Our Relationship With Families
|
SMI has developed and maintains a commitment to work with appropriate family members of residents in a number of ways designed to meet their diverse needs. Our goals include establishing and reestablishing healthy relationships between family members. This may include a family meeting and program orientation during the initial visit to the Inn, ongoing conference calls between the resident, his/her case manager and family member(s) and on-site family meetings as needed. Fundamental to SMI's work with families is the belief that family understanding and support of the SMI treatment plan greatly enhances the recovery of their relative. While balancing the residents' rights to confidentiality, SMI acknowledges that the family has often been the "primary care giver" and shares the mutual goal of their loved one's increased autonomy and independence. We recognize that the family has, in most instances, been disrupted by the residents' treatment and persistent emotional challenges. We believe an educational and collaborative approach is an effective way for us to maintain both support to our client's family members and an openness to family members' concerns as their adult child progresses through the SMI program. Our program may also offer support to clients' family members themselves. We encourage family members to consider additional support to manage the challenges involved when a family member is in residential treatment. Many family members find it very helpful to participate in support networks such as Al-Anon and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, or seek individual counseling in their home communities. |