Families of mentally ill face daunting challenges

An article published in the November 12th edition of The Oregonian:

By Don Colburn

Imagine your brother had a severe chronic illness. Imagine it messed with his ability to realize how sick he was and made him act a little crazy.

Imagine he resisted getting treatment and insisted he was fine. Imagine he threatened you when you tried to help. Imagine his caregiver nearly went bankrupt. Imagine you found out he was off his meds again and about to be evicted. Imagine you were scared, desperate and clueless what to do -- but decided to visit him one more time.

Imagine, in other words, you were Theresa Rockwood last month.

Her dilemma played out with horrific consequences: She was found stabbed to death in her brother's apartment. Her brother, Joseph F. Rockwood [pictured], 54, who has schizophrenia, is charged with murder.

"One of the things our system is not well prepared to do is engage families," said Chris Bouneff, director of marketing and development for DePaul Treatment Centers and president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Oregon.

With a physical illness, Bouneff said, caregivers are more insistent on bringing family members into discussions about treatment. "Typically, in mental health, that doesn't happen."

There are many reasons: fear, stigma, denial, ethical concerns about privacy protection.

To read the entire article, click here.

Also see:

Man to be arraigned in stabbing death of sister

Slain woman desperate to help her mentally ill brother

Stabbing death: Another victim of Oregon's broken mental health system

Need help?

Capital Health's Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team takes calls 24 hours a day. Trained staffers can refer callers to mental health services and, if necessary, dispatch a mobile crisis team (between the hours of 1:00 pm and 1:00 am). Call (902) 429-8167 or 1-888-429-8167 (toll free).

The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (SSNS) offers the Strengthening Families Together program. For more information click here or call the SSNS at (902) 465-2601 or 1-800-465-2601 (toll-free in Nova Scotia).