Your premier support group in the Philadelphia area for people with Depression, Bipolar Disorder and their Loved Ones. Call us at 215-659-2366 or email us at Compass123@comcast.net.
SEE SCHEDULE BELOW… OR ON RIGHT.
Team Leaders include: Ada Moss Fleisher, Ron Abrams, Helen Kirschner, Fontaine Caldwell, Johannes Brahms Ponsen. Carole and Greg Hodges run our Family Member Group. Photo by Greg Hodges, lower right. Ruth Z Deming, MGPGP, director, in her “Ask me Why I have 3 kidneys T-shirt.” Taking lithium for 16 yrs ruined her kidneys and she had a transplant. Read her Lithium post. For other famous people w/mood disorders click here.
SCHEDULE IS BELOW or on Top Right under Upcoming Events.
Read our Keys to Recovery, including Stop-Suicide Plan.
Need someone to talk to? Call your buddies from New Directions! Also, Montgomery County Office of Behavioral Health runs a Peer-Run Support Line. Call 855-715-8255 Mon to Fri 3 to 7 pm.
Watch our latest Comcast Newsmakers (June, 2012)
Ruth Z Deming, MGPGP, director, on Comcast Newsmakers
Please make your donation today! Who else but New Directions writes newspaper editorials to help combat stigma and educate the public. See selection of articles.
We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit & rely on your generous contributions to serve you. To make a secure, tax-deductible donation click PAYPAL below OR make check payable to “New Directions,” Box 181, Hatboro, PA 19040.
New Directions is registered with the United Way (Donor Choice Number 19628):
See schedule Below OR on Right under Upcoming Events. Contact us at 215-659-2366 or Compass123@comcast.net.
EVENING MEETINGS:
We meet at Abington Presbyterian Church, 1082 Old York Road (Route 611) at Susquehanna, Abington, PA 19001 on the First, Third & Fifth Tuesday of the month from 7:30 to 9:45 pm. Click for directions. Accessible via public transportion. We ask a donation of $5 per person or $8 per family.
DAYTIME MEETINGS:
We also meet at the Willow Grove Giant Supermarket, 315 York Road, Willow Grove, PA 19090, in an upstairs classroom on the Second & Fourth Thursdays from 10 until noon. See schedule on Right or Below. Click here for Map.
MAY MEETINGS AND EVENTS
Tues., May 7, EVENING Meeting from 7:30 to 9:45 pm. Abington Prez.
Continue to bring in items for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read more.
Thurs., May 9, DAYTIME Meeting from 10 to noon at Willow Grove Giant Supermarket. Read more.
Saturday, May 11, Ruth Deming Talk on Understanding Bipolar and Depression at Doylestown Hospital Health & Wellness Center in Warrington. Read more.
Saturday, May 18, NAMI Walk at Montgomery County Community College, from 9 to noon. Read more.
Tues., May 21, Evening Meeting from 7:30 to 9:45 pm. No guest speaker. Abington Prez. Read more.
Thurs., May 23, DAYTIME Meeting from 10 to noon at Willow Grove Giant Supermarket. Read more.
ORDER YOUR MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS bumper sticker magnet now!
UNREMITTING DEPRESSION? Contact these experts.
Our Musical Fundraiser in Brooklyn, Dec. 31, 2012. Read more.
Read our story about Poets and Bipolar D/o, in April 2013 Patch.com
And in the Lansdale Reporter Online, Oct. 2012.
OUR PROGRAM “SUPPORT OUR OVERSEAS TROOPS.” Read more.
AMBIEN, sleep drug, CAUTION. Read more.
GENERIC WELLBUTRIN XR INEFFCTIVE!
ASK YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT DEPLIN! It may help your DEPRESSION. Read on.
NO INSURANCE? Click here for dental clinics. Click here for medical clinics.
BLOGS BY ND MEMBERS. Process your feelings:
Jennifer is a young journalist. Read her blog here.
We’re Goalsetters! We divide into small groups – bipolar, depression, family members – and set a manageable goal for the next meeting. Peers helping peers.
Click to download The Compass.
