supporting individuals with severe mental illness and their families
navigate the system effectively (and avoid the burnout!)
Caring for a loved one can sometimes feel...
- Overwhelming and isolating: Constantly preparing for the next crisis.
- Exhausting: Juggling appointments, medications, and questions for healthcare providers.
- Anxiety-inducing: Navigating the system without clear guidance.
- Fearful: Worrying about missing something crucial and feeling helpless.
- Straining: Balancing caregiving with personal relationships, work, and other aspects of life.
Free membership in the Care Coalition gives you a community and a powerful voice!
Our growing movement unites families and professionals across the US in a mission to improve the lives of individuals living with severe mental health challenges by enhancing the quality of their care. As we implement practices that help us effectively advocate for loved ones and ourselves, we stay up-to-date on evidence-based research and policy changes that may affect the role of family members as care partners.
We Help you…
- Have a Voice
You’re the one who sees your adult child’s symptoms and holds the history their health care provider needs. Complete a loved one’s health care history and use that information to become an effective advocate and care partner.
- See the Big Picture
Beyond the wall of challenges you may face, learn to give and receive daily doses of perspective to keep going.
- Know You’re Not Alone
Families can enable one another to get back on track to living a full life!
Members of the Care Coalition receive exclusive FREE ACCESS to life-changing resources.
Sign up now to become a member of the Care Coalition. You’ll receive free access to our weekly Care Compass newsletter and other valuable resources.
Key concepts will be broken down week by week, into bite-sized pieces with simple, step-by-step suggestions, instructions, and inspiration. These resources have been designed to build a solid foundation that can immediately improve daily life even as you learn and grow over time.
YES, it’s possible to control the chaos. Care Compass is your practical guide for navigating each day and its unique challenges.
Examples of Topics we’ll cover:
- Receiving a Diagnosis. Now What?!
- Building a network of support.
- How to discuss everyday, difficult topics with your loved one.
- Are they ready to work or go back to school?
- Avoiding burnout as a caregiver.
- A better understanding of how to navigate complex systems of care.
- What to document so that your loved one’s care network can make informed decisions.
Care Coordination
Severe mental illness puts people into daily touch with mental health systems, court administrators, corrections systems, elder care systems, developmental disability programs, foster care and children’s services, and/or juvenile mental health and corrections systems. Yet, many times these systems do not talk to one another, making life more difficult for the very people who need support. Care coordination is about improving communications across all of these systems in order to improve outcomes. Family members, caregivers, and guardians have the most at stake in this process, and often play a key role in this communication.
Guardian Model™
The Guardian Model™ is a specific care coordination approach practiced and perfected for over two decades by Guardian Ad Litem Services, Inc. in Connecticut.
It was developed specifically for Connecticut’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and Connecticut’s Probate Court Administration, with input from a steering committee of mental health, criminal justice, legal, and academic professionals around the state. Grounded in peer-reviewed research, The Guardian Model™ has demonstrated significant improvements in mental health outcomes and cost savings by reducing hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and arrests.
Weekly, down-to-earth insights delivered to your inbox!
BECAUSE SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE...
- Caring for someone with severe mental illness is overwhelming and isolating.
- If we’re not dealing with a crisis, we’re bracing for the next one.
- Juggling appointments, medications, and questions for healthcare providers is exhausting and draining.
- Navigating the system leaves me feeling lost, anxious, and desperate for clear guidance as I care for my loved one.
- Fear of missing something crucial looms large, and every perceived misstep magnifies my personal shortcomings.
- Struggling to maintain balance strains personal connections and negatively impacts work and other areas of life.
FAMILIES WHO HAVE BENEFITTED FROM OUR APPROACH
“It helps the whole family.”
“We tried very hard trying to work through the state system, and we just came up with blanks. Guardian was there just at the right time.”
“We’re getting older and we worry about what is going to happen to our loved one when we’re gone. Having Guardian gives us peace of mind.”
“We had no idea that there was any help out there. We were swimming in the dark. It’s a huge relief. Without them, I don’t know what we would do.”
“They helped the mental health center he was at understand that they had to work with him in a different way.”
A Letter from the Founder of the Care Coalition & the Guardian Model
MEET MICHAEL MACKNIAK
JD, Attorney, Care Coordinator, Quality Improvement Expert
For 25 years I have navigated the legal side of service systems, acting as the guardian or liaison between an interrelated network of service providers. My team coordinates care across mental health services, courts, physicians, state agencies, non-profits, hospitals, and conservators.
My clients are families whose lives have been turned upside by the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity of mental illness. This affects every aspect of their lives. I honor them, and I honor you.
My programs have received multiple awards and honors including national recognition from Eli Lily’s “Welcome Back Award”, NAMI’s “Hero Award”, the National College of Probate Judge’s “Isabella Award” and the National Association of Social Workers “Public Citizen of the Year” award.
Are you a professional in the mental health field anywhere in the US?
- Learn more about Care Compass resources
- Find out how to join the Care Coalition
- Invite Mike Mackniak to speak at your agency!
Sign up today to receive emails and a one-on-one consultation with Michael.
Guardian Ad Litem Services specializes in implementing the Guardian Model™, a structured approach to interrelated care coordination for mental health agencies. This model, based on over 40 years of research, has shown significant improvements in mental health outcomes and cost savings by reducing hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and arrests.
Care Compass, a sub-brand of Guardian, provides training, tools, and resources designed to work with both professionals and guardians to ensure consistent care delivery, enhanced communication, and a more rewarding experience. Those who engage with Care Compass offerings become part of the Care Coalition, a community united by the shared goal of improving the quality of life for individuals with severe mental illness. This guide focuses on these two brands.
Copyright Guardian Ac Litem Services, Inc. 2024
Website created by Red Rock Branding
Copyright Guardian Ac Litem Services, Inc. 2024
Website created by Red Rock Branding