Families play a very important role in first identifying that there may be a problem. They play a very important role in searching through the various types of information to sort of nudge their family member to supports that might be most effective. They play a really important role as advocates if their family member is not receiving the care he or she needs. They are often a really important part of the team in-between treatments. They're the ones who are there night and day to remind patients to apply certain techniques or the therapies they have been receiving, and remind them to take their medication. Families have a very deep and important role.
When somebody is in crisis and more emergency intervention is needed, when they may have harmed themselves or put themselves at serious risk, the families then are often cut out of the circle of support, once the person is hospitalized or intensively treated. We need to make sure that families continue to be recognized as important players on the team, because when that person leaves the crisis treatment, he or she will go back to that family. Stop and start doesn't work as effectively as when the two are integrated and treated together.
The other thing that we need to recognize is that caregivers are often experiencing stress themselves and need caregiver relief and support as well. Benefits and programs directly targeting caregivers are absolutely critical in the continuum of care and the suite of programs and services we need to be considering very carefully. Without them, quite often the cascade happens very quickly into more dire situations or circumstances. It is really important to keep caregivers through the entire process, and also give them the support they need.