SUMMERTIME and the livin’ is….Well, a cautionary note if you’re on psych meds. Lithium-users: Make sure you drink plenty of WATER. Go to ER if suddenly you feel dizzy or confused. Other drug-users: Use sunscreen if you’re on certain drugs. Check w/your doctor.
ENERGY assistance programs, such as CAP or LIHEAP. Click here.
L A B T E S T S — Does your psychiatrist order VITAL lab tests for you? We like the Mayo Clinic’s website where you can query about tests such as liver or thyroid function tests, nec’y if you are taking psychotropic meds.
NEW DIRECTIONS urges timelier treatment for vulnerable patients at Creekwood Mental Health Center. Read more.
WHAT IS Bipolar Disorder? Read this from NIMH.
MED QUESTIONS? Ask retired pharmacist Larry DiBello. Call him at 215-514-5110.
MED questions? Click here.
OUR BLOG – above – READ JUDY KROLL‘s essay “Bicycling.” Submit your own by emailing us at Compass123@comcast.net.
BOOK REVIEWS BY LINDA BARRETT and others Submit your own.
A booklist from Bipolar Disorder Significant Others.
A HEALTHIER YOU! Nutrition initiative! Overweight or tired from your meds? Make an appt w/Mary Ann Moylan, RD, LDN, CDE of Willow Grove Giant Supermarket by calling 215-784-1960. Press 1, then 4.
MAKE HEALTHY EATING a lifestyle. Read about the Beck Institute’s Diet Solution.
OUR SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
- Sunday Hikes. Read why a walk in the park helps depression.
- Ada’s Wednesday Outings
- Pursue the Wonderful, things to do on your own or with your ND buddies
ESSENTIAL READING written by us!!! – Who knows better than we do?
Newly Diagnosed with Bipolar or Depression? Tips from Ruth Deming
FOR MORE of our informative writing click here.
Our Meetings
Prepare for a great experience. Our mission is to make you feel comfortable & to answer your concerns on the same day you attend our meeting.
We ask $5 per person and $8 per family. Our large meeting consists of about 40 people.
After our announcements, we break into our small groups – Bipolar Groups, Depression groups, and a Family Member Group, all led by trained leaders.
Attention Family Members! No meeting is complete without Family Members. Greg and Carole Hodges run our Family Member Group.
Complaint Department
Send feedback, both positive and negative, about experiences at Creekwood Mental Health Center, Willow Grove, PA or Abington Memorial Hospital ER Services to:
Rick Fullan, administrative director, mental health and geriatric services, at AMH. RFullan@amh.org OR Nancy Wieman, deputy administrator, Montgomery County Dept of Behavioral Health, Norristown, at Nwieman@montcopa.org.
Dave Mauermann, administrator at Horsham Clinic, would also like constructive criticism. Email him at Dave.Mauermann@uhsinc.com.
We encourage you to SPEAK UP about the treatment you receive. THIS IS YOUR LIFE!
Meds for life? A New Paradigm
Watch Ruth Z Deming, MGPGP, director of New Directions, on YouTube for her 2008 Comcast CN8 interview. She mentions she no longer has bipolar disorder as it often resolves itself later in life.
Meds are not forever. Half a dozen mature people in our group are no longer on meds for BP or depression.
We encourage people in their fifties and sixties to see if your own illness has resolved itself and you, too, can go off meds. Many psychiatrists are willing to work with you on this. We strongly caution you to work with your doctor.
Growing concern over psychiatric drugs. Do they work? Read Robert Whitaker’s book “Anatomy of an Epidemic.” Again, stay on your meds and talk to your doctor. Terrific interview w Whitaker about Anatomy and his other books.
NY Review of Books reviews 3 books on rise of mental illness – Why now?
Psychotherapy has often been shown to be as helpful as meds. Read article here.
MED QUESTIONS? Larry DiBello, retired pharmacist will answer your personal questions. Call Larry at 215-514-5110.
In the News
Bipolar D/o: Where did the ‘real me’ go? NY Times mag, April 2013
Yes, you can lose weight while on psych meds. Times, April 2013.
Does Psychotherapy Really Work? Times, March 2013
Mental Disorders Share Genetic Links, NY Times, March 2013
Promising New Therapy to Treat Depression, Feb. 2013, The NY Times.
