Families where a Parent has a Mental Illness (FaPMI)

All Programs Referral Form

Due to COVID19 restrictions we are not currently running any programs however we are still happy to accept referrals for when our groups are up and running again.

23 percent of children live in households where at least one parent has a mental illness. A range of complex issues mean that these families don't often get the support they need.

Eastern Health's Families where a Parent has a Mental Illness (FaPMI) program works with agencies in Eastern Metropolitan Melbourne for better outcomes for these families through:

Collating services and programs run in the Eastern Metropolitan Melbourne
Web based information and resources for families
Providing training, resources and secondary consultation for professionals and agencies that come into contact with families where a parent has a mental illness
Providing systems consultation for agencies

The Eastern Health Families where a Parent has a Mental Illness (FaPMI) Program works closely with the Australian government funded National COPMI (Children of Parents with a Mental Illness) Initiative.

Please see FaPMI newsletter for June 2020 here (PDF, 643kb).

Support for families during COVID19

While some programs and activities are on hold due to COVID-19, the FaPMI program is still working to support families where parents have a mental illness. These resources and more are available for families in the Eastern region – please click on links for more information:

COVID-19 Letter to Parents (DOC, 88KB)

COVID-19 Resources for Infant Children (PDF, 665KB)

COVID-19 Resources for Children (PDF, 799KB)

COVID-19 Resources for Teens (PDF, 767KB)

Help for parents with a mental illness and their support people

As a parent you need support for yourself as well as for your family. Giving age appropriate information regularly to children and young people helps them not to develop worries. Children can play a supportive role for parents and it is important that they know how to access support networks when needed.

Click here for more information.

Help for children and young people of parents with a mental illnesss

As a child or a young person who has a parent with a mental illness you may at times experience worries and it helps to have information about your parent's illness. We know that many of you provide a supportive role and it is important that you understand how to access support networks when you need them.

Click here for more information.

Helping health professionals support families where a parent has a mental illness

Local training opportunities

Help for your service to respond to families where a parent has a mental illness (this includes information about VicChamps Project)

Families where a parent has a mental illness come into contact with a wide variety of service systems. All have a part to play to build better outcomes. Below are some links to tools and resources that can help your service system be more responsive

VicChamps was a state funded three-year project that created the foundation for the FaPMI strategy. The project’s history and evaluation documents can be found here.
COPMI has resources tailored to specific settings (e.g. early childhood/ schools/ inpatient mental health etc.)
Training resources

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I refer to FaPMI?

Our team works with the network of mental health agencies in the Eastern Region who directly work with patients and families, supporting them with workforce development, systems and procedure development, secondary/tertiary consultations and facilitating partnerships for service delivery. Eastern Health FaPMI co-ordinates some programs for children of parents with a mental illness called CHAMPS.

Who does FaPMI work with??

Address	Murnong Clinic 4 Bona St Ringwood East 3135
Contact	P (03) 9871 3988 F (03) 9871 3977 E: fapmi@easternhealth.org.au
Hours	9.00am - 5.00pm Mon - Fri

Support for families during COVID19

Services