It is estimated that one in four families will experience some type of mental health concern at some point.
Yet, with such prevalence in everyone’s lives, mental illness has continued to be a secret among families, often without full knowledge of resources or much-needed support from others in similar situations.
The Jewish Community Mental Health Education Project, which is coordinated by Jewish Family Services, is taking steps to address the stigma of mental illness and provide education and emotional support.
Begun in 2004 as a collaboration of the greater Milwaukee Jewish community, the project is now offering expanded services, particularly focusing on families of people suffering from mental illness.
“Our expansion of services is a continuation of the work we’ve been doing, responding to the needs of the Jewish community,” explained project director Barbara Beckert.
At the project’s March 2006 conference, “Let There Be Light,” and through a series of three community discussion sessions in May, community members provided feedback about their needs.
Among the responses were the hopes for more support for family members of people with mental illness. “There’s a hunger for more information in the Jewish community,” Beckert said.
The result: several initiatives designed to support, educate and illuminate, for families with mental health concerns, communal professionals and the Jewish community at large.
Support groups
To support families with a younger child or adolescent under 18 with mental illness, JFS is starting a monthly support group in January at its Bayshore office.
This group will be facilitated by Melanie Wasserman, MSW, LCSW, who currently facilitates a support group for parents of adult children with mental illness.
Being part of such a group can be very helpful, she said. The members of her current group “feel tremendous support from each other,” Wasserman said.
“That alone is extremely comforting, knowing that others share their experience.”
Perhaps the most important component of the group setting is that members are able to share resources with one another. “They make suggestions about how to navigate within the mental health community.”
The new support group will bring a different set of issues to the forefront, such as navigating the school system, options for higher education, and peer interactions and support.
An individual considering joining the new or ongoing support group has nothing to fear, Wasserman said. “It’s safe and confidential,” she said. “They can talk about issues they can’t talk about outside.”
To find out more about the group, contact Wasserman at 414-225-1379.
‘Family-to-Family’ training
January also marks the start of a free 12-week training program for family and friends of individuals with serious mental illness, which is defined by the National Alliance on Mental Illness as schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder (manic depression), obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, and co-occurring brain disorders and addictive disorders.
NAMI’s Family-to-Family class is taught by people who have a family member with mental illness. Three volunteers from the Jewish community have been trained to teach this class, which will meet at a North Shore synagogue.
“It provides empowerment through peer support,” Beckert said, noting that participants will gain not only information but also empathy — “a better understanding of what it is like to have a mental illness.”
To register or receive more information, contact Beckert at 414-390-5718.
Training for professionals
The project is also working to train community workers. “Our Jewish communal professionals are on the front line, but they don’t all necessarily have a great deal of training in working with people with mental illness or their family members,” said Beckert.
Aiming to rectify that, the project will hold a training session on Monday, Dec. 11, hosted by the Helen Bader Foundation.
Sandy Pasch, a psychiatric nurse and teacher at Columbia College of Nursing, will speak at the training session. A past president of NAMI who also educates local law enforcement on dealing with people with mental illness, she will provide Jewish communal professionals with an overview of mental illness and psychiatric medications.
A key element of the day will have individuals sharing their stories about their experiences with mental illness, “to put a human face on it,” according to Pasch.
In addition, session participants will listen to a CD designed to simulate how some people with mental illness hear voices.
“During this exercise, they’ll have to read and test their understanding of something, write down words of a song, and do a typical mental status exam, like what they might have administered to them in an emergency room,” said Pasch. “They’ll experience a little of what it’s like for someone who hears voices.”
Future programs
Also in early 2007, trained Jewish community facilitators will offer a new interactive program on depression.
“This program is effective because it uses personal stories to give a face to depression,” said Beckert, noting that there are two curriculum models available, one for youth and one for adults.
“The point is to open dialogue, to let people know that [mental illness] is common, and there are resources for help,” Beckert said.
Plans are underway for a spring conference with the preliminary theme of “Mental Illness in the Family: Strategies for Success,” which will deal with some newer developments in the field as well as some practical issues, like legal matters and higher education resources.
In fall 2007, a mini-conference will be held, with a theme of “Kehillat Chesed: Creating a Caring Community.”
This new stream of programming is making a real difference, Beckert said. “Through these services we are touching hearts and minds in such a way that we can address the stigma of mental illness, so that people are more accepting, and more open to mental health issues,” Beckert said.
“People tell us that it means so much to them that the Jewish community is reaching out in this way,” she added. “They thank us for making them feel welcome and valued as members of the community.”
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