Annual Holiday Party on December 14th

We hope you will plan to join us for our Annual Holiday Party on Wednesday December 14th. Part of our

celebration is sharing and giving to those less fortunate, so we ask that guests bring a gift, wrapped, to be given

to a resident of the CHOC (homeless shelter) in Norristown. This annual tradition is much appreciated by those

who may otherwise not be remembered at the holidays. There are no restrictions on gift ideas; however, practi-

cal items (gloves, scarves, toiletries etc.) are usually much appreciated and often needed. Please wrap the gift

and mark “Male” or “Female” on it.

Date: Wednesday December 14, 2016

Location: 100 W. Main Street, Suite 204

Lansdale, PA

Time: 7-8:30 PM

This event is free and open to the public; however an RSVP is appreciated by

December 12th: 215-361-7784

montco memo Montgomery County, PA December 2016 Volume XXXVI Issue 4

Spring Family to Family Classes

Family to Family is an evidence-based 12 session course that is

offered free of charge to all interested. The teachers are trained family

members. Participants are family members/caretakers of adults (18 and

older) living with a mental health diagnosis. The course meets weekly

and covers topics such as diagnosis, medication, brain function, com-

munication, empathy and advocacy.

Two classes are currently scheduled:

Tuesday evenings

Time: 6:30 to 9 PM

Lansdale or Norristown

Start date to be determined

Wednesday mornings

10 AM-12:30 PM

Lansdale

Starts at the end of March

For more information or to register please call 215-361-7784.

Calendar 2

Message from our Executive Director

3

A Trip to Paris: Attending the Hearing Voices Convention

4

Criminal Justice Reform Requires Mental Health Care Reform

4

She Pioneered a Way to Treat Stress in Children

5

NAMIWalks Greater Philadelphia Save the Date!

6

Tributes and Donations 7

Also in This Issue

December 2016 Page 2

montco memo Volume XXXVI Issue 4

the montco memo is published monthly by

NAMI of PENNSYLVANIA

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Board of Directors

President Neen Davis First Vice-President Dawn Hogan Second Vice President Dave Davis Secretary Beth Milton Treasurer Stephen Nelson

Victoria Bright Lauren Centola Armand DiYenno Rhea Fernandes Tricia Malott Donna McNelis Jerry Rudakevich Mike Solomon

Executive Director Abby Grasso Editor Beulah Saideman Co-Editor Mary Schuck Editor Emeritus Maryella D. Hitt Bookkeeper Kelly DiBetta Walk Manager Danielle Blanchard

Support Group Facilitators Coordinator Carol Caruso

Abington Presbyterian Church Joan Kozlowski Corinne Smith Miriam McCauley

Lansdale Rich Kelble Anne Magowan

Lower Providence Presbyterian Church Neen Davis Sue Soriano

Pottstown Nina & Alan McDaniel

NAMI of PA Montgomery County

100 W. Main Street Suite 204

Lansdale, PA 19446 Phone: 215-361-7784 FAX: 215-361-7786

Email: nami-montcopa@verizon.net Web page: www.namimontcopa.org

Letters to the Editor and other articles and contributions are welcome. Send them

to the NAMI Office or by Email to brsaideman@comcast.net

by the 15th of the preceding month

NAMI of Pennsylvania Montgomery County is an approved Donor Choice Agency of the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and

Southern New Jersey

United Way Agency Code # 5076

Calendar

Dec. 6 Jan. 3

Lansdale Family Support Group at St. John’s United Church of Christ, 500 W. Main Street (at Richardson Avenue), Lansdale. First Tuesday, 7:00 PM.

Dec. 5 Jan.-TBA

NAMI Connection is a peer-run support group for individuals living with mental illness, which meets the first Monday of every month, except holidays, at 6:15 PM. William Jeanes Memorial Library, 4051 Joshua Rd, Lafayette Hill, PA

Dec. 5 Jan.-TBA

Pottstown Family Support Group, 1st Monday at Creative Health Services, Consumers Library, 11 Robinson Court, 7-8:30PM. 2017 meetings to be announced at a later time.

