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CUMBERLAND and
PERRY COUNTIES, PA NEWS
Page 1-Notice of Membership Mtg and slate of officers and board members
Page 2-Board roster, support meetings, membership promo
Page 3-Promo for talk by Dr. Weikel, CSP invitation for art work
Page 4-New MH/IDD Administrator and new address, Training opportunities from NAMI Key-stone
Page 5-Assisted Outpatient Treat-ment Law approved in PA
Page 6 & 7– Research about mari-huana and serious mental illness.
Page 8-Membership application
Nov. 15th—Dr. Kim Weikel speaks
- Support Meeting in
Carlisle
Nov. 19th—Support Mtg in Hsbg
Dec. 6th—Support Mtg on West
Shore
Dec. 20th—HOLIDAY SOCIAL with
MEMBERSHIP MEETING
and ELECTION
NOVEMBER MEETING
NAMI PA of CUMBERLAND and PERRY COUNTIES
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER, 15, 2018 at S.T.A.R.
253 Penrose Place, Carlisle, Pa.
7:00 —8:30 Support Meeting
P.O. Box 527
Carlisle, PA 17013 https://namicppa.org/
Message line number:
717 620-9580
The Nominating Committee has reported the following slate to be elected for 2019: President: Kathy Zwierzyna Vice President: Thom Fager Treasurer: Steve Zwierzyna Secretary: Taylor P. Andrews Board members at large: Susan Orr Parker Brian Stubbs Continuing on the Board: Lisa Savadel Bonnie Iorfido Notice is hereby given that there shall be a Membership meeting at the time and place of the Third Thursday support meeting. This will be at S.T.A.R. on December 20th at 7:00 PM. Before this meeting we will have our traditional finger food/desert pot luck social starting at 6:30 PM. All who are part of the NAMI family (members and non-members) should come out to socialize for the strength of our organization. Of course, only members can vote in the election. As per our bylaws, other members may make nominations for the officers and Board members, but the nominations must be in writing, and must also have the written consent of the nominee. Such nominations should sent to NAMI C/P, Box 527, Carlisle, PA 17013 with a post mark no later than December 11th, so the nomination may be published in the December newsletter.
Duplication and distribution of this Newsletter is made possible by the MH/IDD Board of Cumberland/Perry Counties
Inside this issue: MEMBERSHIP MEETING AND ELECTIONS
AT DECEMBER MEETIING
NAMI is the largest nationwide, grassroots membership organization devoted to improving the lives of those affected, directly and indirectly, by serious mental illness. NAMI is comprised of family members, friends and consumers.
Volume XXI, Issue 11 November 2018
Calendar:
Contact Us:
2
NAMI Pa. Cumberland/
Perry Counties
P.O. Box 527
Carlisle, PA 17013
https://namicppa.org/
Message line number:
717 620-9580
President:
Kathleen Zwierzyna 717-877-7214
Vice President:
Thom Fager
Treasurer: Stephen
Zwierzyna
Secretary: Taylor P.
Andrews
Board of Directors:
Sarah Roley
Kathleen Walker
Bonnie Iorfido
Lisa Savadel
Publisher:
NAMI Pa. Cumberland/ Perry
Counties
Editor: Taylor P. Andrews
243-0123 or 243-1645
Nov. 2018 Vol. XXI No. 11
What: Support Group Meeting When: Meets 3rd Thursday of each month Location: STAR (253 Penrose Place Carlisle, PA 17013) Time: 7:00 pm up to 8:30 pm there will occasionally be an edu-cational program. When there is an education program it shall run from 7:00 PM until 7:50 PM, and the support meeting shall follow at 8:00 until 9:00 PM
Nov. 15, 2018 7:00 up to 8:30 PM—Support Meeting
WEST SHORE SUPPORT GROUP
Meets at 6:30 PM on the 1st Thursday of each month at St. Timothy’s Lutheran
Church, 4200 Carlisle Pike, Camp Hill, PA. There may be an education program 1x
per quarter. Call Hazel at 737-8864 for information.
