Online Resources For Parents Of Children With Mental Illness
August 11, 2008 by Alicia Sparks, Mental Health Notes
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Earlier today, “Jane” shared her experiences soliciting the help of the Amen Clinics for her son. Her story highlighted – from a mother’s perspective – some of the same grief, despair, frustrations, and successes lots of people go through as they try to find a balance among psychiatrists and therapists, good mental health treatment, and a fulfilled life.
During my communication with Jane, she also noted several websites and forums she feels are helpful for folks trying to find support and answers regarding mental health and that she’d like to share with you.
NAMI’s Ten Best Practices for Schools: This page from the National Alliance on Mental Illness lists ten ways school systems can help “students diagnosed with mental illnesses reach their full academic and functional potential.”
Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation: This foundation’s website provides a plethora of information, including an online quiz to see if your child might have bipolar disorder.
NACBT Online Headquarters: The National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists provides a page to help you search for NACBT Certified Therapists.
BipolarParentsT: This Yahoo! Group offers support for parents of pre-teens and teenagers who have bipolar disorder. (It also has many “sister” support groups, so check those out, too!)
IEP_guide: Another Yahoo! Group, IEP_guide offers support and information for parents dealing with public schools.
CrazyBoards: What a name, huh? CrazyBoards is a gigantic home to forums to discuss all sorts of mental illnesses and conditions, including depression, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, and substance abuse.
If you are familiar with any of these resources, or have some more you’d like to share, feel free to make use of the comments section below!
Image: Newscom
It is truly wonderful that there are so many online support, product, and information outlets these days. I don’t know about anyone else but I have to have resources that I can access quickly, and at any time of the day. I am sure there are some fantastic books, stores, and groups out there but who has the time???
I am also a huge fan of the new special needs software options. My son loves anything associated with the computer. It’s one of the things he does well. We purchased all kinds of educational products that have made an impressive impact on his performance at school. He is learning – and having fun at something he does well. What could be a better combination??
The internet is faceless, and it doesn’t replace good ole’ human contact, but it sure is handy!
@ Constance – “Who has the time?” is exactly right! I work from home, so I’m on the computer A LOT, and I still have trouble juggling on the mental health resources I find (and Lord help me when I stumble across a new one, haha!). And that’s not even including the writing resources I try to keep up with.
The Internet is indeed handy, and you know, I think the facelessness of it can be both a blessing and a curse. I guess it depends on the person, and of course the information s/he wants to access.
Thanks so much for sharing those resources!
there are many “web2.0″ options these days for parents to get info and for the patients themselves to share their experiences and help each other.
i would recommend checking http://www.dailystrength.org, http://www.medhelp.com and http://www.mdjunction.com these social networks for health serve thousands of people everyday and provide an easy way for finding instant info.
@ Health – Thanks for sharing those resources! I’ve actually mentioned Daily Strength in several posts here at Mental Health Notes, and I know a few people who really enjoy that site, but I’m not familiar with the others. I’ll check them out!