CBHCare Announces Family Educational Workshops

Lyndhurst, NJ (January 12, 2009) Intensive Family Support Services (IFSS) of Bergen County, a program administered by Comprehensive Behavioral Healthcare, Inc. (CBHCare) is pleased to announce its first Family Educational Workshop Series of 2009. These workshops are for families who have a relative diagnosed with a serious and persistent mental illness.

This 8-week program meets 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday evenings at BERGEN REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: Behavioral Health Pavilion, Room E218, 230 East Ridgewood Ave., Paramus, NJ 07652. The series is FREE and open to the public; however advance registration is required. Please call Lara Zucker, Intensive Family Support Services Coordinator at (201) 646-0333 for additional information or to register.

WEEK 1: January 20, 2009
INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF MAJOR MENTAL ILLNESS
*Overview of Workshops *Discussion of Schizophrenia, Major Depression, and Bipolar Disorder

WEEK 2: January 27, 2009
NEUROLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF MENTAL ILLNESS AND MEDICATION EDUCATION
*Discussion of Theories *Medications *Medication Side-Effects

WEEK 3: February 3, 2009
DUAL DIAGNOSIS: MENTAL ILLNESS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE
*Discussion of Treatment *Support *Self-Care for the Rest of the Family

WEEK 4: February 10, 2009
LIVING WITH A MENTAL ILLNESS
*A Discussion of Mental Illness as Experienced by a Consumer

WEEK 5: February 17, 2009
SIBLINGS, SPOUSES, AND ADULT CHILDREN
*Discussion of Roles and Feelings

WEEK 6: February 24, 2009
STRESS MANAGEMENT
*Coping Skills *Stress Reduction Strategies

WEEK 7: March 3, 2009
INTEGRATED CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES (ICMS)
AND THE JAIL DIVERSION PROGRAM
*Overview of Services Provided by these Bergen County Programs

WEEK 8: March 10, 2009
BENEFITS REVIEW
*Social Security *Medicaid/Medicare *Entitlement Programs

Intensive Family Support Services is a county-wide support program for families of relatives with mental illness. The program is based on the belief that, despite recent improvements in treatment and community services, family members often take an active role in care for a mentally ill relative. This can be an especially difficult and challenging task - IFSS provides tangible coping skills to address these challenges. IFSS is open to all Bergen County families with a mentally ill relative; the family member does not have to be in treatment for the family to receive services.

Founded in 1969 in response to the critical need for counseling services in the community, CBHCare is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing the highest quality of behavioral healthcare services to the people of New Jersey. Over the past 40 years, CBHCare has expanded its services to all ages - from children to seniors.

With treatment centers in Lyndhurst, Hackensack and River Edge, CBHCare offers quality mental health services including individual and family counseling; rehabilitation; alcohol and substance abuse treatment; the Valley Brook Center for Geriatric Partial Care; residential, and preventive services - making CBHCare one of the most vital and important healthcare resources in northern New Jersey.

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