NAMI-Yolo - A chapter of NAMI, the Nation's Voice on Mental Illness

NAMI-Yolo does not necessarily endorse the organizations and groups listed below. This information is offered as a convenience for the local mental health community. .

NAMI Child and Adolescent Center
NAMI’s Child & Adolescent Action Center focuses on mental health systems’ reform that promises to improve the lives of children and adolescents with mental illnesses and their families. This is a powerful online resource providing multiple ways to help your child, including:
- Family Guide: Integrating Mental Health and Pediatric Primary Care
  12/01/2011
  This new guide provides families with a better understanding of what integrated care is and what it can mean for their child's improved health. It offers families help and hope in finding the best comprehensive care for their child.
- Discussion Groups
  You need to create a NAMI user account to access discussion groups.
  - Teens
    For youth who have been diagnosed with a mental illness and want to discuss their experiences with their peers.
  - Parents and Caregivers of Child/Teen Consumers
    For parents and caregivers who have a child with a mental illness and want to share their stories, ask questions, and find support from others.
- Parents & Caregivers of Youth Consumers Discussion Group
  Parents who have a child with a mental illness and are seeking to find support, information and to share their stories with others should join this discussion group.
- Advocating for Your Child: 25 Tips for Parents
- Ask the Doctor Video Clips
  Dr. Ken Duckworth, NAMI’s Medical Director, answers a few of the most commonly asked questions by parents and other caregivers of children and adolescents with mental illness.
The Balanced Mind Foundation
The Balanced Mind Foundation guides families raising children with mood disorders to the answers, support and stability they seek. Founded in 1999 as the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation by parents seeking answers and treatment for their children, they founded an online community, launched a pioneering website, and enlisted the guidance of leading psychiatric researchers and clinicians. A valuable resource an line of support for families seeking information and help for their child.

Board member Garen Staglin, owner of Staglin Family Vineyard in Napa Valley, and the father of a son who was diagnosed with schizophrenia while attending Dartmouth College offers the following guidelines for parents:

• Unconditional love
• Compliance is mandatory, because without medications, our children won’t get well
• Patience—there is no magic pill
• No guilt or blame—nobody did anything wrong
• Take care of yourself
• Don’t be satisfied with ok. Our children deserve full, rich lives.
• Provide structure
• Encourage social involvement, don’t allow isolation
• Have hope! Research is promising and cures are possible.
Effective Child Therapy
Offers as a completely free service based on Evidence Based Practices to families and mental health professionals to help ensure that children and adolescents benefit from the most up-to-date information about mental health psychosocial interventions.