As you care for a loved one with mental illness you will find yourself taking on many roles in their lives. It is helpful to take a moment and think about each of those roles you play so that you can be more effective and also so that you can get help from others who may play that role along the way.

There are three distinct and important roles that family and friends are likely to play. They are:

• Starting role (i.e. mom, dad, sibling, spouse, friend, etc.)
• Caregiver
• Advocate

We’ll dive into each of these roles along this lesson. It’s also important to recognize that there is one role that you should never take on if you are a family or friend.