Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[Jasoncsccog]

my wife has a recent psychotic breakdown and am ongoing episode and she isn't not receiving any treatment other than a quarterly review by a community psychiatrist. My children and I are at the end of our tethers as she is very unstable. she really needs inpatient care at least in the short term. we live in Sydney is there any service route or local community group you could recommend for support?

[NikNik]

Hi @Jasoncsccog 

I have moved your post here to hopefully get more responses from members.

It was a bit hidden before 🙂

NikNik

[CherryBomb]

Hi @Jasoncsccog,

I'm in VIC so I'm not the greatest with services in NSW. Navigating your way through the mental health system can be pretty overwhelming. Perhaps some of our member could provide some suggestions.

@Alessandra1992, are you able to provide some information about support groups for @Jasoncsccog.

@Rover any ideas on inpatient care or support?

Also @Jacob101 @zipper @MrsC @Cazzie also care for partners with MI.

While waiting for a response, you might like to read and contribute to this post started by @Camelia, which discusses some of the difficulites providing support to someone going through a psychotic episode. 

Another option, @Jasoncsccog could be seeing a counsellor too. Is this something you've considered? Often carers are so focused on getting help for the person they are caring for that they can forget to care for themselves. Speaking to a counsellor could help to learn some strategies to support your wife and could also help get things of your chest. You can get a referral to a psychologist from a GP. You could also try connecting with your local community health centre.

Hope this helps,

CB

[Rover]

Hi @Jasoncsccog 

I am also in the Sydney area and all I know about inpatient services is that unless the patient presents voluntarily to the hospital or mental health team then the only way to have her treated is to have her scheduled. For me this involved having to call an ambulance during one of my daughters pyschotic episodes when she expressed self harm. From this resulted a mental health team visiting while the police stayed at my house and then they assessed her. Prognosis was that she was extremely unstable and needed to be admitted. This was extremely traumatic to watch as she had to be taken by force by the police and expressed how much she hate myself and my husband at the time.

[Jasoncsccog]

thanks niknik, cherry bomb and rover

Thanks a lot. This helps and I think this may have to be the way forward if she does not improve. I am also trying to look for some community group for carers counselling - any suggestions? have a good weekend everyone thanks for ur support.

Jason

[NikNik]

@Hobbit 

Do you know of any community organisations that could help @Jasoncsccog 

What would ARAFMI recommend?

Nik

[NikNik]

@Hobbit 

Do you know of any community organisations that could help @Jasoncsccog 

What would ARAFMI recommend?

Nik

[Hobbit]

Hi @Jasoncsccog and thanks @NikNik 

I think a good place to start would be Partners in Recovery. This is a government initiative specifically in place to help people with severe and persistent mental illness. They are all over town, and are run through many organisations. They might also be able to help out with yourself and your children. I think the best place to find a Partners in Recovery service nearest to you would be to go to the nearest Medicare Local, the website finder for this is here.

I don’t want to ask you on these forums where you live in Sydney, but I really urge you to call ARAFMI NSW on Monday and speak to one of their operators. ARAFMI will be able to obtain some more specific details from you and direct you to the most appropriate service that can help you out. The telephone number is 02 9332 0700, but unfortunately they will not be open until Monday. I think we need to move fast on this for you, because with Christmas holidays looming, services may be somewhat limited.

So another option for you would be to give the NSW Mental Health Line a call. They have trained nurses who can give you some good advice, and it is here that you can make your situation known. Their number is 1800 011 511. You can also read about the service here.

In regards to community groups for carers, I think a good place to start would be Carers NSW, they will be able to direct you to many groups around Sydney. Their carer line is 1800 242 636, and their website is here. Once again, if you call ARAFMI, they will also be able to help you out. Tell them that Hobbit sent you, I actually work for ARAFMI.

I hope this helps, and in the meantime, keep posting on these forums and connecting with the awesome people here. You will find much support. And if things get too much and you really need to talk with someone over the weekend, you can call the Salvo’s Care Line on 1300 36 36 22. There are trained counsellors there who are available to talk 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Remember this – the fact that you came here shows strength itself. You obviously care very much about your wife and family and want things to get better. This is something to be admired. I’ll leave you with these words – THERE IS HOPE.

Hobbit.

[Alessandra1992]

Also check with mental illness fellowship in NSW, I think they run Wellways.

[Hobbit]

i @Jasoncsccog 

Just thought I would drop you a line and say hi, and see how you are doing? Did you mamage to make contact with any services?

Hobbit.