Supporting a Family Member: Mental Health Resource

Hello everyone,

Karen and I have been searching the web for resources pertaining to the support and education of family members coping with mental health struggles within the family and have found a valuable resource. This resource is from British Columbia's mental health initiative "here to help" and is free to the public.

The "Supporting a Family Member" page is a hub for trusted educational articles and covers specific diagnosis' and family needs. Not only does the website provide resources for parents but it also provides links to age appropriate resources for siblings. All information is up to date and can be navigated easily for downloading/viewing purposes.

Note: Small portions of the website are tailored for the province, for instance community mental health events.

Here's the link:

http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/skills/supporting-family#symptoms

Hope this resource can be of use!

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The Complexities of Advocating for Your Loved One.

If you are supporting and caring for someone in your life with a Mental Illness, chances are you've been in the position of advocating for them.  Advocating takes place in many different situations, such as hospitals, with Doctors, schools, the workplace, and with friends and family.  Throughout the years of working with people, I've discovered that this can be an incredibly complicated position to be in.  I often hear Family Members question what advocating really is, who it's for, and what's the "right" way to do it.  Is it better to do what you think is best for your loved ones health, even though it may not what they want at this time?  Is it more helpful to let your loved one take the control of their own health, treatment and recovery?  The truth is that there's no right answer.  The word "right" doesn't have any meaning in something so complex.

Every family who comes through this door has discussed this idea, and how it can create a power dynamic inside the relationship between the caregiver and the care receiver.  Please CLICK HERE to read an amazing piece written by Mark Lukach.  He so powerfully shares his own story of caring for his wife through her mental illness, and has some great insight about what advocating means to him, and how this changes the power dynamic of their relationship.

I hope that reading the stories written by other caregivers can give some hope, peace and perspective to anyone who is struggling with their own uncertainty.

International Family Equality Day

  Happy Belated International Family Equality Day!

On the first Sunday in May, LGBTQ family organizations from around the world join forces, to increase the international visibility of LGBTQ families. I hope the sunshine was beaming and burgers were delicious.

Strangers are Friends You haven't Met Yet

New Toronto Office Update!

In the words of Vince Lombardi, "The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary".

As demonstrated by our sizeable excel document, dozens of recycles Caramel Macchiato cups and my sufficiently salt stained boots (ouch, leg cramp) we are meeting and greeting the movers an the shakers of the downtown core.

Through door to door visits, hand written cards, lengthy emails, excessive brochure distribution, attending community agency tours, sending Linkedin messages, joining committees, telephone conferences, providing agency presentations, attending conferences and cold calling. (Excuse me while I catch my breath) We have met the neighbours!

Any networking avenue short of Harry Potters Apparition teleportation, or  beaming through Spock's teleportation devise- we have utilized.

And its working! Onwards and Upwards!!!

Follow us on Twitter or Facebook

New 'Medical Psychiatry Alliance'

“We need to think differently, we need to act differently.”

I recently read about the Government of Ontario funding $20 Million to support the creation of the Medical Psychiatry Alliance and felt the need to share.

Ontario Government, CAMH, Sick Kids, Uof T,Trillium Health Partners and an Anonymous donor are collaborating on better ways to deliver comprehensive Health Care, announcing a $60-million initiative.

"The alliance will develop new screening and diagnostic tools so that mental and physical symptoms can be properly identified and treated, devise specialized clinical training for medical students on mental and physical symptoms occurring at the same time, and research and test new ways to deliver psychiatric care at home"

Check it out!

Click Here to read the full article.

FAME: TORONTO EDITION

WHO AM I?

Hello!  I'm Laura Vickers.  Yours truly has a splash of experience working in both judicial and trauma therapy, a sip of work in gerontology, a gulp of experience in newcomer and community settings and a bucket full of enthusiasm. I’ve backpacked on 4 continents but this might be my biggest adventure yet.

 Ok, first things first. Confession time. I am the new Family Support worker at FAME and I am thrilled to be a part of such a lively and passionate team. The excitement and energy surrounding the opening of our new office beats any Rob Ford video (sigh, oh Rob).  Like TFC soccer star Jermain Defoe arriving in Toronto...  FAME - ITS A BIG DEAL! 

