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    Family Resources
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Growing Up Bipolar
'Nobody was on my side'

Jennifer Konjoian was 10 years old when she put a plastic bag over her head. She remembers doing it impulsively, for no other reason than to get attention....
NAMI California Pioneer Eve Oliphant and Her Empowering Legacy
Our founder led the way to a brighter future for consumers and their loved ones.

In a speech before the World Congress on Psychiatry in 1977, California resident Eve Oliphant, told medical leaders: “We failed to understand why parents of a child with leukemia were treated with sympathy and understanding, while parents of a child with schizophrenia were treated with scorn and condemnation.”...
Paying It Backward
Adult kids' problems still affect parents' mental health

Even after they grow up, some kids don't stop giving their parents grief. And new research presented Thursday shows that an adult child with problems has a negative impact on a parent's mental health, even if the family's other kids are successful....
Mom's Alcoholism Especially Tough On Daughter's Mental Health
Study finds that outcomes are worse for daughters of affected women, vs. other parent-child pairings

The risk that children of an alchoholic parent run of developing a psychiatric illness later in life may depend, in part, on their gender and whether it was their mother or father who was alcohol-dependent, a new study finds....
Bipolar Recovery More Likely In Those Married, Better Educated
Researchers at Emory University trace factors for recovery.

Fewer than half of patients with bipolar disorder achieve functional recovery, report researchers who note that married patients, those with greater education, and those with fewer years of illness are more likely to recover....
Early Diagnosis In Schizophrenia
Researchers: First symptoms of psychosis evident in 12-year-olds

Children normally experience flights of fancy, including imaginary friends and conversations with stuffed animals, but some of them are also having hallucinations and delusions which might be the early signs of psychosis....
Children’s Mental Health
What Every Policymaker Should Know

One in five American children have a diagnosable mental health disorder and kids in military families have an even higher incidence of emotional and behavioral problems, say researchers at the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP)....
Children Can Display Symptoms Of Psychosis
A new study of British 12-year-olds suggests that nearly six percent may be showing at least one definite symptom of psychosis. Children were asked whether they had ever seen things or heard voices that weren’t really there, and then asked careful followup questions....
At-Risk Girls Respond To Negative Emotions
Young girls at high risk for depression appear to have a malfunctioning reward system in their brains, a new study suggests....
Dealing With Depression In Seniors
After my mom died, I temporarily moved back in with my 81-year-old dad. My parents had been married more than 50 years; the last five had been difficult. Mom had a host of serious problems, including dementia. Taking care of her had left my father with his own health problems. I wanted to see how he'd do on his own....
NAMI Launches Social Networking Site For Young Adults
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has launched StrengthofUs.org, a new online community where young adults living with mental health concerns can provide mutual support in navigating unique challenges and opportunities during the critical transition years from ages 18 to 25....
Treating Mental Illness By Enlisting The Family
It was hard to tell just who was the patient, as the Cunanan siblings — Jennifer, Adrian and Anthony — sat in a row on three chairs in a sparsely decorated therapist’s office at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan....
Confronting Mental Illness
Parents want to know how to do their best when mental illness affects their loved ones or neighbors. Washington Post columnist Marguerite Kelly offers advice....
Calling Hope
The notes they leave behind speak of love and a loss of will. And they almost always offer an apology - and a goodbye....
Schizophrenia Takes A Daughter Away
By the time she landed at Metropolitan State Hospital in 2006, Tiffany Sitton had been haunted by delusions for 15 of her 23 years. Spiders burrowed under her skin. Ghosts ordered her to hurt people....
A Safe Haven For Young Adults
It's not at all typical for a 27-year-old man to enlist Buster the Bunny and Peter the Penguin to facilitate conversations with his mother....
Pediatricians Don’t Routinely Ask About Mental Health
Don't count on your child's doctor to ask whether you're worried about mental health issues such as ADHD or bad behavior. Fifty-six percent of parents say their pediatrician or family-practice doctor never asks about mental health concerns....
On A Mission To Help Youth
They do not panhandle and they are not on drugs. According to Zara Babitzke, there are hundreds of homeless young people on the streets of Marin County and they blend in with everyone else. Some end up living with friends, couch surfing, while some seek refuge in cars and public parks....
Family Comes To Grips With Mental Illness
Back in 1995, Juanita Peña of Napa dealt with much more than typical teenage rebellion from her daughter, Erica. After regularly skipping school, using drugs and leaving home for days without warning, Erica was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in 1997, Peña said....
One In Two Americans Struggle With Clinical Depression
As many as half of all Americans have suffered from clinical depression or another behavioral disorder at some point in their lives, according to research by the Harvard Medical School....
 Overview 
 

This page provides resources available to family members affected by serious mental illness.

The TABS on this page provide detailed information about the Family to Family program and classes, support groups and other events available to family members. Click on the TABS above for more information.

The local NAMI affiliate contact person is generally the best person to answer questions about local resources. Click Here for a list of local NAMI affiliates and contact numbers in your area.

The Service Provider page lists individuals and organizations throughout the State that provide services for those affected by serious mental illness. Click Here to search for services available in your area.

For information about specific illnesses Click Here

If you have questions that are not answered here or elsewhere on the site, please submit them to the webmaster at support@namicalifornia.org