About Us

The Family Alliance on Severe Mental Illnesses, FASMI, was born of an understanding that the family voice that once strongly advocated for those with psychotic illnesses in Canada, has been drastically diminished in recent years.

What remains true, and undeniably corroborated by evidence based data, is that family involvement and support remain an integral part of better clinical outcomes when it comes to the recovery and stability of those with psychotic illnesses.

In order to give families space within the dialog regarding the treatment and care of their loved ones with psychotic illnesses, we aim to amplify the voices of Canadian families supporting those with psychotic illnesses, so that together we might advocate for:

families to be recognized and included as key stakeholders in all conversations regarding system design, maintenance and oversight.
families to be consulted in all discussions relating to provincial mental health legislation and international policy which would directly impact accessibility to care and treatment.
input into a national educational strategy on severe mental illnesses;
Educating front line responders, medical personnel and the general public about the integral supports, insights and information that families contribute to the overall care and treatment of their loved ones.
To advocate for better training for medical professionals and clinicians so they will recognize the importance of building therapeutic alliances with families for the benefit of their patient's care.