Helping your relative with practical matters

If your relative is experiencing severe depression or the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, they are likely to find daily activities such as cooking, shopping and managing money, difficult to cope with.
It may seem strange that a person who is recovering from psychosis can talk eloquently about current affairs, but find it difficult to cook a meal for themselves, or fill in a benefits claim form.

But this is often the case.

Informal carers can help first of all by accepting this. Remember that your relative is not being lazy or wilful in not doing these routine tasks. They need support in managing the steps in what will now seem like very complicated tasks.

What you can do to help...

As an informal carer your encouragement to take advantage of any life skills training available during rehabilitation will be very important. You might take responsibility for one or two steps in the process but gradually withdraw as some independence is regained.

Informal carers can help further by completing benefit forms, with the help of Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) or specialist agencies like Rethink. Benefits

Points to consider

Your relative may not always have the mental capacity required to manage their own affairs and so together you will have to decide how much responsibility your relative should have, how much assistance will be required and in what respect.

There are several options to consider in this situation:

  • acting as an agent, where your relative allows you or another person to collect benefits for them
  • becoming your relative's 'appointee' so that you can claim benefits on their behalf when a mental disorder prevents them from doing so
    getting a 'third party mandate' at the bank, where your relative authorises you to sign cheques on their behalf
  • using a 'power of attorney' which could be 'ordinary' or 'enduring', where your relative empowers you to act on their behalf with regard to some or all financial decisions, perhaps only during episodes of illness
  • involving the Court of Protection which is normally only appropriate if there is a substantial amount of money or property. In these cases a 'receiver' will be appointed.