Recently I’ve gotten more involved in NAMI, the National Alliance for Mental Illness, who produces some great publications for those of us who either struggle with mental illness or live with a loved one’s disorder.

One of my favorite features of their quarterly newsletter, “NAMI Advocate” is the write-up from NAMI’s monthly “Ask the Doctor” telephone conference call which is open to all, with a special guest, and is moderated by NAMI’s Medical Director, Ken Duckworth, whom I interviewed last year this time. (For that interview click here).

January’s special guest was Dr. Gary Sachs, M.D., Associate Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Bipolar Clinic and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. He covered so many interesting topics, but the following question from a caller nailed the concerns and questions so many of us have: How do you make a person get help? Following is the question and answer from January’s phone conference.

Question: My daughter, diagnosed with bipolar disorder, seems to have periods where she’s doing really well, and then periods where she gets aggravated easily. How can I persuade her to get help during the hard times.

Dr. Sachs: This is one of the most frequently asked questions: What if my relative doesn’t agree to getting treatment?

There isn’t any easy answer, but here is one thing I might suggest. See if you can skip over that question. When you think about it, “Would you agree to get treatment?” can actually be a difficult thing for someone to agree to.

Instead you might ask, “Would you agree to a short talk or a visit, to get an assessment?”

You don’t want to make it any more difficult than it really is by asking for more than what is needed to get a professional assessment: A wise family member might say, “I’m going to go in and talk with somebody about what’s going on. Would you like to come?” That’s all we need to get an assessment. Many people can agree to do that because they aren’t being asked to commit to treatment or even necessarily to agree with the assessment.

Also, there’s this: At the end of the assessment, how about if we avoid requiring any labeling of the person? What if the family member just describes the condition they’re experiencing themselves? Even if someone doesn’t think they have a problem, still, they often might want to try out this or that therapy, or get some other kind of help that’s offered. Oftentimes, we can consider what kinds of assistance may be available, without having to compel a person to agree to someone else’s label.

These are simply ways to reduce the fear many people have of losing control and allow them the opportunity to get help.

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