One in four Australians will experience a mental illness over the period of their lives. When you think about it, it is therefore true that many more Australians will provide care and support during the critical times of this illness. So you are not alone, although many people are not prepared to talk about it for fear of the stigma that is attached to mental illness. This is now changing.

Many people as caregivers, do not recognise that they are in fact carers, because they have gone into the role of supporting their family member because of the sheer necessity to do so. Good quality support and treatment will assist people towards mental health and wellbeing.

Carers need to also look after their own mental health and wellbeing, and the MHCAA member organisations have expertise in supporting mental health carers.

The areas that MHCAA can provide assistance include – personal counselling, information giving, education sessions, standing beside you to advocate, peer support, respite, learning how to look after yourself, how to set boundaries, how to talk with mental health treatment teams, attending support groups.

You can access support services by clicking on the web links on this website or by contacting carer telephone support by phone