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When a loved one suffers from mental illness or addiction, family members can often be the first line of assistance. But it also takes a toll. Mental illness has a significant impact everyone around a patient. The Royal recognizes the essential role that families play in recovery and offers resources to help families support patients and themselves.
The strongest support comes from those with lived experience, enhanced by expert input. The Royal offers expert-led, informational and community-building live virtual events on subjects that matter directly to families and caregivers. Learn from professionals, discover resources and meet others whose lives have also been deeply affected by a family member’s mental illness.
Sessions are 90 minutes and are offered at no cost, though registration is required. Sessions take place regularly, typically from September to June.
Learn about specific topics from leading experts and speak to fellow families and caregivers. Past topics have included:
Take part in interactive sessions that teach important skills in helping family members undergoing treatment. Past workshops have included:
Topics for information and workshop sessions are selected based on input from the families who participate, ensuring that the most relevant topics are covered. We want to empower families to be an essential part of a patient’s recovery. Share your thoughts about sessions or suggest a topic important to you by taking the survey.
The Family Advisory Council speaks for families of patients at The Royal. The council is comprised of family and friends of current and former patients. It advocates for the interests of caregivers from a lived perspective that understands what it means to have a loved one with mental illness. The council represents families at events and in consultations and liaises between support groups in the community.
The Voice Newsletter is a periodic newsletter put out by the Client Advisory Council that provides updates on family and caregiver supports. It features stories focusing on The Royal’s community, personnel updates, mental illness areas of interest, fundraising events and mental health resources.
In addition to family supports, The Royal offers many resources to educate patients and caregivers on mental illness and provide them with respite and avenues of expression.
The Hub offers information and fact sheets, feedback mechanisms, a lending library of reading material and DVDs, computers with internet access, and access to peer support.
Religious and cultural practices can enhance a person’s treatment process. The Royal offers a range of spiritual and cultural services for many different people and communities. The program offers counselling, mindfulness meditation, non-denominational services and specific cultural practices.
There are many places online to learn more about mental illness, treatments and how families can cope. We have assembled a resource that lists many helpful ones.
Get valuable updates and information for families helping patients through mental illness.
Feedback is crucial. We want to know what worked during a patient’s treatment and what didn’t. Share feedback about your family’s experience with The Royal.
Share your perceptions of care in general and about the care your loved one received. Your feedback is important and will help enhance the mental health and addictions system in Ontario.
1145 Carling Ave.,
Ottawa, ON K1Z 7K4
(613) 722-6521
1141 Carling Ave.,
Ottawa, ON K1Z 7K4
(613) 722-6521
1804 Highway 2 E, P.O. Box 1050,
Brockville, ON K6V 5W7
(613) 345-1461
2121 Carling Ave.,
Ottawa, ON K2A 1H2
(613) 722-6521
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