Successful Schizophrenics were discouraged by their doctors, Times, Jan. 2013
New DSM of Psychiatric Disorders will appear in May, Times, Jan. 2013
Please take away my right to own a gun – NY Times, Jan. 2013
Easy Testing offers Ways to Tell What Meds Work for You.
Available at local agencies including Collaborative Care in Abington, PA.
Healthy Mind TV Series, sponsored by Brain & Behavior Research
Jane Pauley speaks in Bucks Co to help destigmatize bipolar, Oct. 2012
Bipolar Gene discovered in huge study by Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, Oct. 2012
Genetic testing for Treatment-Resistant Depression, Sept. 2012
Researchers discover manic gene, Sept, 2012
Ruth Deming and her kidney t’plant featured in Brain & Behavior Research e-News, Aug, 2012
THIS is what it feels like to have a Panic Attack, Times, July 2012
Anxiety? Dan Smith talks about his on Radio Times, July 2012.
Video about importance of body language, June 2012.
Coffee may extend your life, studies show, Times, June 2012
NY Times Mag: When My Crazy Father Lost His Mind, June 2012.
Fascinating Discussion about Depression on the Charlie Rose Show of May 29, 2012.
What is Depression and How do Drugs Help, Times, April 2012
Promise of Blood Test to Diagnose Depression, LA Times, April 2012
Trauma in Children Helped by Brief Therapy, Times, Apr 2012
Rate of Autism Up 20 percent, Times, March 2012
Body Clocks: Key to Treatment of Bipolar D/O, March 2012
FOR MORE ARTICLES AND VIDEOS click here.
Know Your Illness
Bucks County NAMI offers classes on understanding a loved one with mental illness. Read more.
To find a NAMI Group near you, click here.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) offers excellent info
NIMH publications you can read online or download or order. You can also call them at 1-866-615-6464.
What type of Bipolar Disorder Do You Have? Learn here.
Bipolar Disorder strikes children, too. Make sure, however, your child is diagnosed correctly. Meds can damage a growing brain!
NIMH’s Mental Health Statistics
Notable InfoSites – Get on their mailing lists
Dr Dan Hartman, Phila Guidance Center, The Sidewalk Psychiatrist
All about Bipolar including great videos, & questions to ask your doctor
International Bipolar Foundation
Wealth of information on Anxiety from Mike Nichols
Siblings of those with Mental Illness
AHEDD find jobs for people with disabilities
JEVS finds jobs for people with disabilities
Michael Walling is an expert on Social Security benefits, including those with disabilities. See his website here.
Institute for Recovery and Education
The Famous WRAP Program from Mary Ellen Copeland of VT
Bruce E Levine, uncommon psychologist
Mad in America: Bob Whittaker, Science and Psychiatry
SAMHSA’S Wellness Recovery Initiative (Fed Govt Agency)
Temple University’s Help for Psychiatric Conditions
Junk? Clutter? Hoarding? Read more.
Attn: Family members: PLAN OF PA offers services for your adult child with disabilities. See their website.
What does a family member want? Write a Letter of Intent to provide for your child’s future when you’re no longer here.
Pennsylvania Recovery – great resources
Bipolar USA – Peer Specialists
MHA: Recovery from Mental Illness
Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
Jim Phelps, MD, Bipolar website
Rachel Aviv, writer, has several fascinating essays on Mental Illness – see menu on Left
Joshua Walters: 6-minute video on his Bipolar D/o – good film to show someone in denial
Healthy eating with Andrew Weil, MD
Find a therapist at Psychology Today
Find a therapist at Network Therapy Referral
Peter Breggin, MD, Empathic Therapy
Bipolar Foundation, serving the bipolar world from its UK headquarters
Psychiatric Times, sign up for free
Montgomery Co Emergency Service – involuntary commitments
MCES offers information about suicide:
Click here for MCES patient info re suicide.
Click here for MCES supporter’s info re suicide.
Homeless shelters: CodeBlue is a program that takes in the homeless when the temperature is below 20.
Click for CodeBlue in Montgomery County.
Click for CodeBlue in Bucks County.
Click for CodeBlue in Philadelphia.