Free Showing of an award-winning movie that pries the lid off a cultural taboo

An Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) family trying to make the best of their circumstances. A wife haunted by traumatic memories of her past. A husband battling his own issues while having to keep his job, his sanity and his marriage together. A very realistic but truly sympathetic portrayal of mental illness that affects many Filipino households.

Mga Anino ng Kahapon (Shadows of the Past) starring Agot Isidro and TJ Trinidad is an acclaimed landmark film about a family's heart-wrenching journey through mental illness juxtaposed against the lingering traumas of martial law and the challenges of OFWs.

The movie directed by Alvin B. Yapan earned the Special Jury Prize at the Metro Manila Film Festival New Wave Division and won Agot Isidro the Best Actress award for the same division.

Mga Anino ng Kahapon will be shown for the first time in the Bay Area for FREE.
Date: Saturday, October 25, 2014 
Time: 4:30pm-7:00pm 
Location: Skyline College (Building 4, Room 4148) 3300 College Drive, San Bruno, CA 94066
The movie is in Tagalog with English subtitles.

Sponsored by Positively Filipino, the Filipino Mental Health Initiative of San Mateo (FMHISMC) and RAMS Inc., a nonprofit mental health agency serving Asian Americans, the film screening will be followed by a Q&A led by Dr. Jei Africa of FMHISMC with the special participation of Manila-based journalist and mental health advocate Cathy Sanchez-Babao, who was instrumental in the making of this movie.

The public is invited. Light refreshments will be served.

Seats are limited to please RSVP immediately to fmhismc@gmail.com or at gemma@positivelyfilipino.com.

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Bay Area Typhoon Recovery Benefit for the Philippines on November 22

With each passing day, more news and heartbreaking personal stories of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda's terrible aftermath reach us in the Bay Area, especially affecting friends and families of those who are victims of this disaster.

As part of the API Circle, RAMS is joining efforts with the community in the Bay Area Typhoon Recovery Benefit for the Philippines, to provide recovery aid and disaster relief in the impacted towns in the Philippines. Your contributions at the door will go directly to the Save the Children.

Additional Organizations will be present to receive generous donations of your choice:

• ABS-CBN Foundation International 
• Feed the Hungry 
• Global Fund for Women 

WHERE:  Drake Lounge, 508 4th Street @ Bryant Street, San Francisco
WHEN: Friday, November 22, 6:00pm - 11:00pm

Social Happy Hour – 6pm
Program – 8:30pm
Fashion Show & Auction – 10pm
Suggested minimum $20 door donations will benefit SAVE THE CHILDREN, an organization helping children and families suffering from the devastation. www.savethechildren.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1435130933372846/
Evite: http://www.evite.com/event/03C4SHLCRP2TOYK54EPDKAWLVIJZXA

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EVENT ORGANIZERS Steven Lee, Keesa Ocampo & Rebecca Delgado-Rottman 

FASHION SHOW & AUCTION Viola Bao, Constance Ng, Mimi Tran 

HOST COMMITTEE (in formation): Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, Congresswoman Jackie Speier, Senator Leland Yee, Assm. Rob Bonta, Assm. Phil Ting, Hon. David Chiu, Hon. Malia Cohen, Hon. Matt Haney, Hon. Ash Kalra, Hon. Fiona Ma, Hon. Manufou Anoa’i, Hon. Carmen Colet, Hon. Al Perez, Hon. Tony Thurmond, Hon. Tamiko Wong, Hon. Cindy Wu, Hon. Irene Yee Riley 
Vince Aguilar, Ana Apodaca, Viola Bao, Shadi Bazouzi, Ajay Bhutoria, John Bozeman, Brian Brennan, Edwin Camarao, Jay Chen, Henry Chu, Bonita Chun, Nicole Collins, Sonia Delen, Chris Do, Ted Fang, Marquesa Finch, Taiko Fuj, Christina Fuller, Alex Fung, Eric Golangco, Rick Gutierrez, Dan & Nancy Harrington, Daryl Higashi, Grace Horikiri, Larry Hufana, Albert Hwu, Richard Jue, Mike Kim, Constances Kim Ng, Tony Kutulas, JJ Lara, Jonathan Leong, Angie Louie, Mary Ann Lumba, Meghan Doran Macaluso, Kevin L. Nichols, John Nunes, Michael Orange, Suluagi Aliiva’a Palega, Rick Quan, Rochele Reyes, Roger Royse, Charisse Swartzburg, Mimi Tran, Mark Trang, Vana Tu-Mak, Kingston Wu, Aurora Young, Mona Zhao, Xu Zi Wei 
APAPA-SF Chapter, API Circle, Asian Business League (ABL-SF), AsianWeek Foundation, Books for the Barrios, Drink for a Cause, Hawai'i Chamber of Commerce of Northern California, NAAAP, Nihonmachi Street Fair Committee, Oakland Asian Cultural Center, OCA - San Francisco Bay Chapter, Pacific Islander Community Partnerships, TAP-SF, The Luna Co.

