Family‐focused practice with <scp>EASE</scp>: A practice framework for strengthening recovery when mental health consumers are parents

Foster, Kim; Goodyear, Melinda; Weimand, Bente; Nicholson, Joanne

doi:10.1111/inm.12535

Cited by 25 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In recent years, greater attention to the process of implementing family-focused practices has resulted in developments to address these barriers. These include practice guidelines and frameworks for family-focused practice in AMHS ( 19 , 49 , 50 ), integrated training, implementation and research programs ( 51 – 53 ) and international collaboration supporting the integration of policy and research ( 54 – 56 ). While these significantly contribute to the understanding of what is needed to sustain family-focused practice in AMHS, there is a need to draw this knowledge together to consider the multiple components in combination to assist AMHS to implement and sustain family-focused practice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Sustainability Model for Family-Focused Practice in Adult Mental Health Services

et al. 2022

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BackgroundTranslating evidence-based practice to routine care is known to take significant time and effort. While many evidenced-based family-focused practices have been developed and piloted in the last 30 years, there is little evidence of sustained practice in Adult Mental Health Services. Moreover, many barriers have been identified at both the practitioner and organizational level, however sustainability of practice change is little understood. What is clear, is that sustained use of a new practice is dependent on more than individual practitioners' practice.Design and MethodDrawing on research on sustaining Let's Talk about Children in adult mental health services and in the field of implementation science, this article proposes a model for sustaining family focused practice in adult mental health services.Sustainability Model for Family-Focused PracticeAn operational model developed from key elements for sustaining Let's Talk about Children identifies six action points for Adult Mental Health Services and their contexts to support the sustainability of family-focused practices. The model aims to support Services to take action in the complexity of real-world sustainability, providing action points for engaging with service users and practitioners, aligning intra-organizational activities, and the wider context.ConclusionThe model for sustaining family-focused practice draws attention to the importance of sustainability in this field. It provides a practical framework for program developers, implementers, adult mental health services and policy-makers to consider both the components that support the sustainability and their interconnection. The model could be built on to develop implementation guides and measures to support its application.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Sustainability Model for Family-Focused Practice in Adult Mental Health Services

et al. 2022

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“…Family-focused service delivery in mental health services is a model that views the person with the mental illness in the context of their family relationships (e.g., being a parent) (4,11). Family focused practice, targeting support toward supporting parenting and child well-being, has been a promising selective prevention strategy as a way to enhance public mental health at the population level (12).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of an Evidence-Informed and Codesigned Model of Support for Children of Parents With a Mental Illness— “It Takes a Village” Approach

et al. 2022

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Providing support to parents and their children to help address the cycle of intergenerational impacts of mental illness and reduce the negative consequences for children is a key focus of selective prevention approaches in public mental health. However, a key issue for children of parents with a mental illness is the lack of access to early intervention and prevention support when needed. They are not easily identifiable (until presenting with significant mental health issues of their own) and not easily accessing the necessary support that address the complex interplay of parental mental illness within families. There are significant barriers to the early identification of these children, particularly for mental health care. Furthermore, there is a lack of collaborative care that might enhance identification as well as offer services and support for these families. The “It takes a Village” project seeks to improve mental health outcomes for children through the co-development, implementation and evaluation of an approach to collaborative practice concerned with the identification of families where a parent has a mental illness, and establishing a service model to promote child-focused support networks in Austria. Here we describe the development of service delivery approach for the “It takes a Village” project that aims to improve identification and support of these children within enhancements of the existing service systems and informal supports. The paper describes the use of codesign and other implementation strategies, applied to a research setting, with the aim of impacting the sustainability of workforce reform to achieve lasting social impact. Results highlight the steps involved in translating evidence-based components, local practice wisdom and lived experience into the “It takes a Village” practice model for Tyrol, Austria. We highlight through this paper how regional context-specific solutions are essential in the redesign of care models that meet the complex needs of children of parents with a mental illness. Service system and policy formation with local and experienced stakeholders are also vital to ensure the solutions are implementation-ready, particularly when introducing new practice models that rely on organizational change and new ways of practice with vulnerable families. This also creates a solid foundation for the evaluation of the “It take a Village” approach for children of parents with a mental illness in Austria.

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“…It is important that adult mental health services are responsive to the needs of children in these families, which at a minimum would involve identifying children, assessing their needs, and as required, referring them on to appropriate services (24–26). However, little is known about clinicians' actions in adult mental health outpatient services in relation to detection, follow up and referral of patients' children.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult Mental Health Outpatients Who Have Minor Children: Prevalence of Parents, Referrals of Their Children, and Patient Characteristics

et al. 2019

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Background: A strong connection exists between parental mental illness and lifetime mental health risk for their children. Thus, it is important to determine, when parents attend for treatment for their illness, the prevalence and characteristics of parents with a mental illness and identify referral actions for their children. Previous studies indicate that 12–45% of adult mental health service patients are parents with minor children. There is a need for studies with larger sample sizes that investigate the prevalence and characteristics of parents, and factors associated with referral actions for their children. Method: Data on 23,167 outpatients was drawn from a national census study across 107 Norwegian adult mental health outpatient clinics during 2 weeks in April 2013. Clinicians identified various socio-demographic characteristics of patients who were parents and referral actions for their children. Results: Eight thousand thirty-five (36%) of outpatients had children under 18 years. Thirty-one percent were provided with referrals for their children and 58% were reported to have children with no need for referral. Three percent were reported to have children with unmet needs who were not referred. There were missing data on children's needs and referral actions for 8% of parents. Patients who care for minor children were more likely to be refugees, and less likely to be single, male, not own a house/apartment, and have a schizophrenia spectrum illness or substance use disorder. Children were more likely to be referred when their parent was single, with no income from paid work, low education, not owning house/apartment, poor family network, long outpatient treatment, and an individual care plan; and less likely for men with a moderate or less severe mental illness. Children were referred to child protection agencies, child and adolescent mental health services and school psychological/pedagogic services. Discussion: The prevalence of outpatients with children is similar to other studies. Referrals were made for children of one third of outpatients with minor children. Needs and referrals of children was unknown for one in ten outpatients. Mental health outpatient clinics must improve procedures to identify parenting status and ascertain and act on children's needs.

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Family‐focused practice with EASE: A practice framework for strengthening recovery when mental health consumers are parents

Cited by 25 publications

References 38 publications

A Sustainability Model for Family-Focused Practice in Adult Mental Health Services

A Sustainability Model for Family-Focused Practice in Adult Mental Health Services

Development of an Evidence-Informed and Codesigned Model of Support for Children of Parents With a Mental Illness— “It Takes a Village” Approach

Adult Mental Health Outpatients Who Have Minor Children: Prevalence of Parents, Referrals of Their Children, and Patient Characteristics

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