March 2016

Issue III Vol. V

5205 Greenwood Ave. Ste 110 West Palm Beach, FL 33407

561-588-3477 www.namipbc.org

The Voice

Dear NAMI-PBC:

After reading the cover article for the February 2016 Newsletter “Message from the President” I felt the obligation to express my own personal opinions on the topics brought up by that article. Stigma and its ensuing discrimination are lingering at the top of the actual values and norms we follow, known as real culture. I want to make some points to The Voice readers and help explain my beliefs regarding what is ideal and what is real. First and foremost—It is important for all of us to educate ourselves; check the statistics. NAMI has provided easy to read infographics (information with pictures) and clearly listed up-to-date statistics on mental illness. Visit https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-By-the-Numbers to find excel-lent information. Take the education you gain and share it with someone else. The article mentions, “there really is no ‘us versus them’ scenario.” I be-lieve that everyone operates within a spectrum of mental health or mental “dis-ease.” According to The National Union of Students in the United King-dom, “Our perceptions of mental ill health are still skewed and negative. Just like a broken leg affects our physical health, a mental illness affects our men-tal health. And actually, a broken leg might affect our mental health too, and mental illness can defi-nitely impact on our physical health!” To me, it is the severity of our difficulties that separates us, as well as our individualities. No two diagnoses are the same; no two people are the same. As we learn in NAMI’s Peer-to-Peer Education, “There is no one way to do or be anything.” On the topic of the portrayal of violence in the me-dia connected to people diagnosed with mental ill-ness, the article read, “The irony of the media pre-

Lunch and Learn

The Mental Health Epidemic in

Palm Beach County

Tuesday, March 29

11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Speakers will be discussing specific challenges

we face as a community. Learn about the topic.

Be a part of the solution.

Honorable Joseph Marx, 15th Judicial Court of Florida

Chief Deputy Mike Gauger, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (Class of 1996)

Marsha Martino, Executive Director, NAMI of Palm Beach County

Testimonial by Peter Davey, Lead Peer Specialist

Seats are limited.

Register today by going to http://

www.leadershippbc.org/Lunch-and-Learn

and click on March 29

senting repeated stories of stereotyped mentally ill people who commit violent acts, is that stories of people with mental illness who recover, and who go on to lead productive lives…” I agree that in-stead of highlighting people living with mental ill-ness leading productive lives, the media repeats negative stereotypes. To me, the real irony is that people with severe mental illnesses are over ten times more likely to be victims of violent crime than the general population! Stay on the grind!

LETTER TO THE EDITOR By Peter Davey

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

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We answered 200 phone calls

5 attended the Cognitive Enhancement Therapy

81 attended NAMI Presentations

105 participated in NAMI Peer Council and

N.O.W. activities

24 attended NAMI/PBC Family Support Groups

149 attended NAMI Connection Groups

22 attended the NAMI/PBC Y oung Adults Group

3 attended the NAMI/PBC Adolescent Support

Groups

17 REACH for Teens mentored

In January NAMI/PBC served 607

individuals

MEET OUR NEW PROGRAM DIRECTOR - Katherine Murphy

Katherine Murphy joined NAMI PBC as Director of Programs in February. Katherine ex-pressed that she is "ecstatic about the opportunity to work for NAMI. Peter Davey and Marsha Martino have shared about their incredibly positive experiences with the organ-ization and I am honored to join the team".

Katherine is a community educator with experience working with diverse populations. She provides in-service training on Trauma Informed Care and Cultural Competency to area professionals.

Katherine most recently worked at Compass, The LGBT Community Center of the Palm Beaches. While coordinating the Compass Mentor Program, Katherine’s passion for the arts shaped the program into a successful and popular activity-based club, introducing LGBTQ teens to visual and performance arts throughout Palm Beach County. She formerly worked for Gulfstream Goodwill Industries, provid-ing life skills training for individuals living with disabilities.

Katherine earned her Bachelor of Liberal Arts at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. She has experience in public health initiatives, including HIV prevention and sexual health education.

MARCH NAMI GENERAL MEETING

SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS

Presented by Richard Friedkin

Come learn about the application process, the definition of disability, and the two programs (SSDI and SSI). Also discussed will be the various work incentives available to beneficiaries who receive benefits

and wish to return to work. Also Medicare and Medicaid as they relate to Social Security and SSI.

Tuesday, March 22, 6:00-8:00 pm

The Mollie Wilmot Pavilion, 5205 Greenwood Ave., 2nd Floor

West Palm Beach, FL 33407

This meeting is free and open to the public. RSVP by calling the NAMI office at 561-588-3477.

NEW COURSE OFFERING!!!!

