At a glance 

Support for people living with a mental health condition is often provided by carers, who may be family members or friends. Carers can provide a range of emotional and practical support, which is an essential part of helping people to recover and live their best lives.

If you are working directly with someone with a mental health condition, it is important to remember that carers:

  • play a crucial role in the life of the person they are supporting
  • are often the glue that holds everything together
  • should be treated as partners and, with the permission of the person you are supporting, involved in decision making
  • are people too.
… a surprising number of workers think that they are a “carer” for the people on their caseload. … a carer performs this role in a person’s life because they care about them, and not because it is their paid role.

- A person with lived experience of a mental health condition
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Resources

Messages from mental health carers for: mental health workers
In this video carers provide a message on what they would like to say to mental health workers.
Type: Video | Closed captions
Viewing time: 2:38 minutes
Produced by: Mental Health Commission of NSW

Meet Jo
In this video Jo talks about some of her experiences as a carer. She looks back at how the role of carer has changed over the decades, and the progress we've made.
Type: Web page
Produced by: SANE Australia

Mental Health: Carers' experiences
This site provides a collection of audio and video recordings of people caring for loved ones who experience severe mental health problems.
Type: Website and videos
Produced by: Health Talk Australia

Current as at: Wednesday 14 December 2022
Contact page owner: Mental Health