Welcome

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NAMI, the acronym for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is a grass roots, self help, support and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of families who have relatives with a brain disorder (mental illness). This includes the families of persons diagnosed with a mental illness, relatives and friends, mental health professionals, and all who share NAMI’s vision and mission.

NAMI South Bay is an affiliate of National and State NAMI. NAMI South Bay serves the general area from El Segundo on the north to Palos Verdes on the south; from the Beach Cities on the west to Carson/Wilmington on the east. NAMI South Bay has regular monthly meetings with a Caring and Sharing Support Group and Speaker Sessions, Family to Family and Familia de Familia Programs, Peer to Peer and Connections Programs (ongoing support group for persons with a mental illness). NAMI South Bay supports other programs such as NARSAD, dedicated to the service of persons with a mental illness and their families. Also, NAMI South Bay participates in the NAMI Los Angeles County Walk. Please consider joining and participating in NAMI South Bay.

March Meeting: Long Lasting Injectables

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Monday, March Meeting
Virtual Meeting
7:30 PM, Monday, March 20, 2023

Please come to hear Dr. Vivian Tang speak about the use of long lasting injectables in our second “Ask the Doctor” meeting of 2023. Dr. Tang will talk about the current use of long-acting injectables in outpatient clinic, including in which situations they are used, how they are started, pros and cons, and which patients may benefit the most from these forms of medication.

Dr. Vivian Tang earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry at Stanford University and her Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy at USC. She worked at an intensive outpatient psychiatry clinic as an occupational therapist before going back to medical school to complete her MD at USC. She came to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center to train in the Adult Psychiatry Residency Program and currently works as an attending physician in the Harbor-UCLA Adult Outpatient Clinic. Dr. Tang is also a UCLA Clinical Instructor of Psychiatry and teaches UCLA medical students and residents at Harbor-UCLA in the outpatient setting.

This meeting will be conducted via Zoom. To attend, see our Monthly email Newsletter for login information or contact Paul Stansbury for information and access. pstans5@aol.com.

Feb. 27 Meeting–Choosing a Therapist

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Virtual Meeting
7:30 PM, Monday,
February 27,2023

Please come to hear Dr. Janice Jones speak about how to choose a therapist in our first “Ask the Doctor” meeting of 2023. There are several important questions to consider in finding the right therapist. Choosing and finding a therapist is a frequent issue in our support groups and on our help lines. It can take persistence and dedicated efforts to address these questions. Dr. Jones will help up us identify and consider those questions.

Dr. Janice Jones earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wesleyan University and her master’s and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology from UCLA. She completed her predoctoral internship at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute (NPI; now the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior) and received postdoctoral training at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Twin Towers Correctional Facility. Currently, Dr. Jones provides direct services to adult clients in the Adult Outpatient Program in the Division of Psychiatry at Harbor-UCLA.

Dr. Jones has provided direct services in both inpatient and outpatient mental health settings in community mental health clinics, academic teaching hospitals, and correctional settings. She has had extensive training and experience in evidence-based treatments, particularly in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Dr. Jones is a diplomate and certified CBT therapist and supervisor in the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. She is on the adult Dialectical Behavioral Therapy treatment team at Harbor-UCLA and is trained as a DBT Team Leader. She also provides consultation to providers and treatment teams conducting DBT in LA County Department of Mental Health clinics and contracted agencies. In addition, Dr. Jones provides countywide trainings on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and cultural competency in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She has been teaching and providing clinical supervision for more than 20 years to psychology graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and psychiatry residents at Harbor-UCLA as well as previously at the Department of Psychology at UCLA, the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, and Twin Towers Correctional Facility. She is currently a Health Science Assistance Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She has also held appointments as Assistant (2005-2013) and Associate (2013-2020) Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychology at UCLA.

January Meeting will be Monday, January 23, 2023

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Happy New Year!

Our January meeting will be our annual Organizational Meeting and Annual Report..

Monday, 7:30 PM
January 23,2023
Virtual

We hope you had a wonderful holiday season. Because of the holiday on the third Monday we will be meeting on the fourth Monday of January.

Please join us for this important meeting on the plans for NAMI South Bay in 2023. Our Organization Meeting will include an annual report on activities and programs in 2022, advocacy issues for 2023, a report on the merger with NAMI Greater Los Angeles County (GLAC), a discussion on needs in the South Bay for addressing the challenges of mental illness, and plans for 2023. Your input and thoughts are important to the programs and services that NAMI South Bay will be seeking to provide in 2023. See you on January 23.

This meeting will be conducted via Zoom. To attend, see our Monthly email Newsletter for login information or contact Paul Stansbury for information and access. pstans5@aol.com.

The Family Support Group usually schedule before our monthly meeting will be held at 6 PM on Monday, January 23.

Family to Family Class Begins January 19, 2023

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NAMI Family-to-Family is a free, 8-session education program for family, friends and significant others of adults with mental health conditions. NAMI Family-to-Family provides information about anxiety, depressive disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other mental health conditions. Other topics covered include communication, problem solving, treatment and recovery.

