How will this be managed?

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1 The Iris Vol 32 No 5 April 2014 Editor, Ann Akland NAMI Wake Contact Information: (919) aakland@nami-wake.org NAMI Wake Board of Directors 2014 Support, Education, Advocacy NAMI Wake County s Vision for the Dix Campus. NAME Gerry Akland Ann Akland Ellen Betts Clemmer Dorothy Clift Judith DeHavilland Crystal Farrow Tom Hadley Marc Jacques Amanda Johanson Louise Jordan Mary O Neal Paul Robitaille William Stanley Christine Taylor Anju Verma Sarah Weathersby Office President Advocacy Secretary ex officio Membership Secretary Consumer Chair Treasurer The City of Raleigh is negotiating with the State about the price and terms for purchasing the Dorothea Dix Campus for a park. Raleigh Mayor, Nancy McFarland is asking for input from citizens. NAMI Wake County believes a revenue-generating contract to sell Dix land to the City of Raleigh is a good way to raise revenue to fund a recovery project to help modernize and move NC s mental health system forward. We believe a small portion, 15 acres of the acre tract should be set aside to provide a site for a Dorothea Dix Recovery Center. This Center would serve as a state-wide demonstration, training and research site for programs that focus on helping people living with mental illness achieve their goals and work on their recovery while staying out of emergency departments and psychiatric hospitals. Do you have a passion to further Dorothea Dix s work and her legacy? Decisions are being made and we want to move our vision forward. This will be the topic for our May education meeting. In the interim, give us a call or send an to add you name and your voice to this effort. gakland@namiwake.org, Examples of Recovery Programs Crisis respite Transitional housing Club House Wellness and Drop-In Center Music & Arts Center Urban Garden Research & Training Center How will this be managed? A consortium of nonprofit mental health providers and NC universities could lead the effort and conduct studies of outcomes and system costs. Programs, once operational, will save more money system-wide than they cost because of the reduced need for expensive hospital services and incarceration. To the extent possible, programs will be peer operated. How will revenues from sale of Dix land be protected for mental health? NAMI Wake County encourages state officials to consider creation of a Dorothea Dix Foundation to manage all funds from the sale of Dix land. Grants using Dix land revenues will be awarded to nonprofit organizations for programs demonstrated to be effective in promoting recovery and reducing system-wide costs. Dorothea Dix Fought for Better Treatment for People Living with Severe Mental Illness Join us in keeping her legacy alive: Monday, May 30, 2014, 7-8:30 pm, Highland United Methodist Church 1901 Ridge Rd., Raleigh, NC, Conference Room. beside offices.

2 NAMI Wake County The Iris Page 2 Families can make a difference!! At UNC Health Care at WakeBrook we recognize that feedback from clients and families is essential for improving our services. As health care providers, we cannot help but see the care we provide through the lens of our profession. We think we are doing the right thing, but do not know for sure unless we ask the people who use our services. We therefore reached out to Gerry Akland, President of NAMI of Wake County to see if there were families who would be willing to talk to us about their experience at WakeBrook. He agreed to help and put us in touch with the William Lee Family. William and Paula Lee were invited and graciously agreed to tell us about their recent experience as family members in Crisis and Assessment Services. As a result of the Lee s sharing their first-hand experience, change happened at WakeBrook: In our lobby, there was limited to no information available that described what to expect once someone arrives for an evaluation. There is now an information board with the details of what patients and families can expect during the process. (See below) There is no separate space for family visitation. We are now evaluating ways we can better separate patients (especially adolescents from adults) in Crisis and Assessment when needed. In addition, the 12 bed addition to our inpatient unit scheduled to open in January 2016, will now be designed with visiting areas that will allow for more privacy. These changes are a direct result of one family and their willingness to tell us about their experience. Hopefully, this will be the first of an ongoing dialogue as we all work together with the goal of doing the best we can. Thank you! Paula Bird, MSN, RN, NEA-BC Administrator, WakeBrook Campus UNC Health Care This is a picture of the new bulletin board in the Wakebrook Crisis and Assessment Center. No! You aren t supposed to be able to read it. But if you should need to go in for an assessment, please take time to read the information so you will know what to expect.

