When “BACK FROM THE BRINK: Australians tell their story of overcoming depression” was launched in 2007, I was fortunate that it generated a lot of publicity and I found myself having contact with the general public through talk back radio, book signings, and talks. What truly surprised me was that about 70% of the people who spoke with me were the loved ones of someone living with depression – I thought it would be those with depression. I came to understand that these people were quite desperate to get quality information about how best to assist to person who was struggling. They were also struggling with their own mental health whilst trying to support someone else. That lead me to write “BACK FROM THE BRINK TOO: Helping a loved one overcome depression” which became SANE Australia’s 2009 Book of the Year.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Brisbane delivering a session called BEATING DEPRESSION TOGETHER designed for those with depression and their loved ones. It was once again reinforced how isolated and alone these loved ones feel.

I advocate four things to keep in mind when you discover that a loved one is depressed:

1. learn about depression types and effective treatments
2. help find competent professionals for them
3. It’s not your fault
4. Take care of yourself – you can’t sustain care if you burn yourself out.

I go into a lot of depth into each of these in BACK FROM THE BRINK TOO.

Where can depression caregivers get emotional support?

ARAFMI – Association for the Relatives and Friends of the Mentally Ill

This group has been around for a long time and from anecdotal feedback, it appears that its support groups appear to be more focussed towards those supporting someone with a chronic illness such as schizophrenia. In their resources section they do have a very good overview of legislation pertaining to carers. They have support groups and discussion forum – including “living with a husband with anxiety and depression”.

Carers NSW

There is a Carer’s group in each state – each with a separate website. This group is targeted to all carers – not just those with a loved one with a mental illness. Having said that, because mental illness is a significant area they have dedicated group focussed on the needs of this community. They have a good listing of information and resources for carers. They also have a 6 carer phases interactive course.

Partners in Depression

I really like what I hear about this group. My friend Lucy Brogden is the patron for the organisation and first brought it to my attention. It is run by the not for profit Hunter Institute of Mental Health and the development of the course was jointly funded by beyondblue. It has also received some funding from NIB Health Fund.

Their centre piece is the Partners in Depression Program.

Partners in Depression is a group education program designed to address the information and support needs of those who care for or love a person experiencing depression. It is a six session program run by two facilitators in community settings.  

The six session format of the program includes coverage of the following topics:

• Session 1 - Introductions and building awareness
• Session 2 - Insight to caring, understanding depression and its treatments
• Session 3 - The caring and support experience
• Session 4 - The support experience and introduction to cognitive behaviour therapy
• Session 5 - Suicidality, self harm and communication strategies
• Session 6 - Help seeking, support and resources and planning for the future

I really like the fact that it has been developed knowing the significant stress that is placed on a caregiver and it provides practical steps. They have developed a train the trainer model which means there are now a number of groups run around Australia.

What’s been your experience?

Have you tried any of these groups? What’s been your experience? Have you found other places to get emotional support? How do you sustain your energy?

Kind Regards

Graeme Cowan

Tags: back from the brink, depression, effective depression treatments, graeme cowan, natural depression treatments, overcoming depression, partners in depression, partners with depression

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