Participating in the International Study of DSM Cultural Formulation Interview

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the handbook written by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), and used by health care professionals as an authoritative guide to the diagnosis of mental disorders, is now in the process of finalizing its 5th addition. RAMS, Inc. is proud to serve as the San Francisco site for the DSM-5 Cultural Formulation Field Trial, studying the newly proposed Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI). This key addition to the Manual has been created to help clinicians more effectively assess cultural aspects of psychiatric diagnosis. In collaboration with UC Davis, RAMS is one of about a dozen sites in this international DSM-5 Cultural Formulation field trial study being led by the Center of Excellence for Cultural Competence at the New York State Psychiatric Institute with support from the American Psychiatric Association.

In the CFI, culture refers to the values, orientations, assumptions, and perspectives that may be influenced by an individual's membership in a social group or by aspects of an individual's background, such as ethnicity, class, race, language, and religion. The Cultural Formulation Interview focuses on assessing these cultural aspects of the patient's presentation and treatment expectations in order to make clinical care more culturally appropriate. Thus, unlike the standard patient history assessment, whose agenda of topics and direction is usually set by the clinician, the CFI attempts to address problems from the patient's standpoint. RAMS is excited to have been the site utilizing the Chinese language translated version of the CFI in order to better assess its content, clarity, and effectiveness within a particular ethnic and linguistic group.

From the Press Release from American Psychiatric Association: “As with every stage in this thorough development process, DSM-5 is benefiting from a depth of research, expertise and diverse opinion that will ultimately strengthen the final document," noted David J. Kupfer, M.D., chair of the DSM-5 Task Force. Feedback about the proposed changes, diagnostic criteria, and updates can be submitted through www.DSM5.org, which will be available until the comment period ends June 15. After that, the site will remain viewable but will be closed to comments as the Work Groups and Task Force complete revisions and submit criteria for evaluation by the Scientific Review Committee and the Clinical and Public Health Committee. The Task Force will then make final recommendations to the APA Board of Trustees. The final version of DSM-5 is expected to go before the Board of Trustees in December 2012. A more detailed update on the development and list of changes made to draft proposals since July 2011 can be found on www.DSM5.org.

DSM-5 Cultural Formulation Field Trial

RAMS, Inc. is proud to serve as the San Francisco field site for the DSM-5 Cultural Formulation Field Trial. In collaboration with UC Davis, we are excited to participate, as one of the 12 field sites in this international DSM-5 Cultural Formulation field trial study. 
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Humanitarian Asians and Pacific Islanders (HAPI) Fundraising Hour for Japan on March 31

The shock and sadness of the news coming out of Japan as a result of the March 11 earthquake, the tsunami, and subsequent nuclear emergencies have touched many of us at RAMS. We join the world’s communities in sending our deepest sympathies to those people in Japan, the Bay Area, the US, and other countries abroad, whose lives, families, and friends were impacted by these events. No doubt it will take a long time to rebuild the country, and perhaps even longer for the physical, emotional, and mental recovery of people affected by this tragedy.

RAMS and its staff have been reaching out and working together with many other organizations to provide assistance, support, and manpower in this time of great need. One way in which you can aid RAMS in our efforts is to join us at the upcoming HAPI Hour for Japan.

When: March 31st 2011, 5:00-9:00pm
Where: Recess, 443 Broadway Street, San Francisco

Proceeds will go to NORTHERN JAPAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FUND spearheaded by the Japanese Cultural Community Center of Northern California, an organization with disaster relief experience in Japan, focused on relief, recovery and rebuilding.

100% of funds go to the people who need it most… the victims.

Optional donations will be accepted at the door: $5-20 Suggested (100% of the door proceeds will go to the Northern Japan Relief Fund).
In addition, 40% of the bar proceeds (as well as the hors d'ouvres) will be graciously donated by Anna Tran (the owner of RECESS).
DJ Boy Wonder, DJ eHash and DJ Thaifoon are also donating their services.

Click HERE for more information about the HAPI Hour event.
Click HERE for more fundraising events and information from the JCCCNC about the Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund

Sponsoring Organization: National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP–SF)

Co-sponsoring Organizations: Bay Area Benefit, DAE Advertising, Taiwanese American Professionals, Asian Business League, Project by Project, Oriented, American Legion Cathay Post #384, KollaborationSF, Corporate Asian American Employee Network (CAAEN), Richmond Area Multi-Services, SF Samoa, Samoan Parents in Action, Fa'atasi (Together as One), Together Samoa, OLO - One Love Oceania, UTOPIA, Samoan Solutions, Pacific Health Club, Tongan Interfaith Council, Mission District Re-Entry Center, APOP Hawaiian Cultural Center, Books for the Barrios, Vive SF and many more to be announced.

Host Committee: Keesa Ocampo, Keith Kamisugi, Derek Choy, Eli Kuo, Yumi Chang, Christopher Do, Hon. Greg Chew, Hon. Igor Tregub, Jason Overman and many more to be announced

Community Partners: The Tides Foundation

RAMS at Suwon International Mental Health Symposium

On behalf of RAMS, Chief Executive Officer Kavoos G. Bassiri was an invited speaker at the 2nd Suwon International Mental Health Symposium (titled “Communication and Solidarity in Mental Health), hosted by Ajou University Institute of Mental Health & Mental Health Network in Suwon and sponsored by Suwon government, Korea. This took place on March 18-20, 2010, in Suwon, South Korea.

The mental health services now being offered in South Korea were influenced by previous visits made by South Korean officials to RAMS in 2005-2007. It was impressive to see the advances being made in the types of public health programs offered in South Korea, knowing that they were influenced by what was being developed and offered at RAMS.