Dec. 5 Jan.-TBA

Lower Providence Family Support Group, Lower Providence Presbyterian Church, 3050 Ridge Pike, Eagleville, Room 205. 7 PM. First Monday except on holidays.

Dec. 8 Jan. 12

Glenside Family Support Group, Abington Presbyterian Church, 1082 Old York Road, Abington — 2nd Thursday, 7:30 PM.

Dec. 14 Jan.-TBA

Monthly Information Meeting, NAMI Office, 100 W. Main St., Suite 204, Lansdale, PA, 2nd Wednesday, 7:00 to 8:30 PM.

Dec. 15 Jan. 19

Montgomery County CSP (Community Support Program). 3rd Thursday, 12-2:30 PM, Montgomery County Library, 1001 Powell St., Norristown

Jan. 19 Board of Director’s Meeting, 3rd Thursday, Lansdale Office, 6:30 PM. No meeting in December.

A Note About Our Meetings

Although some of our meetings are held at religious institutions, they are non-denominational and open to people of all beliefs.

We are on Facebook and Twitter! Please like our Facebook pages and follow us on Twitter

so that you are informed of the latest news and events from NAMI PA Montgomery County

and the NAMIWalks Greater Philadelphia

https://www.facebook.com/NAMIMontCoPA

https://www.facebook.com/namiwalksgreaterphiladelphia/

Twitter: @NAMIMontCoPa

December 2016 Page 3

montco memo Volume XXXVI Issue 4

Message from Our Executive Director

The past 26 years, 11 as your Executive Director, have been

filled with the highs and lows that mental illness often brings

with it. The highs have been the connections: with people, or-

ganizations, causes; and the successes. Yes, there have been a

few. The lows have been the frustrations of things not moving

fast enough, of too many people still suffering with inadequate

services and supports. Too many families not knowing where to

turn, of finding it difficult to keep hope alive.

However I remain very positive about the direction we are

heading in. That “fire in the belly” that distinguishes NAMI

advocates is very much alive in Montgomery County, and with

the guidance of our new Executive Director and our Board of

Directors it will continue to grow and grow—remember, until

there’s a cure, there’s NAMI!

A final request — please volunteer. There is nothing more

rewarding. When I first was introduced to NAMI and met

Maryella Hitt and Peg Cochran, I offered to volunteer and never

thought I would be doing more than stuffing envelopes and

distributing NAMI brochures around the county. Little did I

know that I would soon be trained as a teacher and facilitator

and then a state trainer in many of our signature support and

education programs.

Participation on our state and national boards of directors

opened up a whole new world of meeting people and seeing

how things can be done on a broader scale. What these experi-

ences enabled me to bring back to our local affiliate is invalua-

ble and cannot be measured: building state and national rela-

tionships to help NAMI PA Montgomery County become a

player in the mental health arena!

And why did I feel this was important to do? I found it was

a way to pay back all of the wonderful help and support I re-

ceived from my NAMI family when I was going through my

family’s mental health crisis. So I ask you, if you feel you

would like to give back, whether you’ve been to a NAMI sup-

port group or taken one of our educational classes, now is the

time to do it. We need

trained support group fa-

cilitators and Family to

Family teachers. There is

nothing more rewarding

than knowing you have

helped or are helping

those is need.

I want to thank you all,

our members and friends,

for your wonderful sup-

port throughout the years.

I will remain involved

and hope to play a contin-

ued role with the affiliate,

especially in legislative

advocacy. I hope you will

play a part and help as

well. There’s lots to do,

and we have a great Team

to work with.

My best wishes to our

new Executive Director, Abby Grasso, as well as to Neen Davis

and the entire Board of Directors. You have my unfailing loyal-

ty and dedication to our mission. My thanks and appreciation to

our county Office of Behavioral Health for providing the sup-

port needed for our organization. Without it we never would

have been able to hire a full time Executive Director, and given

the organization the opportunity to grow as it has.

And finally, thank you for all that you do on behalf of per-

sons with mental illness and their families!