Next course begins Wednesdays, 4:00 pm-7:00 pm, starting Wednesday, March 9 and runs for five consecutive weeks through April 6 at the NAMI West Palm Beach office. This course is invaluable to anyone working with individuals living with mental illness. Contact Katherine Murphy, Program Director, 561-588-3477, to register. 15 free CEUs for LMHCs, LCSWs, LFMTs and RN CEUs provided by Palm Healthcare Foundation. No partial credits.

WHAT’S COMING UP

MEET OUR NEW BOARD MEMBER - Diane Esposito, Ph.D

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NAMI PEER COUNCIL MEETING Followed by Movie and Pizza

Friday, March 25, 2016, 5:30 pm

NAMI Office 1520 10th Avenue, N., Suite D

Lake Worth, FL 33460

Call Michael at 561-588-3477 to RSVP

Join the NAMI Peer Council at the

Gumbo Limbo Nature Center 1801 N. Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton, FL 33432

Saturday, March 19

Call Chris or Michael at 561-588-3477 to RSVP.

Dr. Diane Esposito PhD, is an ARNP or Psychiatric Advanced Registered Nurse

Practitioner, and Professor of Mental Health Nursing. She has worked in the

mental health field in Palm Beach County since 1996, including teaching posi-

tions at Palm Beach State College and Palm Beach Atlantic University, as well as

working as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner.

In 2013 Dr. Esposito received the Healthcare Educator Hero award from the

Palm Beach Medical Society for her commitment to teaching and advocating for

improvement in the treatment of individuals with mental health conditions

through her work with students. She currently teaches at Nova Southeastern

University and practices at Futures of Palm Beach treatment center in Tequesta.

NAMI Palm Beach County is proud to announce that on February 16, it received its accreditation from Nonprofits First. The certificate was pre-sented by Adriene Tynes, Director of Accredita-tion of Nonprofits First, to NAMI President, Man-ny Kushner, and Executive Director, Marsha Martino. The accreditation was awarded after a stringent 12-month audit process. This certification illus-

trates that NAMI has best practice policies and procedures in place.

Join us for Arts & Crafts, Book Club, Games,

Speakers, Computer Training, Advocacy, Movies

and more at NAMI On Wednesdays (N.O.W.),

11:00 am - 4:00 pm

NAMI PBC Office 1520 10th Avenue, N., Suite D., Lake Worth, FL

IN THE NEWS

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VOLUNTEER POSITIONS AVAILABLE:

NAMI is planning a Volunteer Information Get To-gether. If you would like to volunteer, but don’t know how you can help, call the office at 561-588-3477 to get on the invite list. Staff will present on the different areas of service. OUTREACH SPECIALISTS - Anyone interested in help-ing individuals who are receiving services at PBC sub-stance abuse programs and their families learn about NAMI, please contact the office at 561-588-3477.

PAID POSITION AVAILABLE:

DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR - NAMI is looking for an individual who has experience/interest in running major events, engaging and tracking do-nors, identifying and soliciting major gifts, research-ing and writing grants, and representing NAMI in the community. For more information, please contact our office at 561-588-3477.

CRISIS INTERVENTION TEAM

By Dorothy Kelleher

If you have a loved one in crisis and

need the services of a CIT officer, you

should call 911 and give the necessary

information to the dispatcher, making

sure the dispatcher understands that

you do need a CIT officer sent to the

scene. NAMI and CIT work closely to-

gether in providing this service.

CHECK OUT NAMI’S

YOUNG ADULTS GROUP

And

GET INVOLVED

1st three Fridays of the Month

6:00pm - 7:30pm

NAMI PBC 1520 10th Ave., N., Suite D

Lake Worth, FL 33460

Peer and Family Support Groups Call 561-588-3477 for more information

NAMI/PBC Connection Recovery Support Groups

Lake Worth (NAMI Office) 1520 10th Avenue N, Suite D Lake Worth, FL 33460 Saturdays 6:00-7:30pm

Delray Beach (Toole Building So. County Mental Health Center) 16158 S Military Trail, Delray Beach, FL 33484 Mondays 1:45-2:45pm & Wednesdays 10:15-11:30am

Hypoluxo (Amigos Group — Jeff Industries) 111 E Coast Avenue, Hypoluxo, FL 33462 Mondays 2:30-4:00pm

Jupiter (Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network) 140 Intracoastal Pointe Dr., Suite 208, Jupiter, FL 33477 Mondays 5:30-7:00pm

NAMI/PBC Young Adults Group 18-35 Year Olds

Lake Worth (NAMI Office) 1520 10th Avenue N, Suite D, Lake Worth, FL 33460 First 3 Fridays of the month 6:00-7:30pm

