Alliance for mentally ill offers help for parents

Published 5:00 am Friday, September 10, 2004

Mental illnesses can be mild or crippling, but regardless oftheir severity they can all pose difficulties not only for thevictim but also for those who must care for them.

In cases involving children, the burden of coping with thesedisorders often falls upon parents who are not prepared for theemotional, physical and financial distress they can sometimesimpose, said Karen Temple, southern regional coordinator for theNational Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

In order to help parents cope with the frustrations of raising achild with a brain disorder, NAMI will hold a training sessionbeginning Oct. 5. Classes will meet 6:30-9 p.m. on Tuesdays untilNov. 23 at the Lifeskills Center.

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The classes are free, but participation is limited so Temple isencouraging parents to register early by calling the NAMI office inJackson at (601) 899-9058.

“This class is basically for parents and those raising childrenfrom age 2 through high school,” Temple said. “We do not requirethat the child has been diagnosed with a mental illness. Even ifparents only suspect the child has an illness, it will bebeneficial for them to attend the class.”

Both parents are encouraged to attend the classes, she said,because some parents “are in denial.” Although one parent maybelieve a disorder exists, the other may not. Hopefully, she said,the class can confirm or banish their beliefs on whether the childsuffers from a disorder.

Children may not attend the classes, and there are no provisionsfor child care.

The “Visions for Tomorrow” classes are often a parent’s firstopportunity to share their feelings with others who are goingthrough the same issues, Temple said.

“Our focus is to give support and educate,” she said. “We alsoadvocate for those with mental illness. There is more to raisingthese children than caring and medication. We want to help parentscope with these problems. We’re definitely about getting rid of thestigma of mental illness. They’re no fault diseases.”

The free course consists of a series of workshops and includesan introduction to brain biology; attention deficit disorders;depression disorders; anxiety disorders; early onset schizophrenia;empathy and sharing life experiences; organization of data andrecord keeping; coping and self-care; problem management;rehabilitation, recovery and transition; and advocacy, judicial andstigmas.

New to this class is a focus on substance abuse and the “circleof pain,” according to Amanda McCaffery, the Visions for Tomorrowteacher for the October workshop.

“We’re going into more detail on that because 50 percent of thepeople with a mental illness do have substance abuse also,” shesaid.

Many mentally ill patients often become drug addicts as well,Temple said, in a “vicious cycle” of co-dependency caused by theirmedication.

For example, she said, 43 percent of people suffering from manicdepression, or bipolar disorder, also have alcohol dependence.

“They drink to get up, then come down twice as depressed so theydrink again,” she said.

Visions for Tomorrow is used in 36 other states as a parenteducation program.

NAMI was founded in 1979 by 254 people and now has more than210,000 members in more than 1,200 affiliate groups in all 50states and several territories.