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Family Support Group |
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Every month, family members meet at the Family
Support Centre for the regular session of the
North Shore Family Support Group. For information please call 604-926-0856 or
email
us. Nothing is quite like the support of others who are dealing with the same problems on a day-to-day basis or who have been faced with similar challenges in the past. It's why leading American psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey, in his book Surviving Schizophrenia, advises that
"to survive schizophrenia, the single most
important step which should be taken by families
with a schizophrenic family member is to join a
family support group." |
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Participants hear from other family members about their experiences, recount what they are dealing with, exchange notes on how to cope, or just gather strength and comfort from being together with others who understand. The sharing of good news of ill relatives becoming better, through treatment and rehabilitation, is also an important part of these sessions. This gathering of family members lies at the heart of what a family self-help organization is about. |
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Family members with ill relatives suffering from
any serious mental illness -
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression,
or anxiety disorders - and those without
a diagnosis are welcome to participate.
The problems they face, as families
dealing with an acutely ill relative,
are similar. The BC Mood Disorders Association (MDA)
has support groups for those with the
illness, though family members are
welcome as well. Our group is only
for family members. Family members concerned with mood disorders
such as depression and bipolar disorder, then have a choice of support group, depending on what they feel more comfortable with and what may be more useful to them.
On the North Shore, MDA has a support
group on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the
month at Highlands United Church.
Call Karen at 604-988-4327 for
information. |
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North Shore Schizophrenia Society.