Needs, expectations and consequences for children growing up in a family where the parent has a mental illness

Tabak, Izabella; Zabłocka-Żytka, Lidia; Ryan, Peter; Joronen, Katja; Viganò, Giovanni; Simpson, Wendy; Paavilainen, Eija; Scherbaum, Norbert; Smith, Martin; Dawson, Ian

doi:10.1111/inm.12194

Cited by 33 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 52 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The silent world of young next of kin in mental health care 15 Many of the informants called for more opportunities to spend time together as siblings and a family, such as sharing a meal or watching a movie.…”

Section: Being Involved Is Being Togethermentioning

confidence: 99%

The silent world of young next of kin in mental healthcare

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Being Involved Is Being Togethermentioning

confidence: 99%

The silent world of young next of kin in mental healthcare

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Managing a mental illness may make it difficult for them to meet the demands of parenting [ 2 , 3 ] and may disrupt parenting behaviours and the parent-child relationship in a variety of ways. For example, some parents may become inattentive [ 4 ], hostile and aggressive [ 5 ] or controlling [ 6 ]. In response to the diminished capacity of some parents, children may assume responsibilities, such as caring for siblings or the parent [ 4 , 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult mental health clinicians’ perspectives of parents with a mental illness and their children: single and dual focus approaches

Tchernegovski

Hine²,

Maybery

2018

BMC Health Serv Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundWhen clinicians in the adult mental health sector work with clients who are parents with dependent children, it is critical they are able to acknowledge and respond to the needs of the parents and their children. However, little is known about clinicians’ personal perspectives and reactions towards these parents and children or if/how they balance the needs of both.MethodsSemi structured interviews were conducted with eleven clinicians from adult mental health services in Australia. Interviews focused on clinicians’ experiences when working with parents who have mental illness. Transcripts were analysed within an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis framework to examine participants’ perspectives and personal reactions to parents and children.ResultsThere was considerable divergence in participants’ reactions towards parents and children and the focus of their perspectives when working with parental mental illness. Feelings of sympathy and responsibility made it difficult for some participants to maintain a dual focus on parents and children and contributed to some adopting practices that focused on the needs of parents (n = 3) or children (n = 1) exclusively. Other participants (n = 7) described strategies and supports that allowed them to manage these feelings and sustain a dual focus that incorporated the experiences and needs of both parents and children.ConclusionsIt is difficult for some mental health clinicians to maintain a dual focus that incorporates the needs and experiences of parents and their children. However, findings suggest that the challenges of a dual focus may be mitigated through adequate workplace support and a strengths-based practice framework that emphasises parental empowerment.

show abstract

“…In the family assessment conversation, one of the questions to the patient is whether the child has been informed about the parent’s illness. It is primarily the parents who are responsible for providing the child with adequate information, and it is therefore natural for the healthcare staff to support the patient in providing this information in a good way to the child [ 22 ]. In this study we found that approximately 30 percent of the children are informed of the parents’ illness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family assessment conversations as a tool to support families affected by parental mental illness: a retrospective review of electronic patient journals

Lauritzen¹,

Kolmannskog

Iversen

2018

Int J Ment Health Syst

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundPrevious research has shown a link between parental mental illness and adverse development in their offspring. In Norway, it is mandatory for health professionals to identify if patients in adult mental health services have children, and subsequently to provide support for the children. An important tool to detect if families are affected by parental mental illness and to assess if there is a need for further intervention is the Family Assessment Conversation. Family Assessment Conversations is potentially a powerful tool for communication with families affected by parental mental illness because it facilitates early identification of children at risk of various adversities due to the family situation. Additionally the tool may initiate processes that enable children and parents to cope with the situation when a parent becomes seriously ill. Little is however known about how the mental health practitioners use the family assessment form in conversations, and to what extent they record relevant information in the electronic patient journals.MethodsThe main aim of the study was to provide information about the existing practice within mental health services for adults in terms of parental mental illness and family assessment conversations. The project is a retrospective journal review. The data base consists of relevant journal data from 734 patients aged 20–60 years admitted. In total, 159 recordings of family assessment conversations were discovered.ResultsThe main result in this study was that many of the questions in the family assessment form lacked documented responses and assessments from the healthcare professionals. Only 17% of the participants had been assessed with the total family assessment form. Additionally, there was a lack of documentation about whether or not the children had been informed in a large proportion of the assessment forms (31%). A total of 55% say that the child has not been informed. This implies that there is still a long way to go in order to make sure that children of parents with a mental illness are given relevant information and support.ConclusionsThe documentation and family assessment frequency is low and reflects the challenges healthcare professionals and patient experience when the child’s situation becomes the topic of assessment. There is a need to further investigate the challenges of changing the mental health systems to incorporate the children and families of patients. More research should promote knowledge on what may facilitate family assessment dialogue.

show abstract

Needs, expectations and consequences for children growing up in a family where the parent has a mental illness

Cited by 33 publications

References 52 publications

The silent world of young next of kin in mental healthcare

The silent world of young next of kin in mental healthcare

Adult mental health clinicians’ perspectives of parents with a mental illness and their children: single and dual focus approaches

Family assessment conversations as a tool to support families affected by parental mental illness: a retrospective review of electronic patient journals

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About