Conversations with Families and Friends

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We know how important it is for families and friends to understand what is happening within mental health and alcohol and other drug services as well as have your voice heard. A better understanding of the system, how services are accessed, and how they operate supports families and friends to:

  • better advocate for your loved one and yourself,
  • better navigate the system
  • increase your resilience and confidence
  • empowers you
  • supports problem-solving skills.

Our Conversations with Families and Friends Program is for those who support or who have supported a family member and/or friend who has lived/ or living experience of mental ill health and/or alcohol and other drugs use. Your role is invaluable, and your experiences and needs are valid and deserve to be supported.

These sessions provide support and the opportunity to hear from guest speakers within mental health and alcohol and other drug services, who have the expertise, knowledge, and experience in how services operate and how the services can support your loved one.

At MHFFTas we know the support role can be hard to navigate; it can be confusing and isolating. Finding relevant and appropriate information can be a challenge. We know this because the lived experience informs us of mental health and AOD families and friends, and they continue to tell us that education is essential to making their role more manageable.

We know that information is empowering. Hearing directly from health professionals and others with lived experience provides an opportunity to gain information and knowledge about how best to support your family member or a friend’s recovery and how to look after and understand your journey and mental well-being.

Each month we rotate between services, having guest speakers from:

  • Alcohol and Drug Services
  • Adult Mental Health Services
  • Child and Youth Mental Health Services
  • Older Persons Mental Health Services

In these sessions, we touch on topics such as:

  • Reform updates

  • The role of different team members

  • How the service operates

  • What their support looks like

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Interested? Come along to our online and or face-to-face sessions. This is a safe space and time just for you, so you’re welcome to come along for a whole session or just a little while. If you participate online, you can keep your camera off and participate through the chat feature.

NOTE: Our sessions are not open people with lived and living experience of mental ill health and/or AOD use. Nor are they open people working in service provision. However, if in your personal life you support a family member and or friend living with mental ill health and/or AOD use, you’re more than welcome, we just ask that you wear your “family and friend hat”.

Upcoming events will appear below

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Email operations@mhff.org.au or phone 0473 674 650 for more information