The COPMI Consultant works across adult and child and adolescent mental health services to support the needs of children and families where a parent experiences a mental illness or mental health disorder.
CONSULTANCY ROLE
- Providing consultation to adult mental health workers and child youth and family staff around COPMI cases.
- Advice to community organisations regarding COPMI issues.
CLINICAL ROLE
- Family focused interventions with children and families impacted by parental mental illness.
- Joint family assessments with adult mental health staff.
- Brief counselling and psycho-education with children and teenagers – debriefing and education about mental illness (the child or the parent has to be the client of mental health services).
- Targeted group work with children.
- Targeted parenting support programs (Tuning in to Kids and Circle of Security) for parents living with mental illness or a mental disorder, and their partners.
COMMUNITY SERVICE LIAISON
- Convene Northern Sydney Interagency Committee for young carers.
- Partnerships with other agencies to run SMILES and respite programs.
- Consultancy to personnel from other services regarding COPMI issues.
EDUCATION ROLE
- Provide training for health professionals and other service personnel regarding COPMI issues and COPMI inclusive practice.
- Provide training to wider local community service personnel regarding COPMI issues.
- Provide training to wider target group at state and national forums.
SERVICE DEVELOPMENT ROLE
- Service development role with adult mental health teams regarding COPMI inclusive practice, for example:
– talking to children and teenagers about mental illness
– the impact of mental illness on parenting
– COPMI care planning for mental health staff
– reviews of children and teenagers at risk
– checklist for staff in making service referrals regarding COPMI.
SERVICE LIAISON ROLE
- Between child and adult services regarding referral pathways.
- Between adult mental health services and other community services such as schools/child protection.
STATE COPMI NETWORK ROLE
- Attend state meetings.
- Review state policies and documents regarding COPMI with state network members.