Supporting Families with Mental Illness

Monday 10 March 2008

Supporting Families with Mental Illness Awareness Week

This week is SF (Supporting Families) Awareness Week in New Zealand, with the focus on supporting families with mental health illness.

To coincide with the week, SF Southland is hosting an evening on Wednesday 12 March with a range of guest speakers discussing mental health and its impact on families.

The theme of the evening is “Connecting Strengths for Recovery” and will focus on the positive ways that individuals and families can cope with, and overcome, the many challenges that they face.

Guest speakers include Dr John Grigor from Wellington who is a Psychiatrist with the Hutt Valley DHB. Dr Grigor has had a distinguished career in the mental health sector, and a long association with SF, and will share his experiences of working with families.

Family member Ann Harrex will be speaking about her experiences as a family member and the journey she has had with her family and a mental illness.

Local GP, Invercargill PHO member, and member of the Future Directions Mental Health Network, Dr Pat Hastilow will be speaking about her experiences as a GP working with families.

SF Southland deliver a range of services to families who have a member with a mental illness including education, advocacy and support and are about to begin providing a new service supporting children who have a parent or sibling with a mental illness.

The evening is being jointly supported by Southland District Health Board, the Future Directions Mental Health Network and pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly & Company NZ

ENDS

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