Don't suffer in silence. Open up.
How Family Support Partners can help.
You are not alone. There is help. The first step is to follow your gut. If you think something is wrong, it probably is. Reach out. Ask for help. Your actions could be the difference between life or death. I am not being dramatic just honest. What you do now could help save your child's life. Meeting with a mental health professional can give you clarity, a diagnosis, and access to resources.
Once you have the official diagnosis, read everything you can about it. Ask questions. A lot of questions. Google it. Call the doctor back. Ask more questions. Find a support group. Ask more questions. Seek without judgement. You may not be able to get the help you need for your child without a written diagnosis from somebody with tons of initials after their name. It's the law of the land in the mental wellness field. A label must be given to get services. It's not one you have to wear. It's just like having the password. It just gets you in. But what happens after you are in? Having someone by your side that knows who to talk to or which door to knock on, can make all the difference. At one point, I sat in a room with a psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor, therapist, and floor manager. Who was with me? I was blessed to be with Joe. I wasn't alone. I had someone to listen while I was over whelmed. I had someone to ask my questions while I was hyperventilating over the what the psychiatrist was saying. I had someone to ask more questions when I stepped out the room to call my contact at the State Mental Health Department. I paced the hall as he told me they submitted the addendum for my son to be admitted for 30 days of observation but the physicist at the facility wouldn't sign it. So as I was crying in the hallway talking to my contact at Sate Mental Health, my support gave them his observations. As I stepped back into the room, I had someone to sit by. Someone that knew my son's voice as I sat there in shock as my hands gripped the chair so I wouldn't float away. He kept me grounded as they explained to me that basically there was too much trauma in my son's past to put him in for a 30 day observation for schizophrenia. Having someone there to carry your voice is important. Sometimes crisis or exhaustion, can quiet our own. I am now a parent advocate to carry the voices of those I serve in times of crisis. I am now a coach, mentor, guide, and teacher to others as they find and strengthen their own voices. I am an advocate for the whole family as each member finds their voice. It is time to look at the family as a whole and help each person at the dinner table. The family as a whole has to walk the path to recovery for families and children to heal.
Parenting a child with a diagnosis.
1. CARRY YOUR CHILD DIAGNOSIS: Carrying the paperwork adds credibility to the circumstance and saves a lot of time.
2. FIND A DOCTOR WHO WILL LISTEN: Get a psychiatrist that listens to you and your child. Even better is to find one that has rights at the local hospital in your area. They can get your child help faster so everyone can be safe. Some hospitals are staffed with Locum or "traveling" doctors and can leave in the middle of your child's case. You want someone with past history with your child and that can make the call if they need a longer stay for observation.
3. FIND OTHERS WHO WILL LISTEN: Ask the psychiatrist who he would recommend for counseling, support worker for your child and a parent advocate for you. Find a support group for yourself. Others are going thru what you are going thru. The hope will grow in you as you meet others that have already walked the path of recovery.
4. MAKE A CRISIS PLAN BEFORE THE CRISIS: The time to plan is when your loved one is at baseline or doing well. Work together so when another episode happens, you both know the steps to take to communicate and get the help they need. I will be posting another page with pictures of things I carry every day in case of crisis.