Empirical Support for the Family-to-Family Program

From the This Month's Highlights section of the June 2011 edition of Psychiatric Services:

Family- and consumer-driven care is at the center of a transformed system. Family members play important roles in the lives of most adults with serious mental illness. They need information and skills to help their loved one, as well as the support of others to fulfill their caregiver role without being overwhelmed by distress and burden. The Family-to-Family Education Program (FTF), introduced in the early 1990s by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the most widely disseminated mutual-support program for family members of people with mental illness.

Although an estimated 250,000 family members have participated in FTF, little research has focused on family selfhelp. In the lead article this month, Lisa B. Dixon, M.D., M.P.H. [pictured], and colleagues report the results of the first randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of FTF, which involved assignment of 318 family members from five Maryland counties to FTF or a waiting list. At three months (course termination), FTF participants had significantly greater improvements in problem-focused coping, as measured by empowerment and illness knowledge. Their emotion-focused coping was also significantly enhanced, and they had less distress and better problem- solving skills. These empirical findings confirm the word-of-mouth popularity of FTF among participants, the authors note, and provide support for consideration of brief family-driven educational programs as an evidence-based practice (page 591).

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Also see:

Strengthening Families Together

NAMI Applauds New Report on Caregiving

A December 17th news release from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI):

Arlington, VA — The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) praises a new report, Caregiving in the U.S. 2009, which offers a revealing portrait of the nearly one-in-three American adults who serve as a family caregiver.

The study is based on interviews with 1,480 caregivers chosen at random and offers a national profile of people caring for adults, the elderly and children with special needs. It follows similar studies conducted in 2004 and 1997, but for the first time, caregivers for children, as well as those caring for adults over the age of 18, were surveyed.

The report echoes the findings of NAMI’s own depression survey and schizophrenia survey, which include the perspective of caregivers for people living with these serious mental illnesses. All these reports suggest that caregivers face daily stresses that can impact their own health and other relationships. For example, NAMI’s depression survey, released in November, found that while almost one-half (48 percent) of caregivers for people with depression have been diagnosed with depression themselves, only about 25 percent were engaged in treatment at the time of the survey.

“We know from our own studies that caregivers make significant sacrifices to care for their loved ones living with mental illness,” said Michael Fitzpatrick, NAMI executive director. “The findings of this new report will help us anticipate the needs of caregivers so that we can improve NAMI’s education and support programs.”

NAMI offers a variety of peer education and support programs, including those specifically for caregivers.

Family-to-Family is a free, twelve-week course for family caregivers of individuals with severe mental illnesses. The course is taught by trained family members and more than 115,000 family members have graduated from this national program. The course is also available in Spanish.

NAMI Basics is an education program for parents and other caregivers of children and adolescents living with mental illnesses. The course is taught by trained teachers who are the parent or other caregivers of individuals who developed the symptoms of mental illness prior to the age of 13 years.


About NAMI:

The National Alliance on Mental Illness is a non-partisan organization with 1100 state and local affiliates, dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. Dedication, steadfast commitment and unceasing belief in NAMI's mission by grassroots advocates have produced profound changes.

http://www.nami.org/
http://twitter.com/namicommunicate
http://www.facebook.com/pages/NAMI/85273022315

Elaine Purpel: Mental illness course helps families cope

To read this January 5th news-record.com article on NAMI's Family-to-Family Education Program, click here.

BMO Donates $10,000 to Strengthening Families Together Program

For Immediate Release:
December 21, 2007

VANCOUVER, BC - In their ongoing involvement in community initiatives, BMO Bank of Montreal has donated $10,000 to the BC Schizophrenia Society’s Strengthening Families Together education and support program. The Strengthening Families Together program gives families who have a mental illness the tools and coping skills to help them help their ill family member. It also provides an opportunity for families to share their feelings and find support in other people going through similar circumstances.

“BMO Bank of Montreal is pleased to provide a donation of $10,000 towards the BC Schizophrenia Society’s “Strengthening Families Together Education Program”, said Wayne Hashimoto, Personal Banking Area Manager for BMO in Richmond and Delta.

“We are especially pleased that these funds will be used to help reach families who are challenged by this serious mental illness through a 10-week education course at locations throughout the province”, added Mr. Hashimoto.

The mission of the BC Schizophrenia Society (BCSS) is to improve the quality of life for people affected by schizophrenia and psychosis through education, support programs, public policy, and research. Schizophrenia affects 40,000 BC residents and costs Canadians an estimated seven billion dollars a year.

“It has been shown time and time again that when there is a strong support system from family members of a mentally ill person, the individuals chances of recovery are significantly improved. This generous funding from BMO Bank Of Montreal will help ensure that families have the education and support programs in place to help them support their loved one and also let them know they are not alone,” commented the Society’s Executive Director, Gary Glacken.

For more information on schizophrenia, psychosis, or BC Schizophrenia Society’s programs and services, please visit www.bcss.org.

Contact
Nadine Saunders, Director of Development & Marketing; (604) 270-7841, Ext. 28