Today, Chrisa of  The Mindstorm,  shares her favorite mental health resources with us. I know you will find the resources she has listed as interesting as I did.
The Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation – www.bpkids.org.  I don’t know if we would have survived as a family without them when Tim was first diagnosed with a mood disorder.  It’s amazing how clueless even doctors and hospitals can be.  CABF was / is a lifeline that helped us come to terms with his diagnosis, navigate the murky waters of treatment options, meds, school IEPs, etc.  Currently, this organization is attempting to get a Pepsi Refresh Grant. If you are interested in voting for them to aid them in achieving this goal, please click on this link  www.bpkids.org/pepsi
Crazy Meds – www.crazymeds.us.  If you want to know all about a psych med, this is the place.  Meds are described in plain english, with commentary from real people who’ve used the meds before on how they work and side effects.  There’s also an active forum where people can discuss meds and diagnoses with each other.
BringChange2Mind – www.bringchange2mind.org.  Not so much as a resource, as validation that speaking out about Tim’s illness was the right thing to do to get him the help he needs and break the stigma associated with mental health issues.  Tim and I were the BC2M team captains for the NAMIWalks in Chicago and Green Bay this year, and Tim proudly wore a shirt that said “bipolar” on it (they don’t make one yet that says schizoaffective).  He raised over $1,600 for the Milwaukee walk as well, and his reward from NAMI Milwaukee was walking the 3 mile route with Green Bay Packer Greg Jennings, his idol!  
Wrightslaw – www.wrightslaw.com.  Not a mental health site, but the end-all, be-all site for parents dealing with IEPs, federal IDEA law, and 504 designations.  If you have a child with a mental illness that impedes there ability to be educated in a standard public school setting, this site is THE site to walk you through the law in all 50 states.