NAMI is a huge resource for both you and your clients. They carry information about different mental disorders as well as a way to find support for your clients when they are not with you. They have websites at the national and local level.
NAMI is not only a resource for you clients and their families. It is also a great networking resource as they have many local events for clinicians. They also host classes on many different topics through their local chapters.
There is also a section for you to volunteer to become a Guardian Advocate as a family member of a mentally disabled person or as their case worker/ social worker/therapist. Below is a description of what that entails:
A “guardian advocate,” under Florida Statutes Chapter 394, more commonly known as “The Baker Act,” is a court-appointed individual who communicates and collaborates with a patient, his or her attending psychiatrist, as well as the entire treatment team of mental health professionals, to advocate for the best interest of the patient during his or her stay at the State Hospital. This volunteer position is not only a chance to make a difference in the lives of the patients by playing an active role in their mental health treatment, but also an opportunity for you to become acquainted with the mental health system and its inner-workings, which are unfamiliar to most of the public.
While it is a priority for the Hospital and the Courts to appoint a patient’s parents, children, relatives or adult friends as his or her Guardian Advocate, it is an unfortunate reality that sometimes, these options are unavailable or unwilling. For this reason, we need volunteers to serve in this capacity, and lighten the load for our few existing advocates. To become eligible, and certified to serve in the capacity as a Guardian Advocate, you must review a short packet of required material, and successfully complete a self-examination. The course provides thorough information such as responsibilities, ethical considerations, ways to be most effective in the decision-making processes involved, as well as details regarding varying mental health diagnoses, treatment plans and medications thereof.
If you are interested in volunteering as a Guardian Advocate, please contact Gwen Henry, Community Liaison at South Florida State Hospital at (954) 392-3045.
On the bright side you can join NAMI as a professional organization for free. They do have a paid option which is 35$ a year and it dose have a few more perks than the free account.
Here are some links:
Local:http://namibrowardinc.org/page/2/
National:https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/Join
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