Parents’ Experience of Their Child's First Psychiatric Breakdown: “Welcome to Hell”

Abstract

Clinicians and researchers have emphasized the importance of helping the primary caregivers of persons going through the first outbreak of psychiatric illness in order to mitigate the negative consequences of the illness on the patient and the caregivers. The aim of the current qualitative, retrospective study is to examine the experiences, challenges, and difficulties faced by Israeli parents during the outbreak of psychiatric illness in their children. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 parents who participated in a psycho-educational group in a family mental health center. Several themes regarding parents' experience of the first outbreak of their children's psychiatric illness emerge from the content analysis of the interviews--the perception of sudden onset of the illness, feelings of being mired in distress, intense pain stemming from guilt and helplessness with concomitant anger, and isolation. The themes are then discussed in light of the concept of ambiguous loss and the existential approach. The findings indicate psycho-social services in the Israeli mental health system provide only a partial response to the needs of parents during this critical period.

Illness representations among parents of children and adults with serious mental disorders: A systematic review and theoretical model

“…Although one study showed that most of the participating parents endorsed biological or life events as causes [41], other studies showed that parents blamed themselves for causing their child’s disorder [40, 44] and perceived themselves as “bad parents” [45]. The onset of the illness was perceived as sudden and traumatic and as changing the cognitive schema of the child from a “normal child” to other representations [46]. A mental illness, in comparison to a physical illness, was shown to be perceived by the parent as more devastating, unexpected, chronic, stigmatizing, and leading to the loss of the patient’s organic personality [43].…”

Recuperar y conservar al familiar: estrategias de los familiares cuidadores para hacer frente a las crisis de salud mental

“…Estudios anteriores señalan que las crisis de salud mental no afectan a individuos aislados, se sufren en el interior de las familias y afectan a todos los que conviven con la persona enferma22, 23, 24. El presente trabajo revela que los cuidadores participan en las crisis, asumen el protagonismo de enfrentarlas priorizando mantener el vínculo afectivo y esto sin duda transforma la vida familiar.…”

Erfassung des familienmedizinischen Interventionsbedarfs durch eine direkte Befragung von Patienten mit einer psychischen Störung

“…Diesen Konflikt bewältigen sie meist alleine, da sie aufgrund von Scham und Schuldgefühlen mit Personen außerhalb der Familie wenig über eine psychische Erkrankung sprechen [11]. Betroffene Eltern empfinden nicht selten eine Macht-und Hilflosigkeit durch mangelnde Unterstützung der Gesundheitsbehörden, Schuldgefühle, Wut und Isolation, begleitet von einem tiefen Gefühl des Verlustes und Trauer [12] Ausschlusskriterien waren schwere somatisch-internistische und psychische Erkrankungen (z. B.organische Erkrankung des Gehirns) sowie das Nichtvorliegen der Einverständniserklärungen. Eine vorbestehende Medikation bei den Patienten stellte kein Ausschlusskriterium dar.…”