The Family Guide to Mental Health Care
Welcome back to Bibliotherapy Thursday! Last week we celebrated libraries and all they offer for the promotion of good mental health, from the building itself to the wide variety of therapeutic fiction and nonfiction. This week, in honor of Library Card Sign-up Month, we’re featuring a book we checked out from our local library: The Family Guide to Mental Health Care by Lloyd I. Sederer, MD. This warmly-written, comprehensive resource offers families the information and tools they need to navigate mental health services for their loved ones.
Those who experience severe and persistent mental illness symptoms must fight a daily and sometimes even hourly battle. They deserve compassion, patience, and understanding as they navigate a struggle that most of us may never be able to fully comprehend. Yet mental illness does not only affect the diagnosed; it affects their parents, siblings, children, partners, and every person who dearly loves them.
It’s not uncommon for family members to be the first to approach someone struggling with mental illness symptoms about finding help. While the complexity of these symptoms may mean that those who experience them may not always recognize their severity, a family member often has a clearer understanding of when and how behaviors changed. The love and support of a family member is one of the best tools for good mental health. However, unlike other tools such as medication or a coping technique, a family member can be deeply affected by their loved one’s struggle. It’s devastating to watch someone you love suffer and not know how to make it better. Even if you do step up and try to find them help, navigating services can be so convoluted that it can make you feel even more helpless. With this in mind, psychiatrist Dr. Lloyd put together an accessible and empowering guide that arms you with all the information you need to walk into a doctor’s office or contact a treatment program and get the best kind of help for your loved one.
The Family Guide to Mental Health Care offers well-organized guidance on topics like how to recognize mental health symptoms, how to best communicate with a loved one who is struggling, what types of treatment options are available and how to advocate for your family member with them, and even information about medication and assessment tools. I highly recommend this book not only for the invaluable guidance inside, but for the comfort of knowing that you are not powerless in the face of disease.
For more support and resources for family members, you can visit Dr. Lloyd’s website or the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
You can find The Family Guide to Mental Health Care in print and e-book at these retailers:
Morning Light doesn’t receive compensation for sharing book recommendations, nor do we receive a commission if you choose to buy the book. We just love them and think some of our clients may find them useful!