The course is designed to increase understanding and advocacy skills while helping participants maintain their own well-being. The program is taught by trained family members who have a loved one with a mental health condition. NAMI Family-to-Family is an evidence-based program (EB). For information on the research base for the program, visit nami.org/research.

NAMI South Bay will be offering the next Family-to Family class on Zoom starting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 19, 2023. To learn more about the course and how to register, please email pstans5@aol.com or call (310) 892-8046.

Participant Perspectives

“This course overall was the single most, without a doubt, helpful and informative thing ever offered in all my years searching for answers…it has helped me to understand better and communicate more effectively with my brother.”

“The course has helped me to realize that my son is still inside the body that is often times hidden by the mental illness and that I am not alone in this.”

PROGRAMA DE EDUCACION DE FAMILIA A FAMILIA DE NAMI

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CURSO GRATIS!!

NAMI SOUTH BAY ESPAÑOL

Fecha: (8 Semanas) JUEVES, 12 de Enero al 2 de Marzo 2023
Hora: 6:30pm al 9:00pm en persona.
Locacion es: San Jose Church Iglesia/Hawthorne
11901 Acacia Ave Hawthorne, Cal 90250

Modesta Pulido Maestra mpulido@namiglac.org 310-245-9820 informacion

Este es un programa para la familia que le ayudará a romper con la desesperación y el aislamiento, a través de comprender y recibir apoyo para personas que tienen un miembro de familia que sufre de:

      • Depresión Severa
      • Trastorno Bipolar (También conocido como Depresión Mániaca)
      • Esquizofrenia
      • Trastorno Esquizo-Afectivo
      • Ansiedad y Pánico
      • Trastorno Obsesivo y Compulsivo
      • Diagnóstico Doble (Abuso de sustancias y enfermedad mental)

Esta serie de 8 clases, la cual se lleva a cabo una vez por semana, está diseñada para ayudar a los miembros de familia a educar, comprender y apoyar a nuestros seres queridos, mientras logran mantener un ambiente de salud personal y de bienestar en el hogar.

El programa de educación de Familia a Familia es gratis! Pero es necesario registrarse lo antes posible. Favor de comunicarse con Ricardo y Modesta Pulido a los teléfonos: 310.245-9820 o 310.567.0748. cell email: rpulido@namiglac.org

De Familia-a-Familia es un programa que ayuda a transformar a la familia desde la desesperación y el aislamiento (ofreciendo esperanza y apoyo) hasta llegar a superar las enfermedades del cerebro. NAMI/SOUTH BAY/GLAC GRACIAS!

 

Holiday Get-Together!

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11 AM to 1 PM
Saturday, December 10, 2022
Charles H. Wilson Park
2200 Crenshaw Blvd,
Torrance, CA

Please plan to come to a Holiday Get-Together on Saturday, December 10 at Wilson Park. We had hoped to have our traditional holiday potluck indoors but with the recent surge in the various illnesses have decided to have an outdoor event. It will be a chance to meet and greet persons we have only seen in zoom at our monthly meetings, Family to Family, Familia de Familia, Basics, Peer to Peer, and Connections Program over almost the last three years. We hope that those who attended these program will take a little tiime out of their busy holiday schedule to stop by and say hello.

We will be giving away some copies of the NAMI You Are Not Alone book written by Dr. Ken Duckworth for which there was a recent book signing. We will do a short presentation on the book and the importance of telling our story.

Please see this map for information, location and parking where we will be at Wilson Park. Any questions, just let Nami South Bay President Paul Stansbury know: pstans5@aol.com.

The Family Support Group usually schedule before our monthly meeting will be held at the same time and day of the month 6 PM on Monday, Dec 19 . 

November Meeting will be Monday the 14th — CalABLE

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Please Note: Our November meeting in 2022 with be Monday 11/14/22 (the second Monday of the month, rather than the third).

NAMI South Bay Monthly Meeting (Virtual)
7:30 PM
Monday, November 14, 2022

CalABLE

Dante Allen, the Executive Director of the State of California Achieving a Better Life Experience (CalABLE) Program, will present information on the program. CalABLE is a savings and investment plan offered by the state of California to individuals who developed a disability by age 26.

Eligible individuals, family, friends, and employers can contribute up to $16,000 per year, and up to $100,000 total, without affecting eligibility for public disability benefits. CalABLE account owners who work can contribute even more to their accounts. Best of all, earnings on qualified withdrawals are federal and California state tax-free. Small amounts may still be very helpful in providing funds for persons with a mental illness and avoiding problems with government benefits.

This presentation will cover CalABLE basics and provide you with an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about CalABLE. This program provides a very valuable option for families and persons with a mental illness to consider.

This meeting will be conducted via Zoom. To attend, see our Monthly email Newsletter for login information or contact Paul Stansbury for information and access. pstans5@aol.com.