Carol Caruso

Carol Caruso receiving the

proclamation for the estab-

lishment of the Carol

Caruso Scholarship from

Neen Davis and other mem-

bers of the Board of Direc-

tors

Ron Honberg from NAMI National honoring Carol’s tireless dedication to our affiliate with stained glass

artwork featuring an iris, the NAMI symbol for hope.

December 2016 Page 4

montco memo Volume XXXVI Issue 4

By David Son

The 8th Annual Hearing Voices

Congress took place in Paris, France

on October 19th to 22nd, 2016. The

Congress brought leaders and mem-

bers of the international Hearing

Voices Movement together to connect

and learn about the important work

people are doing to promote hearing

voices as a human experience accept-

ing the reality that one can understand

and find meaning in their experience

to live successfully.

Travelling to Paris to attend the

Congress was a great honor. Since I

am a member of the Montgomery

County Hearing Voices Network and

self-identifying with the hearing voic-

es experience, I welcomed this op-

portunity. The Congress began with a

meeting along the Seine with the Eif-

fel Tower in full view, where we were

given an introduction to the Congress

as well as time to meet people from

the world community of voice hear-

ers. Being in Paris for the first time,

my expectations we affirmed — truly

a beautiful city.

In the days ahead, the Congress continued at another location

in the city. For two days, scheduled workshops around hearing

voices presented the efforts of different individuals and programs

from around the world. The final day of the Congress featured

speakers who presented departures from bio-medical models of

mental health treatment and made a solid case to approach chal-

lenging and distressing life mo-

ments from an experiential point of

view

The Hearing Voices Movement

is alive and well. From its begin-

nings over twenty years ago in the

Netherlands, the Movement has

spread throughout Europe, the Unit-

ed States and Australia. New Hear-

ing Voices support groups are con-

stantly forming to provide spaces

for people to speak about experi-

ences in comfort and acceptance.

The 8th Congress is a testament and

an affirmation that hearing voices is

a real experience in which people

can find personal meaning allowing

them to lead better lives.

I had an enriching and informa-

tive time at the Congress and met

many leaders of the Movement,

including Marius Romme himself

— a psychiatrist and a founder of

the Movement who played an im-

portant role in reframing how we

engage people who hear voices.

Although I was sad to leave

Paris, I knew I would return to Montgomery County where I

could continue to advance this important work, further strength-

ening the Movement which all of us can claim a part. Finally, I

thank NAMI for supporting this very worthwhile trip.

A Trip to Paris: Attending the 8th

Annual World Hearing Voices Congress

David Son at the Eiffel Tower in Paris

Criminal Justice Reform Will Fail if We Don’t Fix Mental Health Care Too

By Jennifer K. Johnson, July 7, 2016

To me, a deputy public defender in San Francisco, the

term “mass incarceration” is not an abstraction — at least 40

of my 125 clients are behind bars on any given day. And as a

co-founder of San Francisco’s Behavioral Health Court, all

of my clients have serious mental illness. Every day I watch

as men and women deteriorate in the county jail, their symp-

toms exacerbated by a punitive, correctional environment.

Our nation has begun to make meaningful reforms to reduce

our prison population, but America’s jails and prisons are increas-

ingly filled with individuals with mental illness. What is clear to

me, and to experts in mental health, judges and prosecutors, is that

any reform of our criminal justice system that does not overhaul

our approach to those with mental illness will fail.

To unravel decades of damage, we must recognize the crucial

role that the mental health system plays in ensuring public safety,

and prioritize its resources accordingly. We know what we need

to do — and we have a plan — but without buy-in from politi-

cians and the public, our window of opportunity will soon close.

The number of people in our jails and prisons will continue to

soar, and our streets will continue to serve as home for our most

vulnerable citizens.

For 40 years, we have swept homeless, vulnerable, poor, ad-

dicted, black and brown people into our jails and prisons. Nearly

half of those people have a mental illness. Men and women jailed

with mental illness are the most underserved population in our

overburdened and underfunded public health system. Instead of

receiving treatment, they languish behind bars waiting for a treat-

ment bed. Or they are released to the community without any

treatment plan at all and fall through gaping holes in our social

safety net.

