• New Family Support Groups
• New Online Support Groups - Siblings and Adult Children
• Anxiety Video Resources
• Kids in Control for Teens with Parents with a Mental Illness
• Recovery Cup Board Game
• Visions Campus Issue
• Family Doctors Recieve Incentives to Improve Mental Health Care

Monthly Family Support Group Listings

A few new monthly support groups have been added to our printable, BC-wide listing of family support groups. This listing is available at www.bcss.org/category/monthly-meetings/ The page (like all others on the site) is set up so that when you print it the side bar and other unnecessary parts of the page dissappear so the list can be printed easily. Try it and see. 

Events include support groups for family members of someone with a mental illness from a variety of organizations. The events take place throughout BC, and the list is continually updated.  If you’d like to view groups and events for family members and supporters by area, you can also visit: www.familyevents.bcss.org  To submit your event for family members, please go to: http://www.bcss.org/2008/01/20/calendarform/

Online Support Groups

There are two new family online support groups on the family online support group site. The first is for adult children of persons with a mental illness, for people who have a parent with a mental illness to discuss this experience among themselves. The second new group is for sisters and brothers of persons with a mental illness.

Information on the groups and how to register is at www.support.bcss.org or you can go directly to the groups here. Existing groups are for family members and supporters of persons with a mental illness, with a specialized group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons who are caring for a partner or loved one with a mental illness. The online family support groups are a project of the BC Schizophrenia Society in partnership with BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information, with funding from the Provincial Health Authority.

Kids in Control Program for Teens

A program is underway to develop a teen version of the BC Schizophrenia Society’s Kids In Control program.
Kids In Control is a support and education program for children aged 7-13 who have a parent(s) with mental illness. The program has been running successfully in various BC communities for the past 11 years. The society is proud to announce that development of a new manual to offer a similar program for teens is now underway. Creation of a new manual for teens will be a collaboration between Kids In Control facilitator Kashmir Besla and 4th year University of Calgary BSW practicum student Ki Speer.

Ms. Speer is also a youth and family worker with the Purpose Society, a non-profit organization that provides social, health and education, and other services to Lower Mainland communities.
“If you are aware of written material, DVDs/videos, websites, or activities you think would be useful to include in the new Kids In Control Teen program, we invite you to send us your suggestions” noted Kashmir and Ki. “Please feel free to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you!” kashmirb@hotmail.com and/or ki.speer@purposesociety.org

Recovery Cup Board Game

The Recovery Cup is an ‘assemble it yourself’ board game for families that include a person recovering from psychosis. Using a game board and game cards you can print from the website, along with some simple props you add yourself, this cooperative game teaches people with psychosis and their families about good self-care practices. The game is suitable for ages 8 and up and is played cooperatively till everyone wins. Self-care practices recommended have been vetted by medical experts. To learn more about this game or try it yourself, visit this link or enter ‘recovery cup’ in the search box at www.bcss.org

Anxiety Video Resources

Anxiety BC has a new video-driven self-help section that includes video interviews with medical experts on how to manage adult anxiety disorders. Not specifically for family members, but good, easy to understand explanations of the disorders and treatment that might be helpful for someone with a loved one with an anxiety disorder, or a person who would prefer to listen to rather than read information. These are available on the Anxiety BC site at: http://www.anxietybc.com/resources/introduction.php

Visions Campus Issue

The spring 2008 edition of Visions journal is available online and in pdf here:

Visions journal is written by and for people who have used mental health or addictions services, mental health service providers, family and friends, and mental health and addictions leaders and decision-makers.

This campus of Visions probes beyond the sunny surface of college and university campus life to examine some of the underlying mental health and substance use issues facing post-secondary students, practitioners and administrators. Family members, students, counsellors and other campus professionals share insights into sources of student stress, substance use and the state of student mental health on various BC campuses. They also highlight outreach initiatives and innovative programs for students. You will also hear from students who struggled to make the grade, triumphed over adversity, and some of whom succeeded in creating change on their campus.

Family Doctors Receive Incentives to Improve Patient Mental Health Care

Excerpt from: BC Medical Services Plan - Full Service Family Practice Incentive Program

“Family Physicians provide the majority of mental care in BC.  This is time consuming and is often not adequately compensated, so the Mental Health fees have been created to provide compensation for the provision of this care.  Additionally, there is known benefit from having a longer planning visit with patients suffering from chronic mental health conditions and this initiative was developed to remove the financial barrier to providing this care, as opposed to seeing a greater number of patients with simpler clinical conditions.

This initiative is designed to focus on those patients with greater need and those that require more time of the community General Practitioner (GP), so the eligible patient population is restricted to patients living in the community (their own homes or assisted living) who:

• Have an Axis I diagnosis confirmed by DSM IV criteria, with
• Severity and Acuity level causing sufficient interference in activities of daily living that developing a management plan would be appropriate.”