3 NAMI Wake County The Iris Page 3 Female Volunteers Needed The Wake County Sheriff s Department and Wake County Government is piloting a new approach to transporting mental health patients under involuntary commitment orders to community and state psychiatric hospitals. A private international security company, G4S has this contract to provide safe transportation for mental health and/or substance abuse patients. As you may recall, Wake County Sheriff s Deputies had been providing transport up until now. NC State Law requires all female patients to be accompanied by a female, but neither the Wake County Sheriff s Office nor G4S have enough female employees to meet that requirement. In the past, NAMI Wake County helped the Sheriff s Office by recruiting female volunteers to participate in riding along during transports. However, Wake County insurance would not cover volunteers. For that reason, only a few NAMI volunteers participated. Now, G4S has asked NAMI Wake County to help them recruit female volunteers for the transports and they have assured us that volunteers will be covered by G4S vehicle insurance should there be an accident. So, we are passing this request along to you. If you decide to volunteer for G4S ride alongs, it will be up to you to explore their insurance coverage and to make your own decision about whether or not you wish to assume all risks involved. In this role, you will be a G4S volunteer and not a NAMI Wake volunteer. If you are interested in helping G4S in this volunteer effort, please contact Helen J. Bynum, for further details. Your Feedback and Stories Can Make A Difference FEEDBACK: Have you ever been through an expereince related to your illness or that of a family member that left you frustrated or wishing that things had been handled differently? Have you thought of things that might make the situation better for others who might find themselves in a situation similar to yours? I know I have found myself thinking, if only they had done this or that, it would have made such a difference. What we, as family members and people living with mental illness don t realize is that mental health providers aren t frustrating us on purpose. They are just doing their jobs the best they can from their vantage point. They can t see through our lenses. So, our feedback can be very important for making things better for others or for the next time we find ourselves needing the same service. That is exactly what happened when William & Paula Lee s family needed help from the Wakebrook Crisis Center. They were confused and frustrated. They had no idea what to expect when their son was assessed and admitted to the Wakebrook Crisis Center. See article on page 2. Their willingness to share their experiences and perception with Wakebrook managers led to improvements in patient information. If you see an opportunity for improvement as you are on the front lines of the mental health system, let us know and we will help you connect with the right people who can consider your suggestion. STORIES: We need your stories. NAMI Wake County volunteers spend many thousands of hours teaching classes, facilitating support groups, and responding to your information requests. Can you help us by paying it forward and helping other families and consumers by sharing your stories and explaining how NAMI Wake County s programs made a difference in your life? You can remain anonymous if you prefer.. Don t like to write? No problem...just send an or call (see front page for address and telephone number), and we will contact you. Thank you!

