Consumer and Family Involvement in the Mental Health System
IN THIS ISSUE: Bringing Our Voices to the Table – All Aboard: Promoting Leadership Among Consumers and Families – Catching Up with Reality: Recognizing and Valuing the Family’s Role in Recovery – Education Is the Key – Hearing Is Believing – Information of Concern – Making the Great Stride Outward: Volunteering and Recovery – The Gold Standard: Family Planning.
Editorial
Bringing Our Voices to the Table
All Aboard
CMHA branches help mental health consumers and family members make the transition to a leadership role
Catching Up with Reality
Families are often the main caregivers for people with mental illness, but they have yet to receive the recognition and support they deserve
Education Is the Key
Since the early 1950s, CMHA London-Middlesex Branch has made great strides in helping families to overcome the stigma of mental illness through education
Hearing Is Believing
Toronto Sun reporter Sandy Naiman talks about stigma and the parallels between hearing loss and mental illness
Information of Concern
Personal health information is being collected in police databases across the province, but there are no consistent policies to guide police decisions about releasing information to potential employers or volunteer organizations
Making the Great Stride Outward
Through volunteering, people who have a mental illness can develop their skills, connect with their community, and overcome isolation and hopelessness
The Gold Standard
Local Health Integration Networks must develop policies for meaningful family, as well as consumer, involvement in planning and monitoring the mental health system
Re: Cover
Alan Parker, Life Boat (oil on canvas, 40′ x 70.75′). Reproduced by permission. This work appears in the Being Scene 2006 art exhibit at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.