Contact:
Irene S. Levine, PhD
Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research
E-mail: mailto:LevineI@nki.rfmh.org
845
398-6503
Orangeburg, N.Y.---
In recent years, the Internet has become an increasingly important resource for
consumer health and mental health information. With support from the New York
State Office of Mental Health (OMH), the Nathan S. Kline Institute for
Psychiatric Research (NKI) in Orangeburg, New York has developed a new on-line
publication entitled Mental Health Resources on the Web for Families. The
brief reference guide is intended to introduce family members of persons with
serious mental illnesses to the Internet and to provide them with an annotated
listing of key mental health sites.
The publication is available for free download, either at the NKI web
site at <http://www.rfmh.org/nki/mhguide.pdf>
or by accessing the OMH web site at <http://www.omh.state.ny.us/omhweb/resources/>.
When faced with the
onset of any serious mental illness (like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder,
severe depression or borderline personality disorder), it is important that
family members have up-to-date information on diagnosis, symptoms, treatments,
and coping strategies. This need for information is particularly acute among the
more than 10 million families in the U.S. who---because of the shame, guilt, and
stigma commonly associated with serious mental illnesses---may be reluctant to
reach out for help.
The web-based guide, an update of an earlier print version, will be
updated periodically. While not all families have home computers, librarians at
most public libraries can facilitate on-line access for their users.
# # #
Located
on the grounds of Rockland Psychiatric Center, The Nathan Kline Institute for
Psychiatric Research is a facility
of the New York State Office of Mental Health that is nationally and
internationally renown for its pioneering contributions to psychiatric research.
On the web: www.rfmh.org/nki
Irene S. Levine, Ph.D.
Research Scientist and Liaison to Families, NKI
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine
845 398-6503 (phone)
845 398-5510 (fax)