National Alliance for
the Mentally Ill (NAMI)
is a nonprofit, grassroots, self-help, support and advocacy
organization of consumers, families, and friends of people with severe
mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder,
bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive
disorder, panic and other severe anxiety disorders, autism and
pervasive developmental disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorder, and other severe and persistent mental illnesses that affect
the brain. (Information below from nami.org)
Mental illnesses
include such disorders as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder,
bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive
disorder, panic and other severe anxiety disorders, autism and
pervasive developmental disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorder, borderline personality disorder, and other severe and
persistent mental illnesses that affect the brain.
These disorders can profoundly disrupt a person's thinking, feeling,
moods, ability to relate to others and capacity for coping with the
demands of life.
Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, race, religion, or
income. Mental illnesses are not the result of personal weakness, lack
of character, or poor upbringing.
Mental illnesses are treatable. Most people with serious mental
illness need medication to help control symptoms, but also rely on
supportive counseling, self-help groups, assistance with housing,
vocational rehabilitation, income assistance and other community
services in order to achieve their highest level of recovery.
Here are some important facts about mental illness and recovery:
Mental illnesses are biologically based brain disorders. They cannot
be overcome through "will power" and are not related to a person's
"character" or intelligence.
Mental disorders fall along a continuum of severity. The most serious
and disabling conditions affect five to ten million adults (2.6 –
5.4%) and three to five million children ages five to seventeen (5 –
9%) in the United States.
Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability (lost years of
productive life) in the North America, Europe and, increasingly, in
the world. By 2020, Major Depressive illness will be the leading cause
of disability in the world for women and children.
Mental illnesses strike individuals in the prime of their lives, often
during adolescence and young adulthood. All ages are susceptible, but
the young and the old are especially vulnerable.
Without treatment the consequences of mental illness for the
individual and society are staggering: unnecessary disability,
unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate
incarceration, suicide and wasted lives; The economic cost of
untreated mental illness is more than 100 billion dollars each year in
the United States.
The best treatments for serious mental illnesses today are highly
effective; between 70 and 90 percent of individuals have significant
reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a combination
of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments and supports;
Early identification and treatment is of vital importance; By getting
people the treatment they need early, recovery is accelerated and the
brain is protected from further harm related to the course of illness.
Stigma erodes confidence that mental disorders are real, treatable
health conditions. We have allowed stigma and a now unwarranted sense
of hopelessness to erect attitudinal, structural and financial
barriers to effective treatment and recovery. It is time to take these
barriers down.
More information coming soon.
Do you have anything you'd like to contribute to this section?
Michigan
Resources, Support Groups, Listservs & Websites
Children's Mental Health Parent Support Group meets the third Thursday
of each month at the Capital Area Library (Gallery Rooms B and C), 401
S. Capital, Lansing, from 6 to 8 pm. Parents of children with
emotional, behavioral or mental health issues are welcome. For more
information call Tiffiany at 1-888-ACMH KID.
NAMI Michigan
921 N Washington Ave
Lansing, MI 48906-5137
Primary Phone: (517)485-4049
Alternate Phone: (800)331-4264
Fax: (517)485-2333
Email Address:
namimichigan@acd.net
Website: mi.nami.org
To view a list of
mental health resources from Early Childhood
Michigan,
click here.
Dreams
Unlimited Clubhouse - Our member-driven
clubhouse exists to instill a sense of belonging,provide support, and increase independence for persons
diagnosed with serious mental illness.
13200 Oak Park blvd., Oak Park, MI
48237-3627
Phone: 248-547-7712
National Alliance for
the Mentally Ill (NAMI)
is a nonprofit, grassroots, self-help, support and advocacy
organization of consumers, families, and friends of people with severe
mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder,
bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive
disorder, panic and other severe anxiety disorders, autism and
pervasive developmental disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorder, and other severe and persistent mental illnesses that affect
the brain.
Information coming soon. Do
you have anything you'd like to contribute to this section?
Coercive Restraint Therapies: A
Dangerous Alternative Mental Health Intervention - Physicians caring for adopted or foster children should be aware of the use
of coerciverestraint therapy (CRT) practices by
parents and mental health practitioners. CRT is definedas a mental health intervention involving physical restraint and is used
in adoptive or fosterfamilies with the intention of
increasing emotional attachment to parents. Coercive restrainttherapy parenting (CRTP) is a set of child care practices adjuvant to
CRT. CRT and CRTP havebeen associated with child
deaths and poor growth.
MA
Dad: System Punishes Sick Kids - Joshua Sarao's
father had no idea that his son's three-month stint for a probation violation
would turn into an eight-month nightmare of psychiatric hospitals and suicide
attempts. But the anguished Haverhill dad has been forced to watch as his son is
bounced from program to program in a juvenile justice system meant for
delinquents, not mentally ill kids.
MI
Disabled Woman's Dog Has Its Day -
Joyce Grad, 55, of Birmingham sits with Lady in her apartment on
Tuesday. A federal jury in Detroit sided with Grad in a lawsuit that
may have a big impact on mentally ill people who request no-pet
waivers from condos and co-op boards.