Assuring that people with mental illnesses have appropriate care is

essential to reforming our criminal justice system.

December 2016 Page 5

montco memo Volume XXXVI Issue 4

She Pioneered a Way to Treat Stress in Children, a Source of Future Disease

By Michael Alison Chandler, Washington Post, October 6, 2016

Soon after Nadine Burke Harris opened a pediatrics clinic in a

low-income neighborhood in San Francisco, she began grappling

with the high rates of asthma and other illnesses that she was di-

agnosing in her patients. She wanted to understand why so many

of the kids she saw were so sick.

“They would have chronic abdominal pain, headaches, atten-

tion deficit hyperactivity disorder, opposition defiant disorder,”

she said. “It could be that all these different kids have all these

diagnoses, or it could be that there is one thing at the root of this.”

She found an answer in a decade-old study that showed a

strong link between chronic disease and traumatic experiences

during childhood — things such as physical abuse or neglect, or

living with a family member addicted to drugs or alcohol. She

knew the children she saw lived with high “doses” of adversity,

she said, and it made sense: Trauma was affecting their develop-

ing brains and also their developing bodies.

So she began to regard her practice in a whole new way. She

started evaluating children not just for their medical histories, but

also their social histories. And instead of treating only symptoms,

she sought to help with the root causes of the stress that were

making them sick.

She screened all the children at her clinic for traumatic experi-

ences, and she built a new kind of medical center for those who

screened positive. At the Center for Youth Wellness, which

opened in 2011, children and their parents can see mental health

workers, learn about mindfulness and other relaxation techniques,

and meet with case managers who connect them with social ser-

vices.

Harris’ novel approach to health care, and her personal story,

are gaining national attention. Her work has been profiled in a

best-selling book by Paul Tough, and a documentary film. Her

health center has attracted major funders, including Google.org.

Last month, she spoke at the White House for a conference

about trauma. And this week, she was honored in Pittsburgh with

the Heinz Award for the Human Condition, one of six prizes giv-

en annually by the Heinz Foundation to “exceptional Americans,

for their creativity and determination in finding solutions to criti-

cal issues.” The award comes with a $250,000 prize.

“I think we have reached a tipping point,” Harris said in an

interview.

The American Academy of Pediatrics in 2014 announced the

launch of a Center on Healthy, Resilient Children to help pediatri-

cians identify children with toxic stress and help intervene. Local

chapters are training pediatricians.

A screening tool for childhood trauma on the center’s web site

has been downloaded 1,100 times. Harris’s goal is for every pedi-

atrician to screen children for trauma.

It is a tall ask for already-busy doctors, who see patients in 15

minute increments, to try to identify and treat a litany of pervasive

and entrenched social problems. But Harris compares the research

about the negative affects of childhood adversity to the discovery

of germ theory or the science that showed second-hand smoke is

harmful. The medical community evolved and responded.

“Does it seem like a difficult problem to solve? Yes. Does it

seem harder than cancer? I don’t know,” she said. “Medicine and

public health are all about solving hard problems.”

Harris, 40, grew up in Palo Alto, California, the only girl in a

family of five children. Her father is a biochemist and her mother

is a nurse, and she set her sights early on becoming a doctor, she

said. Harris was brought up with a strong cultural value of “we

take care of each other,” she said, that her parents brought from

their native Jamaica. “It’s a small island, and everyone has a

cousin who is maybe not doing so hot. So it’s a real sense of

shared destiny,” she said.

So while she pursued her medical degree at UC Davis, she

was the student director of a clinic for the homeless in Sacramen-

to. And when she finished her residency at Stanford University,

she helped set up a practice in one of San Francisco’s most im-

poverished neighborhoods, Bayview-Hunters Point.

The research that transformed her career was a large-scale

investigation undertaken by Kaiser Permanente and the Centers

on Disease Control to see how chronic stress in childhood impact-

ed health in life. It included 17,000 Kaiser patients who answered

a questionnaire about their personal histories with “adverse child-

hood experiences,” otherwise known as ACES.

