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Information Resources |
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Contact the Family Support Centre for
information on important topics including the
Registered Disability Savings Plan; Disability
Tax Credit; applying for benefits;
representation agreements; discretionary trusts;
wills, estates and other financial planning;
housing; volunteer and skills development
programs; employment; and more. We have
sample documents and how-to guides, updated
regulations, and other resources available.
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The Family Support Centre provides a wide range of information, videos and books on schizophrenia and other serious
 mental illnesses, from one page leaflets to weighty government documents. Much of this material is also online (just click on the highlighted titles, below). The directory, below, is only a partial list of the literature and other information materials available at the Centre, which cover bipolar illness, depression, anxiety disorders and eating disorders as well as schizophrenia.For books, please see the separate
bibliography page. |
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Contents |
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Schizophrenia and Psychosis
What to do and how to go about it
Obtaining treatment
NSSS
Programs and Services
Issues and arguments
Translations
Other manuals and government documents
Videos |
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Schizophrenia and
Psychosis
Basic Facts About
Schizophrenia
A major booklet on the illness: the basic facts,
causes, symptoms, early warning signs, what it's
like to have schizophrenia, how families can
help, getting treatment, myths and
misconceptions, and much more.
Coping When Someone In Your Family Has Psychosis
A booklet on early psychosis: first episodes, types of psychosis, systems, early warning signs, guidelines for families and friends, and most important of all, the need to act quickly when the signs appear.
Information for Families: Schizophrenia
Produced by the World Fellowship for
Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders. This
pamphlet covers: What is schizophrenia; How
should one behave; Maintaining your own health;
Taking medications; and Recommended medication
doses.
Early Identification of Psychosis: A Primer
MHECCU publication on the importance of
early intervention, the symptoms of onset and
tips for caregivers.
Schizophrenia in Children
The early warning signs in youngsters with schizophrenia, plus guidelines for parents.
How much do you know about schizophrenia?
It's a "brain disease." A 10-question quiz on schizophrenia, good for learning the basics about the illness and for handing out to discussion groups and the public.
Schizophrenia: Some Questions and Answers
Eight frequently asked questions excerpted from the BCSS booklet, Basic Facts About Schizophrenia.
Dealing with Cognitive Dysfunction Associated
with Psychiatric Disabilities
A handbook to help families and friends of
individuals with mental illnesses deal with
cognitive problems such as memory, critical
thinking and attention. New York State
Office of Mental Health. |
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What to do and how to go about it
(On obtaining treatment when involuntary committal is required, please see the next section, below.)
Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy
A fact sheet
excerpted from Appendix 13 of the 2005 Guide
to the Mental Health Act, explaining how the legislation allows for sharing of health information with families in the case of the mentally ill, and providing examples.
Ontario and B.C. Privacy Commissioners joint
message: personal health information can
be disclosed in emergencies and other urgent
circumstances.
Following tragedies such as the suicide of a
student at Carlton University, and the Virginia
Tech massacre, two privacy commissioners in
Canada issued this news release to clarify that
there are situations where sharing health
information is not only legal, but also the
right thing to do.
North Shore Contact Numbers
A one-page directory of emergency, Mental Health
Services and other telephone numbers on the
North Shore.
Sea to Sky Corridor Contact Numbers
A one-page directory of emergency, Mental Health
Services, and other telephone numbers for the
Sea to Sky corridor.
Questions to Ask the Psychiatrist
A checklist of questions for families of patients with schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses.
A Handbook for Spouses
Schizophrenia Society of Ontario - Hamilton
Chapter's 12-part handbook covering a variety of issues, especially written for spouses of those suffering from schizophrenia.
Strategies for Families
A shortlist of key strategies for family members and for mental health workers, to aid in their collaboration in the treatment process.
Drugs, Alcohol & Schizophrenia: A Hazardous Road to Travel
The alarming effects of mixing drugs or alcohol with the illness, and what to do about it.
Benefits of Extended Leave
All about extended leave, by which patients are released from hospital, but their medication continues to be supervised, and they may be quickly returned to hospital if psychotic symptoms return.
