Family involvement: The key to opening locked wards and closed minds

Abstract

Treatment under the traditional medical model has largely ignored the family's knowledge, expertise and potential therapeutic effects on hospitalized mentally ill people. This paper reviews the family's role as caregiver. It reports on an evaluation of services by caregivers. Its findings reflect views stated in other surveys in identifying the need for improvement in education and social support for families, greater family involvement in the patient's care and improvement in staff attitudes towards families. The study concludes by describing the development of a family support project in a Nursing Practice Development Unit in a secure ward and offers a blueprint for mental health nurses in facilitating the more active involvement of families in the recovery of their family members.

Understanding Family-Centered Care in the Mental Health System: Perspectives From Family Members Caring for Relatives With Mental Health Issues

“…For example, during colonial times in North America, families were the primary providers of care for relatives with mental health issues, but in the late 1800s and early 1900s, as industrialization and urbanization reshaped society, families were frequently blamed for failing to "manage" their "deviant" relatives, which served to justify institutionalization (Friesen-Grande, 2006;Jones, 2002;Lefley, 1996;Nichols & MacFarlane, 2001;Terkelsen, 1990). During the 1950s and 1960s, increased advocacy for human rights, combined with extensive use of psychopharmacology and the search for less expensive forms of treatment by the State, contributed to deinstitutionalization (Bassman, Baker, & Packard, 2009;Hatfield, 1997;Jubb & Shanley, 2002;Suissa, 2005). As a result, people were discharged into communities, often without adequate supports.…”

Personal Tragedy or System Failure: A Qualitative Analysis of Narratives of Caregivers of People with Severe Mental Illness in Hong Kong and Taiwan

“…The discourse of personal and family failure needs to be challenged with policy and provisions that remove obstacles and promote participation by family and caregivers (Jubb & Shanley, 2002). New educational strategies will need to be worked out if better outcomes are to be achieved.…”

Development and Implementation of Family Involvement Standards for Behavioral Health Provider Programs

“…SPs need information, education, support, practical advice on managing the illness, and someone to listen to them (Gavois, Paulsson, Fridund, 2006;Jakobsen & Severinsson, 2006;Jubb & Shanley, 2002;Kim & Salyers, 2008;Marshall & Solomon, 2000;McAuliffe et al, 2009;Rose, 1998;Smith, 2003).…”

“…SPs have reported feeling disregarded or dismissed as irrelevant by mental health providers, even when they have critical information such as exacerbation of symptoms to communicate to their participant's providers (Johnson, 2000). These experiences may leave them with feelings of resentment toward mental health providers and alienation from the mental health system (Doornbos, 2002;Goodwin & Happell, 2007;Gray, Robinson, Seddon, & Roberts, 2008;Jubb & Shanley, 2002;Kaas, Lee, & Peitzman, 2003;Nicholls & Pernice, 2009). …”