Dec. 6, 2018
6:30 to 8:00 PM—Support Meeting
support
DAUPHIN COUNTY SUPPORT GROUP [Assoc with NAMI PA Dauphin County]
Meets at 7:00 on the 3rd Monday of each month at the Epiphany Lutheran Church
at 1100 Colonial Rd., Harrisburg, PA. Contact Marge Chapman at 574-0055 for more
information.
Nov. 19, 2018
6:30 to 8:00 PM—Support Meeting
$40.00 For an individual
Membership includes membership in NAMI [national] and NAMI PA, and Subscriptions to The Advo-
cate, The Alliance, and NAMI PA C/P News.
$60.00 For a Household
A Household consists of two or more people living at the same address. A Household has one vote,
and will receive one copy of subscriptions.
$5 - $35.00 For “Open Door” membership
Anybody can opt to join as an open door member. Dues are any amount that can be afforded. This
option is available so that membership is not denied due to financial hardship. Open door members
are regular members with all the privileges and powers of membership including all subscriptions.
$75.00 For Professional Membership
A Professional member shows support for the mission and goals of the organization. Upon request,
NAMI PA C/P will provide multiple copies of our newsletter for the waiting room of Professional Mem-
bers.
Make Payment to: NAMI CPPA
Send Payment to: NAMI CPPA , Box 527, Carlisle, Pa 17013
JOIN NOW TO BECOME PART OF THE NAMI FAMILY
Memberships submitted now will extend for a year
3
“Understanding
Borderline Personality Disorder”
DON’T MISS - Dr. Kim Weikel's Presentation
Nov. 15, 2018 - 7 PM to 8:30 PM
FREE—NO NEED TO REGISTER
JUST SHOW UP AND LEARN
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church 201 West Louther Street Carlisle, PA 17013 “This talk will include information and discus-
sion regarding the nature of Borderline Per-
sonality Disorder (BPD), with an emphasis on
understanding both the experiences of per-
sons with BPD as well as the distress that can
felt by those who care for them. Discussion
will also cover information regarding empiri-
cally supported forms of therapy as well as
possible ways family members and friends
can help.”
Hi Everyone!
At our last CSP meeting on October 16th, we talked
about the thank you cards CSP uses after events to
thank our speakers, sponsors, etc. The cards fea-
tured a violet iris on a black background. They were
just stunning. The cards were printed from art work
created by a consumer. Unfortunately, we do not
have the original art work to make more of this de-
sign.
Many of our consumers are really artistically talent-
ed. We would like to showcase that talent on our
new thank you cards. We asked if people would be
interested in having a contest to design the new
cards, kind of like we do for the t-shirt contest for the
Walk. The response was very positive.
Your new art work is to be submitted on a regular 8
1/2 x 11 piece of unlined paper. There is no topic or
theme, just remember these are thank you
notes. Any reproducible medium is acceptable
(charcoal, pen & ink, watercolor, oils, acrylics, pastels,
etc.). Please do NOT fold the paper. You can drop it
off at our CSP office or at STAR if you will not be at
our regular meeting. The winning original art pieces
will become the property of CSP so we can re-print
them as needed.
At our next meeting on November 20th, we will dis-
play the art work submitted and vote on which one or
two designs to use. The winning artist(s) will receive
a $25 gift certificate from Giant Foods / gas. We look
forward to your submissions! Thank you to all who
submit a design.
Please contact us if you have any questions. We look
forward to seeing your designs on November 20th!
Sincerely, Suzanne & Lizz
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In June we said thank-you to Slivia Herman who retired after serving as Administrator and Director of the Counties’ MH/IDD office for two dec-ades. Silvia was a tremendous help to many in the NAMI family due to her accessibility, empathy, sensitivity, and dedication to a recovery based sys-tem. We did not then know who would succeed Silvia. Now we do.
Silvia’s longtime assistant, Anne L. Strite is the new MH/IDD Administrator/Director effective September 16, 2018. This is good news for our NAMI family, because Annie shares Silvia’s traits.
Annie started as a case manager in Franklin/Fulton Counties. From that entry position she became a social worker at the Harrisburg state Hospital where she worked from 1989 to 1996 when the hospital closed.
Annie then became the Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of the Capital Region. She held this position from 1999 to 2001 when Silvia Herman recruited her to the Cumberland County MH/IDD office, where she has worked since.
