This past week, I was pleased to represent Cenpatico at the 2009 National Convention for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). This year’s convention was held in San Francisco, CA where over 2,000 NAMI members, consumers, family advocates, and mental health professionals gathered to explore strategies and ideas to improve the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. The theme of this year’s convention was “Creating a Healthy Future for Us All”. Through workshops, symposia, and poster sessions, we were able to share and discuss technological advancements, behavioral health legislation, and provide support.

If you had a chance to visit our booth, you may have picked up one of our Cenpatico water bottles and information about our organization. We were pleased to see many familiar faces from the markets that we serve in addition to meeting new NAMI members and mental health professionals.

One of the particularly striking things I noticed at the NAMI national convention was the continued emphasis on Peer and Family Support. NAMI is committed to engaging those who have personally experienced or have a family member living with mental illness to educate and provide support for other people experiencing the same issues. It is clear that, because of these NAMI programs, many individuals who feel isolated or that no one understands what they are going through are empowered and given tangible resources for establishing and maintaining wellness and recovery.

I attended a workshop on NAMIpedia, an initiative developed by the Southwest Pennsylvania chapter of NAMI to provide interactive support and resources for living with a mental illness. When conducting an online search for “mental illness”, over 12 million sources will be returned through a search engine. It is overwhelming to dig through the myriad sources to find valuable information for a particular issue. NAMIpedia simulates real-time conversation through the internet, allowing users to ask questions about mental health issues anonymously and delivering personalized answers from consumers and professionals through video. I’m thrilled to see a platform developed where consumers and family members can ask questions and find answers on a multitude of topics regarding mental illness. I encourage you to check out this resource-rich site at www.namiswpa.org

Another emerging development that I am looking forward to exploring is the NAMI Hearts & Minds initiative. Given that research demonstrates that people living with severe psychiatric conditions have an increased risk of heart disease and related conditions, NAMI has developed an interactive wellness program that will debut this fall. This online initiative will include a variety of tools to help people take charge of their eating and exercise habits. Some of these tools include starting a weekly walking group, creating a Quit Smoking club, healthy recipes, and an interactive food diary.

The Heart and Minds site will go live this fall, but there are already many resources available on the site. Check it out at www.nami.org/heartsandminds.

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