NAMI/PBC Adolescent Support Groups

NAMI/PBC Family Support Groups

West Boca (West Boca Raton Library) 18685 State Road 7, Boca Raton, FL 33498 1st Tuesday 6:30-8:00pm

Boynton Beach/ Delray Beach (Hagen Ranch Library) 14350 Hagen Ranch Road, Delray Beach, FL 33446 2nd Tuesday 6:15-7:45pm

Jupiter (Southeast Behavioral Health) 140 Intracoastal Pointe Dr, Ste 208, Jupiter, FL 33477 3rd Thursday 6:30-8:00pm Wellington (Wellington Regional Library) RESTARTING SOON 1951 Royal Fern Drive, Wellington, FL 33414 Call Office for Information 561-588-3477

Other Local Support Groups for Peers

Other Local Family Support Groups

Family Grace Group First Presbyterian Church Youth Building 717 Prosperity Farms Road, North Palm Beach, FL 33408 1st Monday 6:30pm Jeni Ayers 561-309-5675 ayersjeni@gmail.com for more information

Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness Friends and Family Support Group Alliance for Eating Disorder Awareness Office 1649 Forum Place #2, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 Wednesdays 7:00-8:30pm 866-662-1235

GROUP MEETINGS

South County Mental Health Center Depression Bipolar Support Alliance 16158 S Military Trail, Delray Beach, FL 33484 1-877-858-7474 for directions ALL DISORDERS (Building E. — Toole Building) Wednesdays 7:00-9:00pm

Peer Place Support Center 2100 45th Street, Suite B12, West Palm Beach, FL 33407 561-712-0584 for directions and information DRA (Living in the Now) (12 Step Co-occurring) Sat. 10am Here & Now (12 Step) Saturday 11:00am-12:00pm Peer Support Mon-Fri 9:00am-4:00pm; Sat 9am-1pm

Fair Oaks Pavilion (Behind Delray Community Hospital) 5440 Linton Blvd, Ste 1010, Delray Beach, FL 33484 Depression Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) 561-716-7511

Jupiter Fire Station No. 19 322 N. Central Boulevard, Jupiter, FL 33458 561-575-9787 for information Depression/Bipolar Thursdays 7:00-8:30pm

Holy Trinity Church 211 Trinity Place, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 Nancy Drevich 561-499-6716 for information Depression/Bipolar Thursdays 7:00-8:30pm

West Boca Medical Education Center 21644 State Road 7, Boca Raton, FL 33428 For directions and info: Jason Spielman 954-217-1757 OCD 1st Thursday 7:30-9:00pm

Living Grace Group 1st Presbyterian Church Youth Bldg. 717 Prosperity Farms Rd, North Palm Beach, FL 33408 1st Tuesday 6:30pm, Contact Ken 561-379-5675,

Trauma Support Group Center for Trauma Counseling, Inc. 801 Lake Worth Road, Suite 101, Lake Worth, FL 33467 Contact Helya 561-444-3914

Support for Eating Disorders Alliance for Eating Disorder Awareness 1649 Forum Place #2, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 Thursdays 7:00-8:30pm *18+ males and females 866-662-1235

Jupiter 50 South US Highway 1, Suite 309, Jupiter, FL 33477 Grades 7-8: Mondays 5:30-6:30pm Grades 9-12: Mondays 6:30-7:30pm

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NAMI/PBC N.O.W. (NAMI on Wednesdays)

Lake Worth (NAMI Office) 1520 10th Avenue N, Suite D, Lake Worth, FL 33460 Wednesdays 11:00am-4:00pm

DEPRESSION: HOW DO I KNOW IF SOMEONE IS DEPRESSED?

Dr. Kelly Everson

At times individuals may feel overwhelmed and struggle to find appropriate coping strategies. It is im-portant to share feelings of depression, suicidal thoughts, or urges to hurt one’s self in order to ensure safe-ty and to obtain supportive resources that could be beneficial. Receiving support from a trusted individual may be the first step in moving towards a more hopeful and pleasant future. Peers who are struggling from depression, suicidal thoughts, or self-injurious behaviors may demonstrate warning signs including:

Reported Sadness Being easily tearful

Fixation on death and dying Engage in impulsive or reckless behaviors

Comments about being overwhelmed Increased drug and alcohol use

Feeling nobody understands Giving away possessions

Signing off social media sites Making comments about suicide

Fatigue Mood Swings

Withdrawing from peers and activities Covering arms and thighs with long sleeves

Decreased self esteem Hopelessness

It is important that anyone struggling with depression, suicidal thoughts, or self-injury seek support from a trusted person such as a parent, school counselor, work colleague, friend or mentor. With support and therapy, hope and happiness may be achieved again- it is imperative that we remem-ber that emotions are temporary experiences and are always changing- we don’t make decisions based on emotions!!!

