Foundation News - March 2018

Here's what's happening at Gia Allemand Foundation

Here's everything that is happening this month (and more) at Gia Allemand Foundation for PMDD... How will you #PressforProgress? March is Women's History Month New Workshop Announced for PMDD18 Save 15% on Conference Registration Thank You to BCBS Foundation Clinical Advisory Board Update New Peer Support Team Lead Support and Care for Surgical Menopause  Our Growing Community Know When Help Is Here Secret Online Group Support New Encouragement Cuffs April is PMDD Awareness Month In The News News & Noteworthy     How will you #PressforProgress? On March 8th, citizens around the world celebrated International Women's Day (IWD). This global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.  With the World Economic Forum's 2017 Global Gender Gap Report findings telling us that gender parity is over 200 years away - there has never been a more important time to keep motivated and #PressforProgress. And with global activism for women's equality fuelled by movements like #MeToo, #TimesUp and more - there is a strong global momentum striving for gender parity. Learn more and get involved at internationalwomensday.com March is Women's History Month The month in which International Women's Day is held is designated as Women's History Month. Women's History Month recognizes the great contributions that women have made in history. Form powerful women in OB-GYN history to 50 Women Who Shaped America’s Health, we are honored to work with and provide services to incredible women every day at Gia Allemand Foundation! One woman making PMDD history is Tory Eisenlohr-Moul PhD. Dr. Eisenlohr-Moul is a pioneering clinical psychologist studying women's emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to changing hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone) across the menstrual cycle. Additionally, she developed the Carolina Premenstrual Assessment Scoring System (C-PASS) for PMDD which will improve the accuracy of PMDD Diagnosis. Dr. Eeisenlohr-Moul will be presenting PMDD, PME, and Female Suicidality at the 2018 PMDD Annual Conference with Jenni Kay Long RYT LCSW ADS. Register today → New Workshop Announced for PMDD18 We are honored to announce that Dr. Kristine Spano will be presenting "CBT and DBT for PMDD" at the 2018 PMDD Annual Conference! Dr. Spano specializes in the treatment of complex trauma and mood disorders across the lifespan and has previously lectured on topics such as domestic violence, trauma, relapse prevention, and adherence. Save 15% on Conference Registration Use Promo Code WHM2018 3/12/18 - 3/19/18   View the full conference schedule at giaallemand.org/conference.     Thank You to BCBS Foundation We are so grateful to be a recipient of a Catalyst Grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts! The Catalyst Fund provides one-time non-renewable grants up to $5,000 for a twelve-month period to help community-based health care organizations strengthen their capacity to expand access to health care in Massachusetts. The award has allowed us to work with Write Good to evolve our team's grant writing skills and access long-term funding for our Peer Support and TeleHealth programs. Want to help as well? Donate today Clinical Advisory Board Update   Welcome, Howard Li! We are very pleased to announce the internship of Howard Li, MD Candidate with our Clinical Advisory Board! Howard is a Pre-Doctoral Fellow with the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and a past student of our very own Dr. Andrea Chisholm. His work focus is on the differences in cellular response to estradiol and progesterone associated with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and efficacy of transdermal estradiol for postpartum depression. Meet the whole Clinical Advisory Board at giaallemand.org/clinical-advisory-board. New Peer Support Team Lead We are honored to announce the promotion of Brett Buchert to the role of Peer Support Team Lead! Brett has been an exceptional Peer Support Provider with a proven mastery of peer support skills, risk assessment, safety planning, and technical processes. She is a #PMDDWarrior indeed! Want to Join the Team? Apply today! Support and Care for Surgical Menopause    We are excited to announce the submission our grant proposal titled "Reducing Negative Impact of Surgical Menopause on Sexual Health and Emotional Well-Being" to the Patty Brisben Foundation for Women's Sexual Health! The objective of this program is to work with our friends at Surmeno Connection to expand education, awareness, and support services for individuals in surgical menopause due to PMDD, gynecological cancers, PCOS, endometriosis, and more. Our Growing Community   Are you a fan or follower of our public page on Facebook? We've just passed 6,500 likes on our public facebook page where anyone is able to view posts on PMDD/PME news, articles, research, tips, treatments, and more! Give us a follow or a like today at facebook.com/giaallemandfdn. Know When Help Is Here   One challenge of our peer support program was letting the public know when we were online and available to chat. We are pleased to share that you can now know right on our website when help is available! Simply visit our peer support page and know in real time when support is available. You can also leave a message when we aren't online and a Peer Support Provider will get back to you as soon as possible. Peer support is not a substitute for crisis counseling or professional care, but we are here to listen and bridge you to information, support, and resources. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact emergency services, call Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or text 741741 in the US. Know that emergency rooms are not the only option! Click here to search for a walk-in crisis center near you. Secret Online Group Support Speaking of Facebook, our growing private support group on Facebook is now secret. This means that no one outside of the group (not even your Facebook friends) can see if you are a member! Before, anyone could see you were in the group but not what you posted. Now you can engage in group peer support with increased confidentiality.  The link to the group is still the same so anyone visiting our website can be guided to the care this safe space provides. Join this open-gender support group today at facebook.com/groups/GAFSupport. New Encouragement Cuffs We've added three new Bravelets to our shop! The Stay Strong Encouragement Cuff is a perfect, simple reminder that you are strong and brave. It makes a perfect gift for loved ones or friends/ Shop Now   April is PMDD Awareness Month Block off the month of April for PMDD Awareness Month! Gia Allemand Foundation is partnering with Me v PMDD and Vicious Cycle to raise awareness, remove the stigma, and advocate for better treatment of PMDD.   In The News Gia Allemand Foundation is included alongside Vicious Cycle and NAPS in a powerful article by Natasha Lipman for BBC News.  Read More   News & Noteworthy What's The Difference Between PMDD & PMS? Here's How To Tell The Two Apart Read More   What Is PMDD? Symptoms, Signs & Treatment Of The Devastating Yet Frequently Undiagnosed Disorder Read More   Bipolar Disorder & Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder Often Get Confused, But Here’s The Important Way They’re Different Read More   It’s like PMS but a hundred times worse Read More   “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.” – Brené Brown Donate Copyright © 2018 Gia Allemand Foundation, All rights reserved.