What Support Do I Need as a Family Member?
Your needs deserve attention while you support someone else. Start with the part of your own day that needs help; this is not an assessment of how well you are caring for another person.
For: Adult family members, partners and other supporters · 2 PDF pages
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SAMHSA recognizes that supporting a loved one can be taxing and encourages caregivers to attend to their own health. Family support groups, therapy or counseling are among the options families can explore.
Sources: [1]
Original examples: name your need separately
Scroll the table sideways on a small screen to compare all columns.
| What is happening | My own need | A request I could make |
|---|---|---|
| I keep canceling my appointments to help with rides. | Time to attend my own care. | Could you take one trip next week while I keep my appointment? |
| I have nobody I can speak with honestly. | A confidential space to discuss my experience. | I am seeking support for myself as a family member. What do you offer? |
| Everything feels like my responsibility. | Help with a specific task and clearer limits. | Can we decide who will handle groceries this week? |
Choose the kind of support you want
- Practical: a shared task, a ride, meals or time away from a responsibility.
- Personal: someone who can listen without asking you to solve everything.
- Professional: your own healthcare or counseling conversation.
- Peer: a group specifically for family members or other supporters; ask whom it serves and what participation involves.
My request, for me
- One need I want to address
- What I need and why it matters to my day.
- Who I will ask and what I will say
- Name/service; a specific request; how and when I will contact them.
- If that option is unavailable
- Another person/service or a smaller request; what I need help finding.