Annie has a Bachelor of Science degree in Pastoral Studies, and a Masters degree in Organizational Leadership.
Annie has identified the following goals immediately ahead:
Fill the vacant position in the office resulting from Silvia’s retirement and Annie’s appointment
Work to establish a Long Term Structured Residential pro-gram in our counties with 16 beds
Strengthen support for the efforts of the Court to respond to individuals with mental illness
Strengthen suicide prevention by the use of a task force and the strengthening of Student Assistant Programs in our schools.
Manage flat allocations of funds from Pennsylvania.
Continue to exploit funding provided by Health Choices.
Annie will be overseeing her office from a new address. The MH/IDD office has moved to a new location after more than 30 years at the Human Services Building in down-town Carlisle. The new office is at 1655 Ritner Highway, Carlisle, PA, about a mile out of town. Hopefully this new office will ena-ble the MH/IDD office to grow as it continues to serve.
Annie has explicitly said that she is a strong supporter of NAMI. We wish her well in her new position.
ANNIE L. STRITE IS NEW MH/IDD ADMINISTRATOR/DIRECTOR
AT A NEW LOCATION
Find this information on our website at under State Trainings at https://www.namikeystonepa.org/education/state-trainings/ . See below for details. NAMI Peer-to-Peer is an 8-session, recovery-focused course, designed to aid adults (18+) who are experiencing mental health challenges achieve and maintain wellness. The course is taught by trained peers with lived experience. Classes follow a structured educational format that includes opportunity for peer connection and support through learned wisdom and group discussion. Discussions are confidential. Interactive exercises focus on mindfulness and meditation, relapse prevention, and practical coping skills. NAMI Peer-to-Peer Mentor Training is comprised of two parts. The first part is an online training component that is then paired with a mandatory, 1.5 day in-person training. Online training must be completed 2 weeks prior to training date. Mentor Qualifications/Requirements: 1) Must be an individual with a mental health diagnosis who identifies themselves in re-covery. 2) Willingness to complete online and in-person training and adhere to the fidelity of the NAMI Peer-to-Peer model. 3) Maintain participant confidentiality. 4) Be or become a NAMI member prior to beginning of training. Lodging and Travel Information: Participants are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses. The training site will be at the Hampton Inn & Suites State College, 955 Waddle Road, State College, Pennsylvania, 16803. Rooms can be re-served online or by calling 814-231-1899 and using the group code NKP. Group rates ($104 +tax) are good through January 4. Please download and complete a NAMI Peer-to-Peer Application. Send completed application to [email protected]. Once an application is received and approved, applicant will be notified and then given access to the online training component. Online training must be completed two-weeks prior to training date. Training space is limited to 15 individuals. Susan Caban Director of Education NAMI Keystone Pennsylvania (412) 366-3788, ext. 125 [email protected]
5
Gov. Wolf signs bill to aid outpatient mental health treatment in PA Paula Reed Ward and Kate Giammarise Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – October 24, 2018
Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday signed into law a bill that will change outpatient commitment standards for people with seri-ous mental illness, with the aim of helping people get needed mental health treatment.
“The addition of community-based outpatient health treat-ment as part of the involuntary treatment spectrum is a signifi-cant step forward in helping vulnerable individuals access the services that they need,” Mr. Wolf wrote in a statement sent to the General Assembly after the bill was signed.
House Bill 1233 had passed both the state House and Senate unanimously. A number of family members of people with seri-ous mental illness had championed the bill.
Ruth Johnston, whose son, Levi Staver, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to third-degree murder, applauded the Legis-lature's passage of the bill.
“It means a lot to me,” she said. “It's a big step in the right direction.”
Ms. Johnston wrote a letter on Monday to the governor urging him to sign the bill.
She recounted her family's experience with Staver, who is diag-nosed with paranoid schizophrenia, when he was having delu-sions in 2012 and 2013. At the time, he wasn't considered to be dangerous and therefore did not fit the criteria under Pennsyl-vania's Mental Health Procedures Act for mandatory out-patient treatment.
In February 2013, because he said angels told him to, he stabbed his grandmother to death.
