Why do we need National Guidelines for Assisted Outpatient Treatment? Why do we need to stand together?

For those who suffer from an untreated severe mental illness, time is brain. With each psychotic episode they lose the brain cells they will need to recover with. To make things more complicated, a symptom of the illness (a brain malfunction in the frontal lobe) prevents those who suffer with this from being able to realize that they need help. It's called anosognia. Insight and Psychosis by Xavier Amador & Anthony David. Brain & Behavior Quarterly Spring 2012 page 30, gives a simple yet important breakdown to mental health. Step 1 Discovery: Understanding malfunctions in the brain. Step 2 Treatment: Reducing symptoms and retraining the brain. Step 3 Recovery: Supporting rehabilitation to enable full, productive lives When a person suffers from anosognia they do not want Step 2 because they do not think that they are ill. Untreated, they will continue to loose brain cells. Step 3 can not happen without Step 2 for these few who have such severe symptoms. It’s just common sense. Some who have a severe mental illness but do not suffer from anosognia can get help on their own. Only a few cannot because their symptoms are so severe. Their brain disorder is so severe. That’s why we need AOTs in every state. To help those who cannot help themselves. To save lives. 
 With well written Assisted Outpatient Treatment Laws! Kendra's Law in New York reports (in spite of not being a perfect program) many benefits of AOTs! But where is NAMI? Where is NAMI's voice in this? Why is their voice silent? Even SAMHSA is looking at the benefits of AOTs. "Via Treatment Advocacy Center: "Duke University professors Marvin Swartz and Jeffrey Swanson gave highlights of the many AOT studies that they have conducted in New York and North Carolina, dating back to the late 1990’s. Their findings made a persuasive case that if properly implemented, AOT is a cost effective means to improve outcomes for people with severe mental illness who struggle with treatment adherence." Full article: http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/about-us/our-blog/69-no-state/2444-samhsa-starts-a-conversation-on-aot

'Help When You Need It' If you live in the US, check it out!

Alex Gottemoller, around 26 years old, created this wonderful site in order to help others in need. It’s a great resource! Thank you Alex! http://helpwhenyouneedit.org/

Caregivers: Warning Signs That Shouldn't be Ignored!

Stigma is born from the severe symptoms of the few who's bio-neurological brain disorder/disorders control their thoughts and their actions. Compliance to the right treatment is crucial. Hospital beds are critical. Treatment BEFORE Tragedy! Copy and paste the link below to read about the warning signs! http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/19/health/mental-health-violence/index.html

When HIPPA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 in the United States) Law isn't your friend...

From the article posted in Treatment Advocacy Center's Blog written by Doris Fuller: 'Running Head On into HIPAA – personally speaking' So many caregivers and family members who try to get the needed help for their loved ones over the age of 18, who lack the needed insight to seek care for themselves, run into the HIPPA brick wall. Leaving them helpless in the whirlwind of the trauma and drama that an untreated or treatment resistant bio-neurological brain disorder with severe symptoms brings. Please copy and paste the article address given below to read the full and insightful post. This is one major road block we need to remove to insure that timely medical treatment can be made available to those who need it the most! "Being a professional advocate for better mental illness treatment policies and a personal advocate for a loved one with severe mental illness has both drawbacks (a 24/7 “job”) and benefits (I know exactly how the system can and should work for individuals in crisis and their families). So when I found myself in a hospital emergency room in the middle of the night after my daughter’s hard-won stability of nearly two years faltered this week, I figured I was well-equipped to handle whatever the night brought. I wasn’t... ...After the standard admonishment about the privacy act, the attending physician added that – because she was a psychiatric patient and experiencing disordered thinking – my daughter wouldn't be allowed to authorize release of her own information either. “Wait!? So you’re telling me that because you’ve decided my daughter may not be able to make decisions in her best interest right now, you are going to leave all the decisions about what's in her best interests up to her?!? Or to doctors who've never laid eyes on her before?!?” Exactly." Read more: http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/about-us/our-blog/127-va/2443-hurtling-head-on-into-hipaa-personally-speaking

No More Shame!

"Cognitive Enhancement Therapy Improves Emotional Intelligence in Early Course Schizophrenia: Preliminary Effects"

"Cognitive Enhancement Therapy Improves Emotional Intelligence in Early Course Schizophrenia: Preliminary Effects" from NIH Public Access (link to article provided below) What this translates to is that time is brain when dealing with a severe brain disorder. When early intervention and the proper treatment for that individual has been secured along with appropriate support services, then there is hope. Don't hesitate. Do what is needed to address the destructive and unwanted symptoms of a severe brain disorder. This is such a critical pivotal time. The longer a person goes untreated or improperly treated severe brain disorders, the more symptomatic the are. The more symptomatic they are the more severe the symptoms will become. The more severe the symptoms become, the more brain cells that are needed to 'recover' are lost. Get your loved one help for any severe brain disorder as soon as you can. Continue to fight for the right treatment until the disturbing and often dangerous symptoms have been addressed. Continue to fight for their right to treatment and an improved quality of life. They deserve it. You deserve to have your love one back as free from the control of their illness as possible! THE RIGHT TO TREATMENT! http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2921636/

Why We Must 'Steal' Information From Other Brain Disorder and Caregiver Sites...

We face a great need to change the classification of severe mental illness to severe brain disorders and approach treatment similar to the way other brain disorders are approached. For example, the issue of caregiving itself. There are so many resources available to families who have loved ones who suffer with the brain disorder of autism, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. All have similar cognitive and behavioral issues that family members need to resolve. Yet, for families who have loved ones suffering from a brain disorder of schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder (just to name two), there is little out there for support in caring for their loved ones and for caring for themselves. Below I have given an all too familiar bullet point list of cognitive issues that caregivers of severe brain disorders are all too familiar with. However, this is written for families who are caring for elderly loved ones. The information is still fairly applicable however, why isn't this information offered widely to caregivers of those suffering from schizophrenia? One reason that comes to my mind is that Schizophrenia is not recognized as a medical disorder, a true brain disorder, but is linked to substance abuse and therefore it is believed to be a condition that can be 'recovered' from as opposed to being a chronic medical condition that can be successfully managed with appropriate treatment and support services. For now, we must 'steal' information from other brain disorder and caregiver sites so that we can better care for our loved ones and ourselves. Family Caring for Family Navigating the landscape of caring for your elderly loved one; and thriving along the way proved by Aging Care Cognitive issues can be problematic in caregiving. Again, change the words elderly and aging to severe brain disorder and I think that most apply. On page 6 of the eBook (link given below for you to copy and paste in your URL address box): Here are a few additional indicators that your loved one’s cognitive troubles may be caused by something more serious than the simple advancing of age: Signs That Cognitive Troubles May Be More Than ‘Old Age’ Bad judgment (poor financial decisions, public outbursts) Movement issues (stiff movements, hunched posture) Loss of inhibition (saying or doing socially inappropriate things) Language problems (can’t form coherent sentences) Hallucinations and delusions (seeing things that aren’t really there) Trouble performing familiar tasks (can’t remember how to get to the doctor’s office) Memory loss that interrupts daily life (regularly forgets recent conversations) Ultimately, it’s up to you and your family to determine if, and when, a loved one’s cognitive issues warrant investigation by a medical professional. http://www.agingcare.com/eBook/FamilyCaringForFamily/AgingCare-FamilyCaringForFamily.pdf