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Supporting your child's mental health when you're experiencing mental illness

Welcome!

Parenting can be rewarding and joyful and it can also be hard at times. You have skills, strengths and supports that you use to help your children thrive. For parents with a mental illness there can be additional challenges and difficulties. However, with the right support and strategies, people living with mental illness can – and do – parent well.

This pathway is designed to help you think about how your emotional wellbeing or mental health can affect your children’s behaviours and daily life, and your family's overall wellbeing. It offers strategies for talking about your mental health with your children while supporting theirs.

The guidance in this pathway is generally appropriate and helpful for parents experiencing a diagnosed mental illness, as well as parents experiencing mental health difficulties of any type.

The information and activities in this pathway are based on the latest evidence about what supports the social and emotional wellbeing of children when a parent is experiencing mental health difficulties.

The content was created together with:

  • parents with mental illness

  • adult children of parents with mental illness

  • health professionals with experience in supporting parents with mental health difficulties and their children.

In the following video (45 seconds) parents with a mental illness share how this pathway can help.

Modules

Module 1: Parenting with mental illness

25 minutes
Consider what you know, think and feel about your experience of mental illness. Take the opportunity to reflect on your own needs, your relationship with your child, and your child’s mental health.

Module 2: Understanding your family’s experience

25 minutes
Be guided to notice your own, and your child/ren’s experiences when you are finding things challenging and how you, and they, are managing.

Module 3: Identifying your child’s and family’s needs

25 minutes
In this module, you’ll work through a ‘check in’ process to bring your focus to areas of family life where your child might need extra support and help you decide what you want to focus on first.

Module 4: Talking with children about mental illness

25 minutes
Consider when, how and what to tell your child about your experience of mental health difficulties and learn tips for communicating with and supporting your child to understand what it means for your family and for them.

Module 5: Managing family life, connections and routines

25 minutes
Learn ideas for maintaining a strong connection with your child and managing routines and household responsibilities to protect children’s social and emotional wellbeing.

Module 6: Strengthening supports

25 minutes
Consider who’s in your support network, help your child build their own support team, and notice and encourage your child's coping strategies.

Module 7: Accessing further supports

20 minutes
Learn about when and how to access professional support if you are concerned about your child’s mental health.

Start this pathway

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Urgent help

If you are feeling overwhelmed or low, or you are concerned that someone in your family is struggling or might be thinking of suicide, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14. If anyone's life is in immediate danger, call Triple Zero (000)

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We recognise and pay respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, their ancestors, the elders past, present and future from the different First Nations across this country. We acknowledge the importance of connection to Land, culture, spirituality, ancestry, family and Community for the wellbeing of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families.

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