New Directions Support Group

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 our schedule Below or on Right. The below schedule is more accurate. 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 kidney transplant shirt (taking lithium for 16 yrs ruined her kidneys). Read her Lithium post. For other famous people w/mood disorders click here.

SCHEDULE IS BELOW or on Top Right under Upcoming Events. Schedule BELOW is more accurate.

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.

N E X T M E E T I N G S A N D E V E N T S

MAY MEETINGS & EVENTS

Tues, May 1, Evening Meeting at Abington Presbyterian Church, from 7:30 to 9:45 pm. Read more.

Saturday, May 5, NAMI Walk at Montgomery County Community College, from 10 till 1. Read more.

Thursday, May 10, Daytime Meeting at Willow Grove Giant Supermarket from 10 am till noon. Read more.

Tues., May 15, Evening Speaker Meeting at Abington Presbyterian Church, from 7:30 to 9:45 pm. Guest speaker Shimon Waldfogel, MD. Read more.

Sun, May 20, 10:30 am. SUNDAY HIKE. Meet at Valley Forge Park Visitor’s Center Parking Lot at the 3 picnic tables. Do not go to the spot which says “Bike Rentals,” which also has a parking lot.

Hike leader is Sandy. Call her at 215-896-1814.This is a 5 mile hike but the group will stop along the way for bathroom breaks. After the walk, we’ll sit and talk and eat snacks. If you wish, bring blanket in the car.

Thursday, May 24, Daytime Meeting at Willow Grove Giant Supermarket from 10 am till noon. Read more.

Sun, May 27 – Memorial Day Weekend – SUNDAY HIKE. Meet at Pennypack Trust, 2955 Edge Hill Road, Huntingdon Valley PA 19006. Do not confuse this with the park in Philly. We’ll meet at the Barn at 10:30 a.m. for an hour-long walk. If interested contact Ruth at 215-659-2142 OR RuthDeming@comcast.net.

Tues., May 29, Evening Meeting at Abington Presbyterian Church, from 7:30 to 9:45 pm. Read more.

Tues., May 29, 7 to 9 PM – “Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder.” Presented by Edie Mannion of Mental Health Asso of Southeastern PA.

Held at Belmont Center, Ford and Monument, Philadelphia.

Features Expert Panel Discussion including Pat Harvey, author of “Parenting a Child with Intense Emotions.”

For info contact Edie at emannion@mhasp.org

ASK YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT DEPLIN! It may help your DEPRESSION. Read on.

RUTH’S GUEST COLUMN in the Doylestown-based Intelligencer, April 30, 2012.

Ruth Deming runs a Community Writers Group in Willow Grove, PA. Read more.

JUNE MEETINGS AND EVENTS

Tues., June 5, Evening Meeting from 7:30 to 9:45 pm at Abington Presbyterian Church. Read more.

SPECIAL PROGRAM: Sat., June 9, 1 to 2:30 pm – Horsham Clinic presents at our “Meet Your Mental Health Professionals” at Willow Grove Giant Supermarket. Read more.

Thurs., June 14, Daytime Meeting from 10 to noon at Willow Grove Giant Supermarket. Read more.

Tues., June 19, from 7:30 to 9:45 pm, Speaker Meeting at Abington Presbyterian Church. Read more.

SPECIAL PROGRAM: Sat., June 23, 1 to 2:30 pm – Southampton Psychiatric Associates presents at our “Meet Your Mental Health Professionals” at Willow Grove Giant Supermarket. Read more.

Thurs., June 28, Daytime Meeting from 10 to noon at Willow Grove Giant Supermarket. R ead more.

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.

WHY SUNLIGHT IS GOOD FOR YOU

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.

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? 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.

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

- Sunday Hikes

- Ada’s Wednesday Outings

- Sunday Fun Days

- 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.

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.

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 new article here.

In the News

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.