Resources
Medical and Scientific Resources
An online encyclopedia of mental health information. The website covers everything from descriptions of the 50 most common mental illnesses and their treatments to free downloadable diagnostic software for mood disorders.
American Psychiatric Association (APA)
This website is primarily a resource for physicians who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional illnesses and substance use disorders. There is also an extensive database of health information for patients and physicians.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
NIMH is a research organization that aims to understand, treat, and prevent mental illness.
Advocates and Online Communities
NAMI: The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is a nonprofit, grassroots, self-help, support and advocacy organization for people with serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety disorders.
This organization empowers student leaders and advocates worldwide through community building and collaboration. They provide well over 150 hours of virtual programming monthly, free to those with lived experience who are students, advocates, and faculty. They also offer paid membership tiers for mental health professionals, students pursuing a mental health degree, creatives, and friends/family.
The Jed Foundation protects the emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults, giving them the skills and support they need to thrive. They offer many resources for students living with mental illness, and has had its own scholarship in the past!
Like the name says, this website is devoted to schizophrenia, and to helping the people who are living with it. The website features articles on diagnosis and treatment, as well as many helpful sections on reintegration.
This site hosts several discussion groups, including online support for patients, families, and friends, as well as separate forums for talking about medications and treatment.
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
This website is devoted to helping people with depressive and manic-depressive illness. DBSA works to support these people and their families; to eliminate discrimination and stigma; to improve access to care; and to advocate for research toward the elimination of these illnesses.
MHA is the country's oldest and largest nonprofit organization addressing all aspects of mental health and mental illness. With more than 340 affiliates nationwide, MHA works to improve the mental health of all Americans, especially the 54 million individuals with mental disorders, through advocacy, education, research and service.
Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association and the Academy for Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Recovery
PRA and PRF work in concert together to grow and train the recovery workforce and promote recovery. PRA is the premiere membership organization for the worldwide recovery workforce, including advocating in the field and certifying professional expertise. PRF’s educational arm, The Academy, provides live and online trainings and courses for the psych rehab workforce.
This website features over 200 different online support groups, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
The website offers help in managing your benefits through your health insurance plan. There's also helpful information on confidentiality issues relating to managed care plans.
The American Psychological Association, along with other groups such as the National Association of Social Workers and the American Nurses Association, developed the Mental Health Bill of Rights to help protect individuals seeking mental health treatment.
This website has several different links to supports for folks in various crises, including suicidal thoughts, addiction, mental health issues, veterans issues, substance abuse, and more.
Community Resources: The Clubhouse Movement
A Clubhouse is a special community that helps people living with serious mental illness as they recover and rejoin the worlds of employment, independent living, family and friends, and education. Clubhouses are based on the Fountain House model, which originated in the 1940s by a small group of psychiatric patients from Rockland State Hospital in New York. There, they formed an organization called WANA, an acronym for "We Are Not Alone." WANA was a self-help group through which members provided aid and assistance to one another after leaving psychiatric hospitals. This was a revolutionary idea in its time, an era during which the mentally ill were highly stigmatized and most often regarded as hopeless individuals beyond reclamation.
A Clubhouse is in a permanent facility; members live elsewhere. The Clubhouse is a meeting place where decision-making is shared, and where members and staff work together to determine policies and future directions and to manage day-to-day activities.
At the core of the Clubhouse experience is the work-ordered-day, an 8-hour period each Monday through Friday during which the business of the Clubhouse is accomplished. The work-ordered-day intentionally parallels the typical business day in the general community. Members and staff work together in an open, friendly environment to prepare daily meals, operate the switchboard, issue a newsletter, run the mailroom, operate an employment placement and support program, manage housing services, participate in advocacy on behalf of both the Clubhouses and people with mental illness generally, and do whatever else is seen as important to the life of the Clubhouse.
As members grow stronger and more confident, they may choose to continue their education at a local university or return to part-time paid employment through the Clubhouse's various employment programs. Clubhouses also offer help with disability benefits; personal finances; recreation; and appropriate referrals to (and assistance with) medical and clinical services as needed.
Because Clubhouse membership never expires, these organizations provide consistent and long-term case management, often coordinating multiple services from both public and private agencies. Thus, Clubhouses often become the primary source of community support, services, and case management for their members.
Through the Clubhouse, members can begin to rebuild the careers and relationships which were disrupted by disabling illness. For many members, the productive routine and welcoming community of the Clubhouse provide a degree of self-acceptance and belonging these members may have considered beyond their reach. In all cases, the Clubhouse focuses on its members' strengths, talents, and abilities, giving the members a place to explore and celebrate their 'well selves'.
There are Clubhouses throughout the world. Some have active Web sites, while others can be contacted by phone or regular mail.
Click here to check out Fountain House!
Click here to find the closest clubhouse to you!
Publications
Scholarship Resources
This site has a comprehensive database of 3.7 million scholarships worth roughly $19 billion in financial aid. Searching is available without creating a profile.
This is another scholarship website that has a large selection, over $10 billion in private financial aid. It also offers a scholarship of its own called the World’s Easiest Scholarship, which is worth $2,500.
You can also search for grants, fellowships, forgivable loans and other prizes.
This site offers a scholarship search engine, 14 of its own scholarships, as well as resources to help you find a college, learn about student loans, and feel ready for your college years.
This foundation offers scholarships for folks living with mental illness, family members of those who have lost their lives to suicide, and students pursuing a degree in the field of mental health / mental illness.
Education Resources
This website provides personalized searches for a school that fits your needs, many articles regarding education, tuition/finacial aid, academic choices, student life, and career prep.