Welcome to this issue of family and supporter resources, produced by the BC Schizophrenia Society, in partnership with the BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information.

Ongoing Family Resources

• Reaching Families Calendar - support and education events for families.
• Family Support Groups - BC-wide listing of groups.
• Online Facilitated Family Support Groups - for family members - includes special groups for adult children, siblings, gay and lesbian family of choice.
• Kelty Resource Centre - BC-wide child/youth mental health and addictions info and referral, adult & kids eating disorders
• BC Schizophrenia Society - family resources and programs for schizophrenia & other illnesses
• The FORCE For Kids Mental Health - kids mental health
• Here to Help - General Mental Health and Addictions information with a family resources section.

If this e-resource has been forwarded to you by a friend, you can sign up for your own copy

Results of the Survey

Thank you so much to all of you who responded to our Reaching Families Tools Survey. The results are now in.

72% of family members using one of the tools are more aware of supports and services for families as a result. Over half of you have referred a resource you heard about through the tools to someone you know. Mental Health Professionals subscribing to their own newsletter have an even greater improvement in awareness of resources (82%) and are also reporting referring resources they find about through the tools to family members.

This is exactly what we wanted to accomplish, helping people become more aware of resources for themselves and people they know. It also looks like most of you are using all three tools, the online family support groups, the family calendar and the e-resource newsletter, which is just great. We hope you’ll continue to reach out today to family members and other people you care about and make them aware of these tools and resources, perhaps by forwarding this email to them.

Some suggestions for improving the newsletter have now been implemented, including making it possible for you to see a list of upcoming events by area. Just click on the link at top right to view calendar events by location .

Featured Resource

One of the biggest questions family members still have is how to handle it when their family member doesn’t believe that they are ill and won’t accept help. Psychiatrist Dr. Xavier Amador has written a number of books on the subject of ‘anosognosia’ , which is a neurological syndrome sometimes present in persons with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which leaves patients unaware that they are ill.

Dr. Amador writes “‘Research shows that about 50 percent of persons with schizophrenia (about 1.5 million in the U.S.) do not know they have an illness, and this unawareness does not improve with education, time, or treatment. I purposely did not use the term “denial” in the previous sentence because this problem is not denial. Denial is a coping strategy, a way we deal with painful knowledge. People in denial know something deep down inside (unconsciously), but they lie to themselves about it. But the research indicates that this is not what we are dealing with when, after months and years of evidence, the person still does not believe she or he is ill.”

Dr. Amador has written several books and articles on the subject, and is featured in a very helpful video at this link where he talks practically about how to engage someone with anosognosia in treatment for their illness.

Here also is a link to the public family forum with more links to articles on this subject.

BC Partners News

This features provides links to newsletters and updates from the member agencies of BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information of interest to family members interested in specific illnesses or topics.

• Anxiety Disorders Association of BC newsletter(anxiety disorders) | Archives
• BC Schizophrenia Society Provincial and Regional/Local Newsletters(family support)
• Canadian Mental Health Association newsletter(mental illness general)
• Centre for Addictions Research of BC latest releases(addictions research)
• FORCE Society for Kids Mental Health Newsletter(child and youth mental illness)
• Jessie’s Hope Society - What’s News (eating disorders)
• Mood Disorders Association of BC webnews(depression, bipolar disorder)