Supporting families in mental illness

You might not be the person who is experiencing mental illness, but you could be the person’s family member. A Mental Health Commission report says people who experience mental illnesses are not the only ones who go through difficult times. Sometimes their family, relatives and other people who love and care about them, will be affected. This is especially true in the Chinese community.

Supporting Families in Mental Illness, Auckland (SF Auckland) helps families provide the best possible quality of life and recovery for their loved one. It has been proven to be a successful organisation in this regard.

SF Auckland was founded in 1977 as a charitable trust, not for profit, organisation. Currently, it has 20 offices spread throughout New Zealand.

Staff understand the difficulties families face when someone is ill, and their primary function is to provide services to them, eg, education for families to increase resilience and recovery in their loved ones, education about their rights and encouragement to become SF Auckland members.

Benefits of membership include access to a two-monthly newsletter, support groups, conferences and forums, family stories, DHB Family Advisor reports, SF library and other resources and information.

SF ensures families' points of view are considered when implementing a recovery plan with the person who is experiencing mental illness. This is to ensure accurate information during assessment. Their service is free and all the activities and information are confidential.

SF Auckland employs a Chinese field worker to fulfill the increasing needs of the Auckland Asian population. This enables them to provide cultural perspective.

They help Asian families to understand mental health services and systems in New Zealand, and to integrate them into mainstream mental health services. They also assist clinicians to understand Asian culture and how to best support their clients and family members.

Beating the myths

SF Auckland provides psycho-education to increase mental health literacy in the Chinese community. According to SF, many Chinese people hold misconceptions about what mental illnesses are, eg, some believe people who experience mental illnesses are being possessed by ghosts, or paid back for wrong-doing from a previous life or wrong doing by their ancestors. As a result, they often seek traditional methods to help their family member instead of seeking Western medical treatment.

Asian families are not willing to engage with mental health services due to the fear of losing face. Sometimes when a key worker wants to visit the family, they are rejected because the family is afraid of other Chinese people finding out one of them has a mental illness. Unfortunately, this often delays treatment.

Chinese families often refuse to accept a family member’s diagnosis, also believing this is due to the weakness of their personality. Sometimes a family might also refuse to learn about what mental illness is.

Family collaboration can aid recovery

People who are ill can experience a faster recovery when they can collaborate well with their family. This is especially true of Chinese families who usually have more than one or two generations living under the same roof. A good example of how collaboration can work well is when a person has shown improvement and it is time to reduce the amount of medication they are taking.

SF Auckland’s Asian field worker takes time to understand the family’s and the person’s feelings and listens to any concerns they may have about reducing medication.

The field worker then encourages them to consult with the psychiatrist before making any decisions, and he or she provides accurate information and suggestions on how to work closely with the clinician to ensure they follow the treatment plan. This has shown to be a very effective.

It may be the first time in a person’s life that, even though their family members are feeling confused and lost, they are actively seeking help. Because of the faith and support the family gets, they can support their family member so they can recover and integrate back into society.

The SF Auckland field worker is committed to supporting the family member through the recovery journey, and will do all they can to help families in this quest.

Many people feel lost

You are not alone if you feel lost when someone in your family experiences a mental illness. Just remember that recovery is possible, and you need to have hope and believe in it. The commitment from family members to help and support are crucial to the person who experience mental illness.

Other ways you can help:

• Seek out information regarding recovery or mental health
• Ask other families who have been down this road about what they do to support their loved one.
• Remember to separate the mental distress from the person themselves. Sometimes it can be hard to see your loved when they are facing these difficulties.
• It is crucial to include family members during any stage of consultation.

Contact SF Auckland if you think they may be able to assist you. Phone 0800 SFAUCK