Understanding Mental Illness

The Compeer Program matches volunteers individually and in group situations with children and adults who are receiving mental health treatment. Consumers are referred to Compeer by their social worker, therapist, case manager, school counselor, etc.

There are over 100 different types of mental illnesses recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. The majority of adults referred to our program have diagnoses that fall in the general categories of schizophrenic disorders, affective disorders such as bipolar disorder and major depression, and anxiety disorders such as panic attacks and obsessive compulsive disorder. Each diagnosis is characterized by a unique set of symptoms. Children often present with behavioral issues, anger management difficulties, and diagnoses that include ADD/ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Reactive Attachment Disorder.

Mental Illnesses affect the way a person acts, thinks, or feels. Usually a pattern of behavior that causes impairment in important areas of function. Mental Illness affects 1 in 5 people, and 1 in 4 families. It is non-discriminatory; effects all races, classes, personalities.

The causes of mental illnesses are multifactoral-- a combination of biological, psychological and environmental factors. At present they are only partially understood. What is known is that the various forms of mental illness are due to many different types of abnormalities in the brain including the loss of nerve cells and excesses and deficits in chemical transmissions between neurons.

There is no single picture of what a person diagnosed with a mental illness looks like. The people in our program come from all walks of life, and each person's illness manifests differently according to the type of diagnosis he or she has, its severity, and his or her personal resources and personality characteristics.

Mental illness is treatable. Our National Compeer data shows that a sharing friendship is extremely therapeutic for achieving good mental health.