Family Support Group

Do you have a family member or friend who has a mental illness such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or anxiety? Our support group for family members is a safe, caring place where you can share your hopes, fears, experiences and knowledge with others who also support a loved one living with a mental illness. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

No registration is required.

Please email Jenn at: [email protected]

Kids in Control

Do you have a family member or friend who has a mental illness such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or anxiety? Our support group for family members is a safe, caring place where you can share your hopes, fears, experiences and knowledge with others who also support a loved one living with a mental illness. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

For more information please email us at [email protected].

Families Coping with Mental Illness

A free public education series held monthly (except July & August) on the second Wednesday, 6–8 pm at Vernon Public Library. Enjoy coffee, tea, and snacks while learning and connecting.

Adapted from BC Schizophrenia’s Strengthening Families Together, the series offers:

• Support: Share challenges and connect with others.
• Awareness: Get reliable info on mental illness, treatments, and services.
• Tools: Learn coping, problem-solving, advocacy, and communication skills.

email [email protected] for more information

Presentations

Partnership Education is a very personal and compelling presentation utilizing a panel of three people who offer their personal perspectives on mental illness from the point of view of a person living with a mental illness, a family member and a mental health service provider. The presentation also includes an overview of the major mental illnesses, an interactive exercise (time permitting) and an opportunity for question and answers.

If you would like to book a presentation or if you have any questions, please contact Jenn at 250-260-3233 or email [email protected].

Agenda

• Introduction
• Personal Stories (person living with a mental illness, family member, mental health professional)
• Questions and discussion
• Interactive exercise (time permitting)
• Evaluations

Handouts provided

Time needed:

• One and a half hours
• We can adjust the presentation to shorter or longer times as is available.

Supplies needed:

• Water for speakers.

Goals

One in five of us will have a mental illness at some point in our lives. This means that we will ALL be touched by mental illness whether it is ourselves, friends, family members, co-workers or other people involved in our lives through our work, churches, hobbies or community groups.

The goal of Partnership Education is to raise awareness and provide information about mental illness, dispel the myths surrounding mental illness, reduce stigma and fear, and spread a message of hope about early intervention and treatment.

Resource Library

Our office has brochures and a lending library of books and DVDs relating to mental illness, mental health, and substance use/misuse. These items are available for families, people living with mental illness, professionals, and the general public.

Check out the latest additions to our libraries:

• Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry by E.B. Lewis
• The Borderline Personality Disorder Survival Guide: Everything You Need To Know About Living With BPD by Alexander L. Chapman PhD, Kim L. Gratz PhD
• The Essential Family Guide To Borderline Personality Disorder: New Tools and Techniques to Stop Walking on Eggshells by Randi Kreger
• Mind and Emotions: A Universal Treatment for Emotional Disorders by Matthew McKay PhD, Patrick Fanning, Patricia Zurita Ona PsyD
• Boundaries in Marriage by Dr. Henry Cloud, Dr. John Townsend
• Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Dr. Henry Cloud, Dr. John Townsend
• Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by William Styron
• When Someone You Love is Depressed by Laura Epstein Rosen PhD, Xavier Francisco Amador PhD
• Magnificent Mind at Any Age by Daniel G Amen MD
• Electroshock: Healing Mental Illness by Max Fink MD
• DVDS: Family Matters: Surviving the Bipolar Journey

The Canadian Mental Health Association Vernon & District Branch is currently developing a Youth Integrated Service Hub. This service hub will bring together multiple services under one roof, making access to support for the North Okanagan’s youth more accessible.

Voices of young people, families and caregivers will come together to collaborate on a safe and inclusive space, in addition to programming offered within the Youth Integrated Services Hub so that young people can access mental health and substance use care and resources they deserve.

About the Family Advisory Committee:

Our Family Advisory Committee will help CMHA Vernon uplift voices of youth, families and caregivers to provide input to inform decision-making to develop a meaningful and accessible space for youth, families and caregivers to receive integrated care for mental health and substance use supports here in the North Okanagan.

What we are looking for:

Willingness to share feedback on your experience as a family member helping your child/youth access mental health services in the North Okanagan (current or past experience welcome)

Ability to commit to meeting once per month until March 2024 (Monthly meetings will be held on the 4th Tuesday of every month)

We are eager to hear from family members who support or have supported a person under the age of 25 in the past in Vernon’s mental health system.

Questions? Contact [email protected]

To join the Family Advisory Committee, please fill out the below. Downloadable PDF version available here.

Family Advisory Committee Application

*This committee has a limited number of seats. We thank you for your application and only those that are chosen for interviews will be contacted. We will keep your application and once space becomes available you may be asked to complete an intake form and interview.