Ever since I became a carer years ago for a close relative, I had soon begun to realise that they were not the same person I communicated to when they were well. If there is one major thing mental illness can take away from someone, it is their ability to communicate what is important to them. When a family member or carer has to step in to continue dialogue with their loved one, things can become heated, confused or just down right difficult.

Us carers can sometimes lack the patience to effectively talk or discuss with our loved ones about our concerns and as a carer I certainly can say I have been down this route many times. An important aspect of caring is how we show how much we care for family members or friends suffering mental health difficulties, but as we all know, carers are not initially trained to care for those who are hit by mental health illness.

Not all mental health survivors or service users need carers, but for those that do, it is important relationships are sustained and a carer who seeks to educate or equip themselves to provide care can make things just a bit easier for themselves.

I have gone on many different types of courses ranging from understanding mental health to emotional well-being and mindfulness courses. The changing role of mental health services has changed where care in the community must involved cares and families. Us carers need to make sure that if our relationships with our loved ones continue to develop, we need to educate ourselves at every turn.

There are of course many courses that allow for mental health carers to enhance their skills, but this blog post focuses on a particular course provided by SLaM partners for mental health carers of the London Borough of Lambeth.

If you are a carer for someone suffering mental health problems in Lambeth, please check out the course info below and you may just find that – Communication can make a difference in our lives.

Coaching Flyer for lambeth carers