British Columbia Schizophrenia Society

The Kids in Control Support Group Program gives information, education and support to children eight to thirteen years of age who have a parent with a serious mental illness.

Children with parents who have a mental illness face some unique challenges. These children are at risk for social problems and mental illness. This program aims to help prevent these kinds of problems.

Children need:

• Information about the mental illness so they understand what they are dealing with. 

• Skills to cope with the mental illness and the impact it has on their lives.

• To learn how to deal with the symptoms of the parent’s mental illness

• To learn how to deal with their own isolation, anxiety, fears and stress.

• To know that their own needs and desire matter and are important. Often in the chaos of dealing with a family member’s mental illness the focus is so directly on the ill person that children tend to minimize their own needs in order to meet the needs of the mentally ill family member.

The Kids in Control program helps provide the tools and coping skills that will help children grow up happy and healthy despite their challenges and risks.It helps children learn that their experiences are shared by other children and are normal given their situation. The program helps children to feel that they are okay even though their family situation may be unusual. An important goal of the group is to let the children see that they are not the only ones in the world that are having this experience, and that it will be okay.

Kids in Control is built to help children between the ages of 8 - 13 years old who have a parent or an older sibling with serious and persistent mental illness.

Kids in Control offers eight sessions to children, approximately 2 hours once a week for eight weeks. A variety of activities and games are used to educate the children and provide a means for the group to support each child.

Classes

• Group Building and Storytelling
• Group Building and Learning to Identify Feelings
• Learning about Healthy Boundaries and How to Communicate Feelings
• Learning About Mental Illness
• Learning about the Treatment of Mental Illness
• Developing Resiliency
• Societal Attitudes and Stigma
• Self-Care and Self Esteem

To enquire about this program in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope and Mission contact Kashmir Besla 1-888-888-0029 ext. 40 kashmirb@hotmail.com

This program available throughout BC, including Maple Ridge, New Westminster, Langley, Tri-Cities and Victoria areas. New areas are added frequently so for information on service in your region, you can calso contact your local BCSS Coodinator.

To download a .pdf of our Kids In Control Brochure, please click this link: 2007-kic-brochure.pdf

To download a .pdf of our Kids in Control Poster, please click this link: 2007-kic-poster.pdf