Rethink Mental Illness Program

Program Overview Rethinking Mental Illness is a program designed to promote knowledge and support for young adult college students (age 18-35) and their families struggling with mental illness in the Athens-Clarke County area of Georgia. Athens, Georgia has a high population of young adults due to the fact that the University of Georgia is located there. According to a study done at Harvard Medical School, one in four adults (over age 18) will experience a mental health disorder in a given year (Kessler, Chiu, & Wallter, 2005).The Rethinking Mental Illness program is unique in that it functions outside of the traditional institutional settings. It is a community based program working with young adults, their families, and a supportive team

A study done on attitudes toward mental illness found that, “only about 23% of adults strongly agreed with the statement that people are caring and sympathetic to people with mental illness. Those with higher educational levels but lower income more often disagreed. For example, among college graduates, 30% slightly disagreed and 11% strongly disagreed, compared with 18.1% and 9.3% of adults with less than a high school degree who slightly or strongly disagreed, respectively (Kobau & Zack, 2013)”. Another study conducted by the University of California, found that negative views on mental illness could be changed through more community interaction with the mentally ill (Boyd, Katz, Link, & Phelan, 2010). In University of California’s study analyses revealed that respondents who have had experience with psychiatric hospitalization themselves or know family members or friends who have been hospitalized have a more respectful, welcoming attitude toward others with mental illness, in terms of less blame, anger, and social distance (Boyd, Katz, Link, & Phelan,

Research done by Diane Gehart of the California State University on mental health recovery has found that, family therapy approaches provide a complete and highly suitable foundation for recovery-oriented work, especially in areas related to social justice and stigma related to mental illness (Genhart, 2012). According to a study done at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Family-centered, strengths-based approaches reflect general principles that guide practices. Specifically, these approaches focus on the family rather than the individual as the unit of intervention, and emphasize strengths rather than deficits (Hinden, Biebel, Nicholson, Henry, & Katz-Leavy, 2006). Within this framework, treatment begins with a thorough assessment of the entire family, and the development of an intervention tailored to the family’s specific and unique culture, needs, and goals (Hinden, Biebel, Nicholson, Henry, & Katz-Leavy,