“They don't get that the worst that can happen isn't that you can gain weight and get a headache,” Ms. Johnston said. “The worst that can happen is what happened to Levi.”
Since he has been imprisoned and medicated, Staver, who is serving 10 to 20 years in prison, now has insight into under-
standing what happened to him, his mom said.
“He loves his medicine, and he wishes he'd gotten it years ago,” Ms. Johnston said.
Several mental health advocacy organizations had raised con-cerns about the bill, in part because it provided no new funding, and had asked the governor to veto the legislation.
In Mr. Wolf’s statement to legislators, he noted the lack of new funding. “As passed, assisted outpatient treatment may only be available to those Pennsylvanians that reside in counties which choose to support them using existing funds. Additionally, con-cerns have been raised about an individual's rights relative to the length of the look back period that can be used to seek court ordered treatment.” The governor said he hoped to con-tinue to work with legislators on these issues.
Frankie Berger, the director of advocacy for the Treatment Ad-vocacy Center in Arlington, Va., is thrilled that the governor signed the bill.
“This piece of legislation has been 20 years in the making,” she said.
Over that time, families who sought help for their loved ones gave up hope and lost momentum — seeing as the status quo that individuals who were terribly ill — but did not meet the standard of a clear and present danger — would languish in jails and emergency rooms.
“Today, that completely changes. It's going to allow people who are very sick and need help to receive treatment,” she said.
Ms. Berger said that she expects the implementation to go well in Pennsylvania because counties that can offer these outpa-tient services are primed to do so.
“Their hands aren't tied anymore.”
Paula Reed Ward: [email protected], 412-263-2620 or on Twitter @PaulaReedWard. Kate Giammarise: [email protected] or 412-263-3909.
HAVE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
THIS THANKSGIVING
6
RESEARCH WEEKLY: Cannabis and Serious Mental Illness Part One, Medical Marihuana
(Oct. 2, 2018) The association between the use of cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, and serious mental illness is controversial. The controversy trans-cends multiple related concerns, includ-ing marijuana's applicability as a thera-peutic drug and the causal link between marijuana use and developing psycho-sis. This week's research blog is the first in a two-part series regarding cannabis and serious mental illness, focusing on the questions around medical marijuana for individuals with serious mental illness.
Medical marijuana is prescribed to individuals with serious mental illness for a variety of reasons, including alternatives for pain management and to reduce symptoms of psychosis. However, heavy marijuana use among individuals with schizo-phrenia has been shown to significantly worsen psychiatric symptoms such as increasing the severity of psychosis epi-sodes and altering the illness course. In addition, a recent study from RTI International found that states with more lib-eral medical marijuana laws had a higher prevalence of seri-ous mental illness than those without medical marijuana laws. In 33 states and the District of Columbia, legal barriers to or penalties for using marijuana have either been reduced or effectively eliminated. This reality has sped up the timeline on the need for findings of conclusory research about the effects of cannabis use in schizophrenia.
Mary Brunette, MD, and colleagues from the Department of Psychiatry, Giesel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Hitchcock, published an open forum piece in this month's Psychiatric Services on the impact of medical marijuana use for individu-als with serious mental illness. The authors argue that with the substantial increase of medical marijuana use in this coun-try, caution should be taken by clinicians to reduce the harm and adverse effects of medical marijuana on individuals with
serious mental illness. Part of the controversy of the effects of cannabis on schizophre-nia is due to the differing effects of the two major active com-pounds in the drug. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has addictive properties, promotes euphoria and can give rise to anxiety or paranoia. Cannabidiol (CBD) has been found to reduce psychotic symptoms and is thought to have no addictive properties. Alt-hough the links between THC and the increased risk of psychosis is clear, the debate around CBD being helpful to people with serious mental illness is still in question.
Medical marijuana programs also utilize for-profit companies to grow, create and sell these products with little regulation over their contents and safety, according to the authors. Therefore, the actual amounts and ratios of THC to CBD, vital for the thera-peutic properties of the drug, may not be accurate to the label.
The authors conclude that due to the significant adverse effects of cannabis use on individuals with serious mental illness, which include worsening psychiatric symptoms and a greater likeli-hood of addiction to the drug, clinicians should use caution in prescribing medical marijuana among this vulnerable popula-tion.
