PATHways Newsletter.pub - NAMI

August/September 2010 NAMI Queens/Nassau PATHways Page 14
NAMI Queens/Nassau’s Korean Family Support Group
By JENNIFER LIM, LMSW
I have been facilitating the Korean Family
Support Group since October 2009. It
used to meet monthly, but since moving
from Zucker Hillside Hopsital to Flushing
Hospital, the primary Korean community
in this area, we now meet bi-monthly to
meet the increased needs of the participants.
Some of the same challenges Korean
families talk about in the group are the
social stigma associated with mental illness,
lack of understanding of the nature of
these illnesses, and their endless battles
with their mentally ill family members
regarding compliance with their treatment
modalities. These challenges affect the
families tremendously in their daily lives.
Many families and patients are frustrated
due to lack of understanding of what the
patients are going through. Some families
tell their family members with mental illness
to just get up and move on like nothing
had ever happened. Patients feel
judged and criticized by their own family
members. Families express their frustration
due to their mentally ill family member’s
noncompliance. These issues often
cause relationship problems, noncompliance
with treatment, illicit substance
use, or decompensation, etc.
Some challenges that are unique to Korean
families are related to cultural differences
and the language barrier. The cultural
differences I have learned about from
the Korean Family Support Group are not
NYAPRS Seeks Wellness Coach...
(Continued from page 13)
ships that foster hope for positive change and personal empowerment
•Examine lifestyle factors that impact health and wellness
with enrolled individuals
•·Utilize tools with enrolled individuals to discuss and plan
for changing to behaviors that will lead to improved health self
-management
•Help enrolled individuals identify and engage with a range
of community-based supports
•Travel in own car throughout Queens, transporting
coachees to appointments or activities as the need arises
only between the Korean culture and the
American culture, but also more between
the parents and the children in Korean
families.
Whether the parents are mentally ill or
the children are mentally ill, there are culture
gaps; they don’t understand each
other. Children are Americanized and the
parents are less acculturated. Korean parents
expect more from their children than
American parents do and visa versa. Korean
families tend to have a higher tolerance
about their mentally ill family member’s
inappropriate behaviors such as violent
behaviors, withdrawn behaviors, and
threatening behaviors. They hesitate to call
911 on their loved family members until
it’s almost too late.
Culturally it’s a huge shame to seek
outside intervention for family problems.
One of my former colleagues questioned
me as to why most Korean cases are extremely
severe. I answered him that is because
Korean families hesitate to admit
their family members to a psychiatric unit
or even to receive outpatient treatment.
One elderly couple that attends the group
on a regular basis finally refused the housing
option for their son with a long history
of noncompliance, because they felt bad
for the son, although there’s a good chance
of decompensation based on the history.
In addition, Korean families have to
encounter cultural differences with the
American system. We use a big portion of
the group time for educating them about
the system. Due to the extremely limited
number of Korean-speaking psychiatrists,
psychotherapists, and programs to cover
the huge population, many families are
suffering because of limited resources and
remain on long waiting lists. They are extremely
overwhelmed with a very limited
support system. A lot of them don’t even
have any relatives in the U.S. and look for
some support through religious organizations
like churches and temples.
Unfortunately, there is only one Korean
ICM (Intensive Case Manager) and no
Korean/Asian ACT (Assertive Community
Treatment) team in NYC.
Overall, Korean families are struggling
even more than others with a poor support
system, a language barrier, culture gaps,
poor entitlements, and so on. I am confident
that the Korean Family Support
Group can provide help and hope for these
struggling families.
•Complete detailed written record of activities
•·Maintain personal wellness
•Report to and meet with NYAPRS supervisor on a regular
basis
•Communicate on a regular basis with OptumHealth contacts
•Attend trainings as required
•Additional duties as assigned
For addition information contact:Elizabeth R. Stone, MA,
CASAC, NYAPRS Downstate Peer Services Coordinator,
elizabeths@nyaprs.org 631-849-2232