Helping Parents with Mental Illnesses and their Children: A Call for Family-Focused Mental Health Care

Abstract

<h4></h4> <p>Recent statistics indicate that nearly one quarter of American adults have been diagnosed with a mental illness (Egan & Asher, 2005). This means many of these adults are parents affected by a mental illness while trying to raise their children. Nurses in many health care settings, particularly pediatrics, public health, schools, emergency rooms, and mental health, often see the damaging influence of parental mental illness on children. As the largest number of health care providers, nurses can make a significant contribution to improving the plight of these families. This is because nurses understand and have a holistic view of family function. Due to the nature of their education and expertise, nurses are in a unique position to not only offer clinical interventions but also act as bridges in connecting these families to social service agencies and family and community support networks.</p>

Are the children of the clients’ visible or invisible for nurses in adult psychiatry? - a questionnaire survey

“…The results of this study support the idea that has been proposed by several other researchers (2, 15, 22), namely that nurses can play a unique role in a variety of ways, and they can also become key‐players in the initiatives for these children and their families. One notable example of how nurses can help children to cope could be teaching children, individually and in groups, about their parent’s illness and treatment (22, 23).…”

“…It may also indicate that the recognition of these children is not seen as a part of regular nursing practice; but conversely, belongs to nurses who have further education or even a ‘specific job description’. The results of this study, as well as other recent studies (15, 17, 21, 22), suggest that a family‐centred approach is necessary in order to assess family needs, involving the needs of the children.…”

“…Nurses are among the few healthcare professionals who have direct and frequent contact with patients and their families (2, 21, 22). However, despite the immense body of literature which reveals that the mental illness of parents represents a high risk for the children to develop mental illnesses (9, 12), very little has been written about the nurses’ role with these children (2, 15, 22, 23). This study was embarked upon because no studies on how nurses co‐operate with the children of their clients from the nurses’ point of view were available.…”

Do nurses working in adult psychiatry take into consideration the support network of families affected by parental mental disorder?

“…In Australia, some studies have asked parents, children and healthcare professionals about the support needs of these families (Cowling 1999, Fudge & Mason 2004, Maybery et al. 2005, Mason & Suberi 2006). However, Bates & Coren (2006), in their extensive systematic mapping of the research of parental mental health problems and interventions, found that very few nursing studies are available in which nurses take the family's relationships and support network into account in families affected by parental mental disorder.…”

Die subjektive Sicht von Klienten einer Beratungsstelle für Familien mit einem psychisch kranken Elternteil

“…Hilfs-und Unterstützungsangebote sind daher nicht auf die Kinder psychisch kranker Eltern zu beschränken, sondern vielmehr auf die betroffenen Elternteile und deren Partner (bzw. weitere Angehörige) auszuweiten (11,12). Sie sollten daher zum einen an den Bedürfnissen des gesamten Familiensystems orientiert sein.…”