Hospital Discharge Planning
A description of the six main areas essential to
a good discharge plan, plus an extensive
checklist for family members to present to
professionals when their ill relative is being
discharged.
Recovering from Schizophrenia
The value of rehabilitation and the possibilities of improvement or recovery.
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Obtaining treatment
Involuntary admissions, Section 22 of the B.C.
Mental Health Act
Involuntary admission, excerpt from the Guide to the Mental Health Act
An explanation of the committal criteria and how they are to be applied, plus other details, such as police intervention when necessary and judicial orders.
Assistance from Relatives and Others in Obtaining Treatment
Suggestions for families and friends on how to help obtain treatment for someone suffering from the illness, excerpted from the
2005 Guide to the Mental Health Act. |
NSSS services and programs
Summary of Programs
A list and brief description of each of
our programs and services.
Family Support Centre
Briefly describes mental illness and the services provided by the Centre, plus Mental Health Service and emergency contact information.
Family Support Services (Sea to Sky)
Information on services available to
residents of the Sea to Sky Corridor
(Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, etc.)
Family-to-Family Education Course
All about Family-to-Family, our
intensive, peer education course.
Partnership
The lowdown on our "Partnership Education" program, in which a family member, someone suffering from a serious mental illness, and a professional where available talk to high school,
college and university classes and other groups about their experiences dealing with the illness.
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Issues and arguments
The Mental Health Act -
"The Right to Treatment and Care."
The rationale for involuntary committal and its provision in the B.C. Mental Health Act.
Highlights of the McCorkell judgement
McCorkell judgement - full text
The findings of Justice Ian Donald of the B.C. Supreme Court in a famous 1993 case upholding the provisions of the B.C. Mental Health Act dealing with involuntary committal and helping to ensure the mentally ill are not abandoned.
The Manifesto
A bold 1992 statement by the NSSS - then BCSS North Shore
- on the need for a responsive Mental Health Act that allows for treatment of the seriously mentally ill and for including families as part of the treatment team.
Uncivil Liberties
"Freeing the mentally ill from the Bastille of their psychoses" - the civil liberties case for involuntary committal, originally published in the Vancouver Sun.
Riverview Lands - The Future
On retaining Riverview and its location for people with severe mental illness. Includes proposals for housing and a campus community.
Guardianship Legislation and the B.C. Mental Health Act
An explanation of how the B.C. Mental Health Act takes precedence over other legislation, to safeguard the seriously mentally ill and their need for treatment. |
Translations
Fact sheets on schizophrenia in
traditional Chinese,
simplified Chinese, French
(through la Societe quebecoise de la
schizophrenie),
Spanish,
Punjabi,
Hindi,
Bengali and
Urdu. The translations cover basic facts, what causes schizophrenia, how to find appropriate medical help, and much more.
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Other manuals and government documents
Registered Disability Savings Plan
Plan holders
may be eligible for up to $4,500 per year in
grants and bonds from the federal
government, depending on contributions and
income level. In order to open an RDSP
account, a person must be eligible for the
federal Disability Tax Credit and must have filed a
recent
income tax return.
The Early Psychosis Initiative: Minimizing
Damage - Maximizing Outcomes
The importance of early and effective
intervention.
Early Psychosis: A Care Guide
A 118-page guide prepared by the Mental Health Evaluation and Community Consultation Unit at the Department of Psychiatry, UBC, available online in a pdf version.
Early Psychosis: A Care Guide Summary
Highlights of the approach and principle recommendations contained in the complete version.
B.C. Mental Health Act
A Guide to the B.C. Mental Health Act
A guide for professionals and families alike on how the B.C. Mental Health Act works, with particularly important sections on involuntary committal and on police intervention.
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Videos
Contact the Family Support Centre for a list of
our videos on serious mental illness and related
subjects. Videos may be viewed at the Family
Support Centre and, where there are additional
copies available, may be borrowed by NSSS
members. |
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North Shore Schizophrenia Society.