Elizabeth Sinclair Director of Research
References:
Brunette, M. F. et al. (2018, September). Important questions about the impact of medical marijuana on people with serious mental illness. Psychiatric Services.
Dutra, L. M. et al. (2018, April). Medical cannabis legalization and state-level prevalence of serious mental illness in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2008-2015. International Review of Psychiatry.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO THE NAMI FAMILY
FROM
NAMI CUMBERLAND AND PERRY COUNTIES, PA
7
RESEARCH WEEKLY: Cannabis and Serious Mental Illness, Part Two, Causal Links
(Oct. 9, 2018) As we wrote last week, the association between cannabis use, commonly known as marijuana, and seri-ous mental illness is controversial. In that post, we examined research concerning marijuana's applicability as a therapeutic drug. This week's research blog is the second in the two-part series and focuses on questions linking cannabis use with the development of schizophrenia.
There is significant evidence to support the association between heavy marijuana use and an increased risk of developing schizophrenia among adolescents and that it worsens symptoms in individuals who already have the dis-ease. However, the methodology behind such research is ob-servational and not experimental, meaning individuals were not randomized or in a controlled environment and only corre-lations and associations can be concluded. Opponents of the research continue to give cautions for coming to any conclu-sions on any causal links between cannabis use and developing schizophrenia.
Given the degree to which marijuana use has become more accepted, if not ubiquitous, in recent years, the implications of inconclusive research connecting cannabis use to developing schizophrenia are becoming increasingly more troublesome. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association, 26 million individuals used marijuana in the past month in 2017. In addition, 6.5% of individuals 12-17 years of age and 22.1% of individuals 18-25 years old used marijuana in the past month, according to the survey. More than 2.5 million individuals between the ages of 12 and 25 who hadn't used marijuana previously started using marijuana last year.
Establishing causal links
Utilizing a more rigorous methodology and genetic approach, new research published in Molecular Psychiatry last month suggests that there is, in fact, a direct, causal relationship be-
tween cannabis use and the likelihood than an individual will develop schizophrenia.
Researchers from University of Lausanne in Switzerland, Univer-sity of Pennsylvania in the United States Oxford University in the United Kingdom and other academic institutions around the world conducted an analysis of already published, observational studies on cannabis use and schizophrenia. The results were then combined with a genetic analysis through complex statisti-cal methods that allowed them to test the link between canna-bis use and the development of schizophrenia. This complex study thus mimics a randomized control trial.
From both methods, the researchers found that any cannabis use increases the risk for developing schizophrenia. The genetic approach yielded a 1.37 times increased risk for developing schizophrenia among cannabis users compared to non-users, whereas the meta-analysis found a 1.43 times increased risk.
The findings of this study appear to validate the original hypoth-esis that use of cannabis increases the risk for developing schiz-ophrenia. Moreover, their complex methodology and genetic test avoids ethical concerns raised by conducting experimental trials on individuals.
The authors are hopeful that their research will "help inform public health debate on cannabis use and preventive strategies to alleviate the burden of disease from schizophrenia." We feel the same.
Elizabeth Sinclair Director of Research
References:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2018). 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
Vaucher, J. et al. (2018). Cannabis use and risk of schizophrenia: A Mendelian randomization study. Molecular Psychiatry.
PLAN NOW TO COME AND SOCIALIZE
AND VOTE ON DECEMBER 20, 2018
8
Place
Stamp
Here
NAMI
CUMBERLAND and PERRY COUNTIES Enclosed is my membership or my tax deductible donation (check or money order)
Payable to NAMI C/P PA - mail to PO Box 527, Carlisle, Pa. 17013
___Individual membership [$40] ___Household membership [$60] ___Open Door [5$] ___Professional membership [$75]
___ New member or ____Renewal
NAME:_____________________________________________________________________________________ Date__________
STREET:__________________________________________________________________email:___________________________
CITY:____________________________________________STATE_____________ZIP_________________
, CUMBERLAND and
PERRY COUNTIES NEWS
P.O. Box 527, Carlisle, PA 17013
