CDS: Introduction to Mental Health and Mental Illnesses

Resources and References

CDS: Introduction to Mental Health and Mental Illnesses

Resources:

The AD/HD Book

This book by Beth Ann Hill with James Van Haren, M.D., FRCPC, offers information about current research in plain language. It also shares the practical realities of raising a child with ADHD. The author is a teacher and mother of two children with ADHD. She answers caregivers’ most pressing questions.

The Center Cannot Hold

This is a beautifully written memoir by Elyn Saks. She is a brilliant woman who is beset with the symptoms of schizophrenia. This memoir speaks powerfully to how intelligence and drive cannot always protect us from the serious challenges in life. It provides insight into why a person must find their own path to recovery. This book is written without blame or anger. At the same time, it eloquently helps professionals understand the power of personal choice and the degradation to the human spirit when people are stripped of choice and control.

Dual Recovery Anonymous

Dual Recovery Anonymous (DRA) is a self-help program based on the principals of the Twelve Steps and the experiences of people in recovery with a dual diagnosis. It helps people recover from both chemical dependency and mental illness. It focuses on relapse prevention. It is geared toward actively improving quality of life. It offers a community of mutual support. This site offers tools and resources for people with a dual diagnosis. You can also find information about local meetings throughout the US.

I Am Not Sick! I Don't Need Help

This book by Dr. Xavier Amador is written for family members of a person living with mental illness. The author is both a psychologist and the brother of a man living with schizophrenia. He struggled with his brother's refusal to take medications and the results of this choice. The book looks at research about choosing not to use medication to treat a mental illness. It provides helpful ideas for learning how to support a person to improve life outcomes in these situations.

I’m the Evidence

This site celebrates people who are the living evidence of mental health recovery and the individuals and communities that support them. It shares a positive view of what recovery can look like through the eyes of people who live with mental health conditions or support people who do. Photography, art, and poetry show personal views of recovery.

Lives in the Balance

Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) is the non-punitive, trauma-informed model of care created by Dr. Ross Greene. The CPS model is an evidence-based treatment. It is based on the belief that challenging behavior occurs when the expectations being placed on a child exceed their ability to respond adaptively. The model focuses on identifying the skills a child is lacking to meet what is expected of them. Then the goal is to help kids and caregivers solve those problems rather than trying to change their behavior through application of rewards and punishments.

Mental Health Medications

A booklet put out by the US National Institute of Mental Health. It provides an overview of psychotropic medications. It also has questions that people with mental health conditions or their families can use when working with mental health practitioners.

The NADD

This is a membership organization focused on people who have co-occurring conditions of developmental disabilities and mental health conditions. They offer training and consultation. They offer certification to support professionals. They hold training conferences every year. You will find resources for people who live with dual diagnoses and people who help support them.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

NAMI is a national advocacy organization. They have state and local chapters. This site provides articles on a wide range of topics related to mental health and mental illness. There is information on advocacy. There are links to local chapters and support. These resources can be used by people who have a mental health condition. They can also be helpful to people who live or work with someone who has a mental illness.

Patient Voice

This is a series of interactive stories that shares individual stories about people living with a variety of health conditions. This includes stories about medical conditions as well as mental health conditions. They provide a view into what it is like for a person to live with these conditions.

The Soloist

This is a film and book based on a true story of a friendship that develops between Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers. Nathaniel is a promising musician who develops schizophrenia while at Julliard music school and becomes homeless. Steve Lopez is a reporter who runs across Ayers on the street many years later. Hearing him play beautifully on a broken instrument, Lopez becomes intrigued with Ayers. He writes about him, learns about his past, and tries to help Ayers become healthy again. He must learn to accept the limits and boundaries of the relationship between those we love and our own need to feel we are helping.

Mary Ellen Copeland's Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP)

WRAP is a person-centered and person-directed planning process. It is for people who have experienced psychiatric symptoms. It is a peer-facilitated approach. It helps a person connect to their own goals and the things that improve their quality of life. This site has a variety of resources to learn more about WRAP.

Your Rights as a Person with Serious Mental Illness: A Self-Advocacy Guide

This guide can help you or someone living with a mental illness to understand their rights. It supports self-advocacy.

Check out additional content in the College of Direct Support, College of Recovery & Community Inclusion, or in other DirectCourse curricula. Content most related to the materials in this lesson include:

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