Meeting March 2004
Fraser South EPI (Early Psychosis Intervention) Parents' Meeting, Tuesday March 23, 2004
The meeting was again facilitated by family members in association with Walter Lidster,
the EPI group and family counselor, and Nancy Clarke (BCSS).
This week we had a record 37
attendees.
It has been decided that a new group based in Delta will be started to help provide
support on a wider scale. There is obviously a need, and we would like to ensure the current
meeting does not become too large. Individual sharing time for everyone who wants to be involved
is an important part of the meeting and we need to honor this.
During this meeting we divided the group into three different sub-groups for the sharing time,
and this seemed to work very well. The short description of this you will find below was prepared by an attending
parent.
Announcements
The 'NORMS' for the meeting were handed out and briefly discussed.
Web sites www.psychosissucks.ca and www.psychosissupport.com were highlighted
An announcement was made regarding the new Delta meeting with dates to be advised later
A sibling representative involved with a client peer support group announced that they are planning
events. They have been meeting to discuss ways they can provide support by talking at schools,
providing one-on-one help to each other, helping to find jobs, helping kids get out of the house. A'sports'
day is being planned for Sunday May 2nd.
Sandra Wiens, a UBC MA student in Counselling Psychology, announced she was seeking Fathers
of children who have been diagnosed with Schizophrenia, to participate in a study. The study
is being conducted as part of a Master's thesis in counselling Psychology under the supervision
of Dr. Judith Daniluk. If you are interested in participating or would like further information
contact: Sandra Wiens 604-773-3476 or sewiens@estart.com
TOPIC
The topic for this meeting was "How to get help for your child"
Different people in attendance explained how they had got help for their children and/or
what difficulties they had experienced along the way. People explained they had used the
'After Hours' service, the hospital emergency department, police, ambulance, doctor referrals.
In one case a parent wrote and presented a letter to their doctor, explaining their childs
behaviour/symptoms and this resulted in the doctor faxing a recommendation for hospitalization.
It was determined that there are several avenues of help,
the following is a summary of the key points discussed.
To get help: Call the AFTER HOURS Service - 604-592-4928
The after hours service is staffed by professionals who are knowledgeable and helpful.
It was pointed out that you can call ahead if you know a crisis is imminent.
They can put in an alert at the hospital for help with admittance.
Call EPI 604-538-4278
Call 911
Try to be calm and collected.
Don't over-react, if there is no immediate danger.
Educate yourself as much as possible so you understand what is happening, and so you can clearly
explain the situation to emergency services in language they understand/respect.
Let the police know that your child is not violent and give them all the information you can
about the problem and the child.
Let emergency personel know immediately if your child IS a threat to self or others.
Let the emergency department know that you will not take the child home until you feel it is safe
to do so. Do not be pressured.
Treat medical personel with respect. Don't take out your anger/frustration on people who are
trying to help.
Caring and Sharing:
CHECK IN (Written by an attending Parent)
This Months EPI meeting was the largest group I've seen in attendance. This speaks to the success of EPI in the community.
The group was broken into three small groups to give everyone an opportunity talk. This was done according to the age group of the ill family member.
For us there is great joy in seeing a family succeed. It's very up lifting. In one case, the secret was the regular timing of the medication.
For one family, there was frustration and a great deal of worry because their family member was not taking medication and was living independently. This is very hard and in this case, all we could do is listen to their grief. We also know that we never give up.
We also have single parent families that attend. They don't have anyone to share their joys, grief, and frustrations for them it's a refuge.
For us all the EPI meeting is a refuge. We all have made new friends. For those that have just started to attend EPI meetings, one day you will see success and we'll be there to share your joy. Remember, "Psychosis is treatable and recovery is expected."
If you have comments you would like to share please email pspops@psychosissupport.com