Family Members Need Care Too

When a family member is sick with the flu, the family often rallies together with gestures of love and best wishes to get well. Chicken soup and vitamin C are available at the drop of a hat, and after a couple of days, the sick get better and return to their daily routine. But not every sickness is as visible as the flu, and chicken soup and vitamin C are not always the remedy.

Mental illness and injury are often hidden from the human eye, making it difficult for not only the individual coping with, but also for the family trying to understand how to provide appropriate care. The toll of mental illnesses such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Addiction take on the family is complex and deep. For months, and sometimes years, families can feel like they are walking on eggshells to avoid causing disturbing emotional outbursts. The closeness a family use to feel can begin to fade as the person who is ill begins to isolate because they don’t want to hurt their family members any more. Love that was once in the air can become masked by confusion and resentment, and at some point, professional help is essential in order to educate and provide the resources required for the entire family to heal; that’s where Homewood’s Mississauga Clinic comes in!

The Homewood Clinic - Mississauga

At Homewood, we believe it’s essential to establish and implement a family recovery model in order to obtain optimal recovery success. Through our Family Program, family members will learn:

• What PTSD is;
• What Addiction is;
• How to provide social support for each other and their loved one;
• How to rebuild trust and provide patience;
• How to manage and anticipate triggers; and
• How to take care of themselves.

Trauma Care specialists will teach family members how to:

• Make time for themselves;
• Set healthy and realistic boundaries; and
• Create support networks and crisis plans.

Natalie’s Experience:
Without Family Care

Natalie Harris is a paramedic who’s world came crashing down after a suicide attempt in 2014. She has a daughter and son who at the time were 18 and 8 respectively. Thankfully, Natalie was able to attend in-patient treatment for her PTSD and addictions, however for seven weeks her son was left in his father’s care and her daughter in a friend’s care. Over the seven weeks Natalie could not help but feel her family slipping away from her. She knew that focusing on her own recovery was a matter of life and death, but hated knowing her family wasn’t receiving the care and support needed. On weekend passes she felt the overwhelming need to try to re-teach what she had learned to prove that she was getting better, but not for lack of effort, Natalie’s teachings were not received well. Family members had experienced so many lies and manipulating behaviours from her before she entered treatment - so who was sheto try to teach them how to help her or themselves. Her family was hurting and lost, and desperately needed professional guidance.

The Family Program:
Focused Care

The Homewood Clinic - Mississauga will provide such guidance through education and strategies in a structured learning environment including a comprehensive overview of the impact on children. With trauma specialists dedicating time to ALL family members, the pressure the patient may feel to educate his or her family is lifted. Each individual can focus on their own needs in a safe, caring and understanding setting.

Out-Patient Format

The Mississauga Clinic provides out-patient care. This means that family can remain in the home together while receiving the professional help they so desperately need. The ability to encourage new life skills in the home can happen right away! Children don’t need to be absent from their parent for weeks at a time which allows for a more fluid recovery for the entire family.

Self-Referral

The Mississauga Clinic is self-referred (no doctor referral is required) and there are no wait times for admission. This means that when care is needed, it is available and provided right away. 

In Natalie’s situation, the referral process and wait time required for admission into the in-patient treatment facility took almost eight weeks. During that time, Natalie had overdosed for a second time, illustrating how time sensitive professional care is when treating illnesses such as PTSD and Addiction.

How to Get Help

If you or a family member e suspect they may be in need of mental health care, get support immediately by contacting Homewood Health.

By phone: 1.877.756.6585

Email: onlineclinicinquiries@homewoodhealth.com

After your initial contact, you will receive a professional assessment within 24 hours, and a customized care plan for you and your family within 48 hours.

Families don’t have to go through the pain of mental illness alone. Let Homewood Health care for all of you. We get it!