Home Page

Provincial Working Group on Supporting Families with Parental Mental Illness
Dec 15, 2010

Attendance; Michael Gallo, Andrea Harstone, Rob Lees, Mark Littlefield

Regrets; Keli Anderson, Neil Mercer, Sharon Von Volkingburgh, Roxanne Still, Bee Lee Tye

This meeting was an opportunity for people to “check in “ and share what they know is happening and to learn from one another.

Andrea- Vancovuer community will be running “Resilient Kids” again in the spring. Sharon and Andrea did a workshop at the BC Association of Social Workers in November. Approximately 60 people attended their workshop on parental mental illness and there was lots of interest expressed. The two of them will be presenting at a South Island Conference in the spring and will also promote the Conference 2012 there. Andrea also spoke about a program called “Power Start” where schools identify families for a program where the kids are picked up and helped to get the day started .

Sharon Von Volkingburgh has been using the Australian website www.copmi.net.au as a resource with clients in counselling.

Andrea has completed her thesis; “ Experiences of Adult Offspring of parents with a mental illness: Putting together the pieces and making meaning of experiences” She’ll be sending it to Michael Gallo for posting on the website…. CONGRATULATIONS ANDREA!

Mark had returned from Norway and the 2nd World Conference on Parental Mental Illness where he promoted the 2012 conference. He also attended a parallel conference on “Mental Wellness in School”.

Neil has put in a proposal to pilot the Hope, Meaning and Continuity program (Dr. Bill Beardslee) and is awaiting a decision on funding. He is also working on securing funding to attend the Temple University Collaborative on Integration of People with Psychiatric Disabilities, scheduled for all 2011.

Rob has put in a proposal to replicate Neil’s “census” approach to determining the extend of parental mental illness on CYMH files but to go one step further, to interview parents as to what services they are receiving and what they would like to receive.

Fraser Region is beginning conversations between Fraser Health and MCFD about the possibility of a protocol.
Steering Committee on Parental Mental Health/Illness and Substance Misuse
There was discussion of this new provincial committee that reports to the Strategic Coordinating Committee of the Ministry of Health and MCFD. There was also discussion of the deliverable on parental mental illness in the 10 year mental health plan (Health Minds, Health People) on page 21 of the report. This new committee ought to have representatives from each region of the province representing both major ministries and will likely be the place where new directions and actions of government services are proposed to the strategic coordinating committee.

The advent of this new committee raises the question of the role and purpose of our group. Rob Lees has been asked to be a member of the new provincial committee, both as a representative for our group and from Fraser MCFD. As well, Roxanne Still is on the new provincial committee, as is Keli Anderson and Debbie Saari. What this suggests is some helpful continuity between the efforts of the SWPMI and any new initiatives in government.
At this point the presence of the new committee suggests that our Provincial Working group is a “community of practice” that can have use in advancing this issues we have represented and providing insights to ongoing government initiatives.
Conference 2012

Neil and Rob are on the committee planning the 3rd World Conference on Children of Parents with Mental Illness (COPMI) May 6 – 8 2012.

Angela Guy
There was interest in knowing how Angela’s project had finished up. Andrea said she would check as to whether there was a report available.

Bee Lee Tye reports that she has taken a position of Team Leader in New Westminster on a Child Welfare team and so Meghan.Thompson@gov.bc.ca ( 660 5673) a practice development consultant with Vancouver Coastal is wiling to take her place in our group.