4 NAMI Wake County The Iris Page 4 May is Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)Awareness Month What Is BPD 1 What is Borderline Personality Disorder? Borderline personality disorder is a disorder where individuals have extreme difficulties regulating their emotions. Problems include intense anger, chaotic relationships, impulsivity, unstable sense of self, suicide attempts, self-harm, shame, fears of abandonment, and chronic feelings of emptiness. But there is hope. With appropriate treatment many sufferers show improvement in one year. Over time, 80% of BPD sufferers reduce their symptoms. Symptoms People with BPD often have highly unstable patterns of social relationships. While they can develop intense attachments, their attitudes toward family, friends, and loved ones may suddenly shift from idealization (great admiration and love) to devaluation (intense anger and dislike). Even with family members, individuals with BPD are highly sensitive to rejection, reacting with anger and distress to such mild separations as a vacation, a business trip, or a sudden change of plans. Distortions in thinking and sense of self can lead to frequent changes in long-term goals, career plans, jobs, friendships, gender identity, and values. Sometimes people with BPD view themselves as fundamentally bad, or unworthy. They may feel unfairly misunderstood or mistreated, bored, empty, and have little idea who they are. Such symptoms are most acute when people with BPD feel isolated and lacking in social support, and may result in frantic efforts to avoid being alone by acting out; i.e. impulsive behavior or suicide attempts. They 9 symptoms that characterize BPD are: 1. Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. 2. Pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation. 3. Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self. 4. Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g. spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating). 5. Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures or threats, or self-mutilating behavior. 6. Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood. 7. Chronic feelings of emptiness. 8. Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger. 9. Transient, stress, related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms. (DSM IV) To meet criteria for the disorder, one needs to have five of the nine criteria listed above. Having several symptoms however, can also create problems in living and a sense of suffering. Prevalence It is estimated that more than 14 million American adults, distributed equally between men and women, have BPD. It is more common than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder: an estimated 11% of outpatients, 20% of psychiatric inpatients and 6% of primary care visits meet the criteria for the disorder. Obtaining an accurate diagnosis can be difficult. Research, treatment options and family education are decades behind compared to other major psychiatric disorders. The costly personal, social and economic toll of BPD makes it a significant national public health burden and issue. However, the impact of BPD remains largely unrecognized. Co-occurring Disorders BPD rarely stands alone. People with borderline personality disorder often have other diagnoses. This is called co-morbidity or having co-occurring disorders. Common co-occurring disorders include substance abuse, eating disorders, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder as well as other personality disorders. Over half the BPD population suffers from Major Depressive Disorder. When depression and BPD co-occur, until the borderline personality disorder symptoms improve, the depression often does not lift with medication. Treatment There has been considerable progress in the last 25 years both in understanding and treating BPD. Now there are treatments shown to be effective. The most researched and well known are Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Mentalization Therapy (MBT). Unfortunately, inpatient and outpatient treatment options for the disorder are not sufficient to the demand. Medications There is no specific medication approved to treat BPD. People with BPD are often prescribed medications to treat their symptoms. Research shows that medications can be moderately effective for anger, impulsivity and depression. Both patients and doctors need to be aware that more often than not the response is modest at best. Those with BPD can be to be quite sensitive to the side effects of the medications. It is important to discuss these side effects with a doctor before deciding on one s own that the medication is not good or too troublesome to continue to take. Clinicians trained to treat BPD use medication as an addition to, not a replacement for, talk therapy. NAMI Wake County will be offering a 5 week course for families--families Together for BPD. The class is taught by trained family members Dates: May 31, June 7, 14, 21, 28 Time: 9:30-12:30 Place: Highland United Methodist Church, Raleigh, NC, Room 202 Prior Registration is Required. Ann Akland, aakland@nc.rr.com. Text book for the class is by Dr. Shari Manning, Ph.D, Loving Someone with Borderline Personality Disorder available from Amazon & other bookstores. There is no charge for the class, but purchase of the book is required 1

5 NAMI Wake County The Iris Page 5 NAMI Wake Photos Send us your pictures - aakland@nami-wake.org Recent Graduates of NAMI Wake County BASICS Class BASICS, NAMI Basics is an education program for parents and other caregivers of children and adolescents living with mental illnesses Next Class Begins: June 18, 6:30-9:00 pm Course for Parents and other caregivers of children & adolescents living with mental illness The NAMI Basics course is taught by trained teachers who are the parent or other caregivers of individuals who developed the symptoms of mental illness prior to the age of 13 years. The course consists of six classes, each lasting for 2 ½ hours. Classes may be offered weekly for six consecutive weeks, or may be offered twice per week for three weeks to accommodate the hectic schedules of young parents. All instruction materials are FREE to participants. Contact: Barb Maier or pearlmidwest@gmail.com Thank You!! Twenty-one Teams Walking for NAMI Wake County & NAMI NC Team AWAKE Heather Scott, Team Leader Stigma Stompers Tiffany Tirico, Team Leader, Lisa Piratzky Gerry Akland, Ann Akland