If you are currently struggling or know someone that is, please speak to your support system. Sup-port friends and family in taking steps to obtain care and support by sharing their current difficul-ties. Additional resources include the suicide prevention hotline (1-800-SUICIDE) or the self-injury hotline (1-800-273-TALK). A counselor or therapist may be able to further assist you or your friends to develop appropriate coping strategies, tolerate distress, and provide continued support.

THINGS TO KNOW

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DIALECTICS IN RECOVERY

By Peter Davey, Certified Peer Specialist The word I would like to discuss with you is so very powerful and goes far beyond our everyday nomen-clature. This concept, if used properly, can skyrocket recovery in our lives powerfully. Dialectic is defined simply as “debate, discussion, or dialog”. Yet, even more substantially, it can be defined as "a thought process which provides the ability to see contradictions without applying an either/or judgment to them." The latter definition comes from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Education; this is the definition I will to refer to. The P2P definition is profound for bringing into awareness a tool with which we can practice non-judgement. In an article on Non-Judgment written by Adam Oakley, an author of spiritual literature, Ad-am posits that: "Judgments create separation between you and what you are judging. If a situation arises and you judge it as bad, you and the situation then seem to become separate, and suffering begins. Through non-judgment, you realize that you and the situation are one. Then any action required natural-ly happens, from a place of transcendence within yourself." I am taken back and very grateful for how much awareness I have received during my journey in recovery. Having been a P2P Mentor for almost a decade, I have had numerous chances to revisit dialectic thinking and learn in new ways with so many amazing people that joined the classes. My favorite memory of discussing dialectic statements was with an activity where the class looks at flowers and then makes a dialectic statement about them. A friend of mine, a young man by the name of Jose, looked at the flower and said, "I feel like I am looking at the flowers and yet they are looking back at me." At the time, I was practicing spirituality, mindfulness, and different perspectives and this observation was an incredible revelation. A big leap in my recovery occurred when I stumbled upon a dissertation by George Russell Seay, Jr. titled, "Theologian of Synthesis: the Dialectical Method of Martin Luther King, Jr. as Revealed in His Critical Thinking on Theology, History, and Ethics.” It described how "Martin Luther King Jr.’s personality reflect-ed both parents’ personalities” and explored many aspects of Dr. King’s use of dialectics -- which is fasci-nating. This made me think of my own family dynamics and how I have the personality that I do today. I thought about having the strength of my mother and perseverance of my father. Also by noticing the mannerisms and emotions that I had developed, I felt empowered by better understanding the way I op-erate. The most amazing time I had using the dialectic thought process was when I visited the Veterans Admin-istration to discuss stigma. NAMI had told me that there would be discord, as the military does not talk about stigma, and that mental health programs need to talk about stigma to end it. While visiting with the psychologist at the V.A. I was able to say that I think that both NAMI and the V.A. are right. We both need to eradicate stigma once and for all—whether it is out in the open or kept private! I am grateful for NAMI and the programs we offer and how we help so many. Merriam Webster helps provide the resolving and healing qualities in their definition of dialectic as "any systematic reasoning, exposition, or argument that juxtaposes opposed or contradictory ideas and usually seeks to resolve their conflict." I will leave you with a dialectic of my own: I understand that dealing with mental illness is difficult at times and yet we have all the power, support, love, and care inside whenever we take the time to look for it.

THINGS TO KNOW

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Non-Profit Organization

US Postage Paid

West Palm Beach, FL

Permit No. 1327

National Alliance on Mental Illness of Palm Beach County

Mollie Wilmot Center—Palm Healthcare Pavilion

5205 Greenwood Avenue, Suite 110

West Palm Beach, FL 33407

Or Current Resident

NAMI Membership exists at 3 levels: Affiliate, State & National. NAMI is a 501(c)(3) non-

profit, charitable organization—contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Together, we can continue to fight for all those affected by mental illness. PLEASE NOTE: In

order for NAMI/PBC to receive your full donation, please send your donation to the NAMI/

PBC office. Thank you!

Contributions benefit NAMI|PBC, a not for profit tax exempt organization. A COPY OF

THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF NAMI|PBC

(CH 6498), MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SER-

VICES AT WWW.800HELPFLA.COM OR BY CALLING TOLL FREE 1-800-435-

7352 WITHIN THE STATE OF FLORIDA. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY EN-

DORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. NAMI|PBC

receives 100% of each contribution.

Members are NAMI/PBC’s lifeblood; your member-ship helps us continue to

provide free outreach, support & education. In bringing mental health

issues to wider attention, we advocate for better

treatment. As our mem-bership base grows, our voice becomes stronger.

Respect, Compassion & Hope … NAMI Works!

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other: $____

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