The mothership itself is located in St James town at 333 Sherbourne in downtown Toronto, not far from Carlton and Sherbourne- an area representing all shapes and sizes of Toronto's varied population. Our community combines 160 languages and as many as 32,000 people with an average family income that is 41% below city average. FAME  is ready to hit the ground running!

FAME’s reputation and assistance has spoken volumes in the local area and we’ve already found ourselves on the St James Town network committee, participating in Toronto public mental health programs, leading scheduled information sessions, and have a continuously growing client base before we’ve even put a lick of paint on the walls. Our calendar is filling up fast with organizations eager to learn more!

Alright...Alright...I swore I wasn't going to just write facts, but I had to be sure to give you the low down on our neighborhood and quite frankly I'm pretty darn excited about what we are doing. Follow me through the trials and tribulations of opening our new office and thanks for reading!

Follow how things are growing by finding us on Twitter: @FAMEforFAMILIES

And on our Facebook too!

When Mental Illness Becomes Part of a Family

Award Winning Journalist, Andre Picard continues his ongoing series about mental illness in the Globe and Mail. This time Mr. Picard writes about when mental illness becomes part of a family. I encourage you to take a few minutes and have a read at one of the latest installments in this series.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/new-health/conditions/addiction/mental-health/when-mental-illness-becomes-part-of-the-family/article2309983/
Finally, February 8th rapidly approaches and I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you about Bell's "Let's Talk About It" campaign. Let's talk. Let's get this all out in the open. The only way we'll ever move towards removing stigma and increasing tolerance and understanding of the complexities of mental illness is to talk about it.

Upcoming fameKids groups

For children the start of the new school year marks the beginning of a new journey and the opportunity for endless possibilities. Whether its new classmates, teachers, school, or experiences...it is definitely an exciting time.

It is also an exciting time for the fameKids program, we are currently starting our fall groups in the Toronto and Peel area. Our Etobicoke group starts on September 22 at The George Hull Centre for Children and Families. We are excited to continue our partnership with the George Hull Centre in providing support to children who have a family member with a mental health issue.

In Peel, we are starting our fall fameKids group on October 18 at our Mississauga Office within the Community Door (50 Burhamthorpe Road West).

As well, the fameKids program will the held for the first time at the Hincks-Dellcrest Centre-Jarvis Site (440 Jarvis Street) starting November 24. This is an opportunity for FAME to support families and children within the Toronto core.

The fameKids program is currently in the process of establishing partnerships within your community to support families that are affected by mental health issues. I will keep you informed of upcoming fameKids groups in the Toronto and Peel area and current developments within our program.

If you would like to register for support or fameKids groups that are starting in your area, please contact:

David Cho, fameKids coordinator (Toronto), children's outreach worker
416-207-5032 x 26 email: davidc@fameforfamilies.com

or

Safra Faroque, fameKids facilitator (Peel Region)
416-207-5032 x.25 email: safraf@fameforfamilies.com

Kids are Amazing! Let's make this the best year yet.


David Cho
fameKids coordinator, children's outreach worker

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

It has long been proposed that when one is physically healthy, one's overall mental and emotional health is also improved. Here's a recent study to add to the list. I was listening to CBC Radio's "Metro Morning" this week and host Matt Galloway was speaking with health columnist Dr. Peter Lin. Dr. Lin pointed to a recent study on the connection between treatment of depression and exercise. Dr. Lin was not suggesting to replace medication with exercise, but was reporting that exercise in conjunction with medication resulted in overall improvement in patients' mental health. Low energy and motivation for individuals with depression could make it difficult for them to engage in exercise. However, Dr. Lin suggested starting slow - walking 3 minutes a day (not much!), then adding an extra minute a day until 30 minutes was achieved. In addition, exercise need not be physically strenuous; when Tai Chi (a slow-movement Chinese martial art form) was practiced, an increase in quality of life was reported.

And if that wasn't enough, I was reading today in CMHA's Mental Health Notes, on another study that reported mental health benefits of exercise therapy for people with schizophrenia. Authors Paul Gorczynksy and Guy Faulkner from the University of Toronto discuss their findings on the following audio podcast: http://www.cochrane.org/podcasts/issue-4-5-april-may-2010/exercise-therapy-schizophrenia. And for the link to the abstract, go to: http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD004412/pdf_abstract_fs.html

Happy exercising, everyone!