6 NAMI Wake County The Iris Page 6 NAMI Wake Support Groups PEOPLE LIVING WITH A MENTAL ILLNESS Wake County Affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI Wake) is offering free peer support groups where people facing difficulties have a safe place to voice their concerns and explore options for making positive changes in their lives with others who have similar experiences. No matter what your diagnosis or issues, join one of our Free Groups. No need to call. Just come by and participate when you can. Try different groups to find one you like best. Connections Support Groups: 1) Highland United Methodist Church, 1901 Ridge Rd., Raleigh, NC, Rm 206, 7-8:30, First 3 Mondays of each month. 2) Garner United Methodist Church, Senior Center, 201 Methodist Drive, Garner, NC., 6:30-7:30 pm, Second, third, and fourth Thursdays of each month. Contact Marc Jacques for information FAMILY SUPPORT GROUPS Family & friends of adults with any mental illnesses: Highland United Methodist Church, 1901 Ridge Rd., Raleigh, NC., Rooms 202 & 204, 7-8:30 p.m. on the first three Mondays of each month. Wake Forest United Methodist Church, 905 S. Main St., Wake Forest, NC, 7-8:30pm, 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month. For more information contact Gordon Gogola (gogolags@ hotmail.com), phone (919) NEW Family Support Group in Cary Christ the King Lutheran Church, Rm 101, 600 Walnut Street, Cary, NC 27511, 2nd & 4th Thurs., 7-8:30 pm Contact Judy Dehavilland for more information: judydehavi@msn.com. Stress & Depression Support Groups: 1) St. Bernadette Catholic Church, 1005 Wilbon Road, Fuquay Varina, NC. Meetings every Monday, 7:30-8:30pm Contact Arline O Hara arlineohara@gmail.com for more information. 2) Wake County Human Services, 220 Swinburne St., Raleigh, NC, Every Friday: 2-3 pm, Rm 1151, -Call Gerry Akland, (919) for more information. Family to Family NEXT CLASS: Location: North West Raleigh, Registration Required. Start Date: June 10, consecutive Saturdays -- 10:00 am - 12:00 noon Program Details: Free to family members, partners and significant others of individuals living with Major Depression Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression) Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder Borderline Personality disorder Panic Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Co-occurring Brain and Addictive Disorders A series of 12 sessions structured to help caregivers understand and support individuals with serious mental illness while maintaining their own well-being. The course is taught by a team of trained NAMI family member volunteers who know what it is like to have a love one struggling with one of these brain disorders. There is no cost to participate in the NAMI Family to Family Education program. Over 300,000 people in the US, Canada, Mexico and Italy have completed this course. We think you will be pleased by how much assistance this program offers. We invite you to call for more information: contact Barb Maier or pearmidwest@gmail.com. Les Girls Social Group Sat, May 24 at 12:00 Noon, Golden Corral, 6129 Glenwood Ave. This is a social opportunity for people living with mental illness and family members. Everyone is invited--not just girls-- guys are welcome! Lunch is Dutch-treat.

7 NAMI returns to the nation s capital for its 2014 national convention! Having the NAMI National Convention in Washington, D.C. affords NAMI advocates the chance to educate their Congressional delegations about issues related to mental illness. Two thousand grassroots activists will meet face-to-face with our nation s policymakers to demand change to our nation s mental health care system. The 2014 NAMI National Convention will feature: Top-notch researchers and clinicians providing information and tools to advance and sustain recovery from mental illness. An opportunity to meet with your legislators during advocacy visits on Capitol Hill. People living with mental illness and their families providing their own important perspectives on recovery. The country s keenest minds and savviest policymakers offering strategies and tactics to effectively advocate for changing the mental health system in our nation. Abundant networking opportunities enabling us to learn from each other about how to improve the lives of all people living with mental illness and their families. Inspiration, innovation and an exhilarating four days in the nation s capital. September 3-6 ~ Washington, DC Marriott Wardman Park Hotel To Learn more: See you there!!

8 NAMI Wake County P.O. Box Raleigh, NC Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Raleigh, NC NAMI Wake County May2014 We Care. We Act. For those receiving this newsleter via USPS, go to to view the newsletter in full color! NAMI Wake s Got Talent! Monday, June 23, 7:00-8:30 pm, Highland United Methodist Church, Conference Room music Visual Art Display your Talent - Whatever YOU do!! For example... SKITS Painting poetry Ceramics Quilts For details and registration, contact Judy DeHavilland, judydehavi@msn.com or Heather Scott, hscott919@gmail.com