1515 provides
referrals to individual mental health
professionals. Providers participate in a
variety of insurance plans. Some offer
affordable fee structures and may accept
Medicare and Medicaid.
So these are just a few options that may
be of assistance to you. Also consider
typing into the search engine the
condition you are looking for help with
such as ―anxiety,‖ ―depression,‖ or
―grief‖ followed by ―therapist‖ and the
city you live in. You may find resources
that you weren’t even aware of right in
your area. Hope this helps and wishing
you the very best!
Dr. Robin
Even More Pics
Thanks in advance,
Jennifer
Dear Jennifer,
In the midst of thousands and thousands
of therapists, it can be difficult to find
just the right fit. But, good for you for
not giving up! With persistence, I
believe you will get there, so stay with it.
Now, that being said, I’m going to
provide you and the readers with a list of
resources that you can access. When
making contact or reading their profiles,
keep in mind the top five qualities that
you are looking for. This might include
their specialty, therapeutic framework,
educational or experience level, or even
gender. Prior to making the first
appointment, consider expressing the
importance of your needs to ensure that
the therapist also feels that it’s a good fit.
Here is a list which was obtained from
www.mentalhealthamerica.net. Your
local Mental Health America affiliate is
an excellent resource for information
NAMI Sacramento Newsletter June 2011 -7-