Questions included whether or not their parents were di-

vorced, whether they experienced physical abuse, sexual abuse, or

emotional neglect, and whether they grew up with family mem-

bers who were mentally ill, or addicted to drugs, or alcohol.

The researchers, Vincent Felitti from Kaiser and Robert Anda

of the CDC, found that adverse childhood experiences were in-

credibly common. Two-thirds of respondents reported at least

one. One in six reported at least four.

And they documented an overwhelming correlation with poor

health outcomes. Higher numbers of adverse experiences consist-

ently yielded more health problems. Compared to people with no

childhood trauma, people with 4 or more were twice as likely to

be diagnosed with cancer or heart disease; 7 times as likely to be

alcoholics; 6 times as likely to have depression; and 12 times as

likely to have attempted suicide. People exposed to 6 or more

traumatic events died 20 years sooner than those who had none.

Traumatic experiences led people to engage in more risky

behaviors, such as intravenous drug use and early sexual activity.

But even people without a history of high-risk behaviors had poor

health outcomes.

Initial response to the findings was slow, partly because peo-

ple did not know how to interpret the results, said Jane Stevens,

publisher of ACEs Too High, a news site about the impacts of

childhood adversity.

But in the years since the study was published, a generation of

scientists have begun to understand and explain the way stress

shapes our bodies. Biomedical scientists and brain researchers (continued on page 6)

Research News You Can Use

December 2016 Page 6

montco memo Volume XXXVI Issue 4

She Pioneered a Way to Treat Stress in Children

NAMIWalks Greater Philadelphia celebrating 10 years! Save the Date!

have shown how “fight or flight” stress hormones, like adrena-

line and cortisol, which flood the body when someone encoun-

ters danger, can cause lasting damage in the brain and body

when a child is under prolonged or repeated and unmitigated

stress, what is now commonly known as toxic stress.

The confluence of research is beginning to have an impact in

many fields, Stevens said. Police departments are offering stress

reduction classes. Educators are revising school discipline poli-

cies, and offering more mental health support in schools for chil-

dren dealing with severe stress.

As she pored through the research, Harris realized that expo-

sure to childhood trauma increases the risk of contracting seven

of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States.

“I went to medical school, I never heard about this,” Harris

said. “When I did, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops.”

Jessica Weisz, a pediatrician at CCI Health and Wellness

Services in Takoma Park, Md., said she heard Harris speak at a

conference and was motivated by what she learned.

More than 30 percent of the children she sees suffer from

asthma to some degree, she said, and research shows a link to

childhood adversity. So this year, her office developed a screen-

ing tool for patients with asthma.

Because she mainly serves Latino clients, the tool includes

some questions about immigration-related stressors, including

whether a family member has been deported. Children who

screen positive are referred to a team of licensed social workers

on staff.

Like Weisz, other pediatricians are tailoring screening tools

to reflect the populations they serve. Some pediatricians in the

District are using questions developed in Philadelphia to gather

information about urban stressors, such as witnessing violence or

feeling unsafe in your neighborhood

So far, research shows six major strategies for mitigating

stress: sleep, nutrition, exercise, mindfulness, mental health care,

and healthy relationships. There is no breakthrough cure, Harris

said.

Better treatments for stress are being developed. Research is

particularly promising, Harris said, because the treatments can be

used universally.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/

wp/2016/10/06/this-doctor-discovered-a-way-to-treat-a-startling-

source-of-disease-in-children-stress/

(Continued from page 5)

Join us on Saturday, May 6, 2017 at Montgomery County Community

College for our 10th Annual NAMIWalks Greater Philadelphia!

Register today: www.namiwalks.org/greaterphiladelphia

December 2016 Page 7

montco memo Volume XXXVI Issue 4

Tributes and Other Contributions

The Tribute Fund is a good way to mark anniversaries, weddings and other special occasions, and to express sympathy for

the loss of a loved one. We will send a note of appreciation to anyone you designate. Send your check to NAMI of Pennsylva-

nia Montgomery County, 100 W. Main Street, Suite 204, Lansdale, PA 19446. When designating NAMI in an obituary no-

tice, please specify NAMI of Pennsylvania Montgomery County.

