Support for Families and Caregivers

An online resource for family members, friends, and caregivers of people with mental illness.

Family Initiatives

Search the Mental Health Service Information Ontario (MHSIO) directory for government-funded family initiatives, including education and support programs for families of people with mental illness. Family groups often participate in planning and evaluation of care delivery, as well as provision of services such as self-help, peer support and education. [continue...]

Or call MHSIO at 1-866-531-2600 (toll-free, confidential, 24/7)

Questions and Answers

Answers to questions frequently asked by family members, friends and caregivers of people with mental health issues or mental illness. [continue...]

Support Groups

Annotated list of self-help and support groups for family members and caregivers in Ontario, including person-to-person support, educational support, and online discussion groups. [continue...]

Newsletters and Magazines

Online and print publications of interest to family members and caregivers. [continue...]

Reading List

Annotated reading list of books and articles from professional journals on a range of topics, including family psychoeducation and family members' roles, stigma by association, and research on the experience of caregivers, siblings, children, teens, adult children, parents and partners. [continue...]

Web Resources

Annotated links to other online resources, selected for their attention to the needs of family members and caregivers. [continue...]

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Personal Stories

A Loving Partner's Story
We all like stories. Family members of people with a mental illness especially like stories that inspire hope, for they know that hope fuels health and recovery as gasoline fuels a car: although you can get home without it, the journey will be much longer, more painful and much more difficult. This story of hope has three chapters. Chapter one is a short, simple love story that in chapter two quickly becomes a dramatic tale of a life-and-death struggle. Chapter three, the hopeful ending, is also the beginning of a new story of recovery and renewal. [continue...]

The Love of a Brother
Kathy Fitzmaurice writes about her love for her older brother Jamie, and the illness that separated them. [continue...]

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Policy Recommendations

• Caring Together: Families as Partners in the Mental Health and Addiction System (November 2006)

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Related Resources

• The Stress of Parenting
• Separation and Divorce
• Children and Family Break-up

For additional resources, see Children and Youth.