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Parents for Children’s Mental Health developed the
“Parent-to-Parent Support Manual for Group Leaders” in preparation
for the Parent Facilitator Training Workshop held in April.
This manual was given to each participant in the Workshop
as an adjunct to the training provided and is available on our Website
for use by other Parent Support Groups.
The following is reprinted from the Introduction to the
Manual:
“As a parent who is raising a child with a
mental health problem, you already know that it’s essential for
you to have emotional support. Your friends and relatives cannot understand
what your everyday life is like, no matter how hard they try. You may
at times be feeling alone, afraid, discouraged or frustrated.
Connecting with other parents who are experiencing
challenges like your own may be a good way for you to find support and
the strength to carry on. You may need a great deal of specialized information
about your child’s mental health problem, about mental health
services, the social service system and the school system, to name a
few. You may also need tips for managing your child’s mental health
challenges and behaviour, as well as information on how and where to
access support for the whole family.
Professionals can be excellent sources of specific
kinds of information and support, but they generally will not have the
same range of knowledge that parents have acquired from their lived
experience. Parents who have ‘been there’ can hear and understand
in a way that no one else can.
Parents for Children’s Mental Health is a non-profit,
provincial, parent-fun organization that provides education, support
and advocacy for children and their families who face the challenges
of mental health problems. PCMH has designed this manual to assist you
in forming and maintaining your own local parent-to-parent support group.
Based on the experience gleaned from other parent-run groups, it describes
in detail the nuts and bolts of getting a group off the ground and keeping
it healthy and running smoothly. A list of resources is included.”
Description of Manual:
The manual is 54 pages in length and contains the following
Chapters:
- Value of Parents Helping Parents
- How To Start A Group: Eight Basic Steps
- Keeping the Momentum Going
- Leadership Development
- Working With Professionals
- Resources
Disclaimer: The
information in this manual is designed to assist facilitators of Parents
for Children’s Mental Health Support Groups. It is provided with
the express understanding that facilitators are not mental health professionals
and that parent-to-parent support groups are not a substitute for mental
health advice or opinion from qualified mental health practitioners. If
mental health advice is required, the services of a competent professional
must be sought.
To Save for Future Reference (Note:
This is a large file)
- Right Click the link then select "Save Target As..."
Download the
Manual (PDF)
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