In Tribute:

In Honor of Carol Caruso’s Retirement by Anonymous

Jeffrey and Theresa Haverson

Primary Resources Group

Jarema N. Rudakevich

Bonnie and Peter Schorsch

In Memory of Jordan Delp by Vicki and William Clugston

Travis Martin

David and Arlene Yorhers

In Memory of Tara Hansen by Richard Abraham

In Honor of Marilyn Schorsch’s Birthday by Bonnie Schorsch

Individual Donations

Mark and Marla Benjamin Aslene Palmer-Bennett Albert and Sonia Grabish

Laurel Hoffman Nancy Hopkins John and Kristin Jaros

Charles and Diane Maurer Thomas and Patricia Miller Beulah Saideman

Ilene Schneller Marian Wolfert

Corporate Matching Gifts

Elliot V. Hersh Anthony J. Malloy

James Alexander Rauer Scott Evert

Noelle Wheatley

Let's Show Patients Their Mental Health Records

April 2014, Journal of the American Medical Association,

Authors: MW Kahn, SK Bell, Walker J, and Delbanco T Young,

Editor.

Patients with easy access to their doctors' notes feel more in

control of their care and better understand their medical issues.

The Issue:

With the exception of the Department of Veterans Affairs,

medical notes written about “behavioral health” are being exclud-

ed from the open records approach. In an opinion piece in the

April 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Associa-

tion, principle investigators from the OpenNotes project and a

psychiatrist from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Bos-

ton outline how open access to medical notes can reduce stigma

and is beneficial to patients struggling with mental health issues.

Key Finding:

A nonjudgmental approach to describing mental illness be-

haviors, rather than labeling the issue with complex medical ter-

minology, benefits both the patient and the clinician by altering

the clinician-patient dynamic in a positive way.

Conclusion:

The ability to read accurate and nonjudgmental notes may

help patients address their mental health problems. While sharing

a patients’ assessment of hypertension is indeed much different

than sharing results about behaviors or feelings, the authors con-

clude that it’s time to offer fully transparent care to patients with

mental illness.

About the Study:

The authors are from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Cen-

ter at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Funding for this work

was supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foun-

dation's OpenNotes initiative.

http://www.rwjf.org/en/library/research/2014/04/let-s-show-

patients-their-mental-health-records.html

PENNSYLVANIA MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Dues are for one year and are Tax Deductible. Donations are welcome and are also Tax Deductible.

(Please print clearly)

NAME__________________________________________________________________________________

STREET ________________________________________________________________________________

CITY_______________________________________STATE_____ZIP______________________________

PHONE (H)__________________________________(C)_________________________________________

E-mail __________________________________________________________________________________

_____Annual Dues $35.00 _____Open Door $3.00 - 30.00 (Amount $_____) _____Donation $______

What is the best way for us to contact you? Phone ______ Email ______ Snail Mail ______

Make check payable and return to: NAMI of Pennsylvania Montgomery County

100 W. Main Street, Suite 204

Lansdale, PA 19446

Or join or renew on our website: http://www.namimontcopa.org/join/

Double or triple the impact of your donation at no additional cost! Please check with your employer’s Human Resources Department to

see if your donation can be matched through a company matching gift program.

NAMI of Pennsylvania Montgomery County is also an approved United Way Donor Choice Agency - Code #5076.

NAMI of Pennsylvania Montgomery County is open to all individuals subscribing to its purpose. All members receive NAMI newsletters and are automatically affiliated with NAMI PA and

the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). NAMI is a non-profit organization under Section 501(c)3 and all dues and donations are tax-deductible. Official registration and financial

information of NAMI PA Montgomery County may be obtained from the PA Department of State by calling toll free within PA 1.800.732.0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

The official registration and financial information of NAMI PA Montgomery County can be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free within Pennsylvania:

1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

PENNSYLVANIA

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

100 W. Main Street, Suite 204

Lansdale, PA 19446