When someone you love is struggling with their mental health, the whole family feels it. Parents worry. Siblings feel confused or left out. Partners carry more than their share. And often, nobody in the family knows what to do next — or where to turn for help themselves.
Family support services exist for exactly that situation. They help families understand what is going on, learn how to support their loved one, and get support of their own along the way.
What Family Support Is
Family support is guidance and practical help for the family members of someone receiving mental health care. It is provided by trained staff who understand both the challenges of mental health conditions and the strain they can put on a household.
Depending on what your family needs, family support can include:
- Learning about your loved one’s condition in plain language — what it is, what helps, and what to expect
- Practical strategies for supporting them day to day, including how to handle hard moments
- Help communicating as a family, so everyone feels heard instead of stuck in the same arguments
- Support for your own stress, worry, and exhaustion — because caregivers need care too
- Help navigating services, school meetings, or care plans alongside your loved one
- Connecting with other families who understand what you are going through
Family support is not family therapy in the clinical sense, though it can work alongside counseling. Its focus is practical: giving your family tools, understanding, and support so you can move forward together.
Who Family Support May Help
Family support can help parents of a child or teenager who is struggling, partners and spouses, adult children supporting a parent, and siblings who want to understand and help. It is useful whether your loved one is just starting care or has been receiving services for a while.
It is also helpful when a family feels divided about what to do, or when one person has been carrying most of the weight alone. Having a knowledgeable, neutral person to talk things through with can make a real difference.
What It Looks Like in Practice
Family support usually starts with a conversation about your situation — what is happening, what your family needs, and what would help most right now. From there, you build a plan together. Meetings can happen in person at one of our offices or by telehealth, and they follow your family’s schedule and needs.
Some families meet regularly for a while. Others check in when something comes up. Either way, the support is shaped around your family, not a fixed program.
How to Get Started
A Body & Mind Health Services offers family support, along with counseling, CBRS, case management, and peer support, in Boise, Middleton, Twin Falls, Moscow, and Kamiah, plus telehealth statewide in Idaho. We accept most insurance plans in Idaho, and Medicaid is welcome. We are now welcoming new clients, and we currently have openings.
To ask about family support or any of our services, call 208-683-8320 or visit the Get Started page at abmhealthservices.com. Our team can help you understand the next steps and what questions to bring.
If you are in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time, day or night.