How Many Did I Overlook? The
Transformation of a School Psychologist - During my first ten years
as a school psychologist, I was not aware of the neurobiological nature of
mental illness. I had no inkling that many of the students that I saw had
the symptoms of what we now are beginning to understand as diseases of the
brain. I variously labeled these students seriously emotionally disturbed (SED),
conduct disordered, and out of touch with their feelings. That many of these
children might be suffering from the initial stages of major mental
illnesses rarely occurred to me.
MI
Gov Granholm
Signs Kevin’s Law, Creates New Treatment Options for Mentally Ill
- Governor Jennifer M. Granholm signed legislation that will
improve care for Michigan citizens with severe mental illness. The new
law will allow courts to order treatment for individuals with serious
mental illness who do not meet the current criteria for involuntary
hospitalization but who need outpatient mental health treatment to
protect themselves and others.
From Dorie -
As the mother of a son with Paranoid Schizophrenia I have been
struggling with the issue of prayer for quite some time. It is not
that I have lost faith. I have been running on it for five years now.
Granted there were times when it was reduced to the size of a mustard
seed. But as I look back in hindsight, there was a moment that stands
out from all the rest that left me totally and completely drained and
frozen in fear like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car when
it came to the issue of prayer.
MI
Children in Crisis: Mental Health - In this three-part series,
the Detroit Free Press examines how children with bipolar disorder,
anxiety, schizophrenia, depression and other mental illnesses succeed
or fail in getting mental health services. Through the eyes of
children who are in treatment, locked up, or on the brink, we explore
what it takes to get services, what's available and the impact on
families when a child needs mental health care.
CHILDREN IN CRISIS:
Family of Boy Overcoming Abuse Makes Tough Choice
to Get Him Help He Needs - Not when he is
reminded of the fire that killed his three adopted siblings and nearly took
his own life. Not when he thinks of the years of horrific neglect, physical
and sexual abuse and constant shuffling from place to place. Not even when
he's plucked out of his home and locked up in a juvenile detention center.
Bush Plans to Screen Whole U.S. Population for Mental Illness
- A sweeping mental health initiative will be unveiled by
President George W Bush in July. The plan
promises to integrate mentally ill patients fully into the community
by providing "services in thecommunity,
rather than institutions," according to a March 2004 progress report
entitled New FreedomInitiative. While some
praise the plan's goals, others say it protects the profits of drug
companies at theexpense of the public.
MI
Mental Illness
Stresses Juvenile Justice System - He
was a whiz at origami, the Japanese art of folding paper into various
shapes and objects. Leave him alone in a room with a ream of thin
copier bond and he would emerge with the most sturdy three-dimensional
container, a child-welfare advocate marveled. "It could hold water,"
said Brian Philson, director of the Jackson County Youth Center.
Despite the boy's uncanny knack to craft something out of nothing, the
13-year-old was hard pressed to build a place to sort out his apparent
inner demons.
OH Special Report:
Troubled Minds, Chaotic Care - Mentally ill children in Ohio
are abused by the system: Care is hard to find, often wretched, and so
costly some parents give up their kids to get government help.
MI
Detroit News Special Report Series on Mental Illness:
State fails in care of mentally ill kids -
State budget cuts are making it increasingly difficult to find
and help thousands of Michigan children suffering from serious
mental and emotional problems. 08/08/03;
Granholm vows to fix mental health system -
Joyce Coley of Redford, whose son, Jason Johnston, began
showing signs of mental illness in 2002, says she hopes the state
doesn't stick the mentally ill someplace and medicate them. Gov.
Jennifer Granholm said she will appoint a special commission to
study the growing crisis in care for the mentally ill in
Michigan. 07/22/03;
Patients caught in gap between policy, reality
- Dorian Jones-Bey has fallen as far through the state's
mental health safety net as he can go. 07/21/03;
Closure threatened to split families -
When the state closed the Northville Psychiatric Hospital in May,
Michigan had 30 years of experience with trying to remove people
with mental illnesses from hospital confinement. 07/21/03;
Money
tight, pay low at group home facilities -
Marcia Young was 4 years old when the state of Michigan
locked her away. 07/21/03; Mental
care system sows web of despair - The
mentally ill in Michigan are in the hands of a vast, inefficient
bureaucracy of community-based institutions that squanders resources
and regularly fails to deliver adequate care.
07/20/03
New Freedom Commission on Mental Health -
The final report from the President's New
Freedom Commission on MentalHealth was
released on July 22,2003. The commission's
charge was to"study the mental health
service delivery system, and to make
recommendations that would enable adults with serious mental illnessesand children with serious emotional
disturbance to live, work, learn,and
participate fully in their communities." The final report isentitled,"Achieving the Promise:
Transforming Mental Health Care inAmerica."
The following website contains thereport
and information forordering written copies
-
click here.
Mental health centers help
victims connect -In the 32 years since he was
first diagnosed with a mental illness, Robert Johnson has boiled the
essence of his disease down to one chilling word -- isolation.
Facts on Access to Medications
This resource guide on mood disorders is an additional tool for
use by NAMI advocates who are working with state policymakers and
legislators to preserve access to life-saving mental health
medications.
Facts on Access to Medications: The Patient's Individuality
Continuation of the policymaker's resource on facts on access to
medications for people with mood disorders that addresses the
issue of a patient's individuality when prescribing proper
medications.
