Unmet Needs of Families of Adults With Mental Illness and Preferences Regarding Family Services

Abstract

The needs and preferences of family members of adults with mental illness are diverse and varied. Consequently, these families may benefit from ongoing provision of information and support tailored to meet the families' individual needs. Continued efforts should be made to understand and address consumer and family needs, potential barriers to participation in family services, and the relationship between stigma and family need.

Outcomes of a Randomized Study of a Peer-Taught Family-to-Family Education Program for Mental Illness

“…Family members play important roles in the lives of adults with serious mental illnesses (SMI) (1), and often seek information and support regarding treatments, relevant resources, coping, communication and problem solving skills (2)(3)(4)(5)(6). While virtually all reviews recommend including families in the care of persons with mental illness (7), reported rates rarely exceed 50% (8)(9)(10).…”

Worlds apart? A scoping review addressing different stakeholder perspectives on barriers to family involvement in the care for persons with severe mental illness

“…Eight studies included barriers that were addressed by persons with SMI [18–24]. Eleven studies reported barriers that were addressed from the family perspective [21, 22, 24–32]. Twenty-five studies reported on barriers experienced by professionals [14, 19, 21, 22, 24–26, 33–50].…”

“…Sixteen studies reported only the perspectives of professionals [33–36, 38–41, 44–50]. Five studies reported only the perspectives of family [27, 29–32] and two studies reported only on the perspectives of persons with SMI [18, 20]. …”

“…Language may hinder FI too, according to one study that included Latino-American persons with SMI [25]. Families also report stigma as barrier to FI [22, 24, 25, 32]. Professionals describe stigma as barrier as well, especially related to families with other cultural backgrounds [25, 33, 49].…”

Burden as the bridge to resiliency in mental illness: Effectiveness of the Strengthening Families Together family education intervention.

“…There is plenty of evidence to support the value of education for families of individuals living with mental illness (Bertrando, 2006;Drapalski, et al, 2008;Hatfield, 1990;Johnson, 2005;Jones, 2005;Marsh & Johnson, 1997;Moore, 2005;O'Connell, 2006;Sherman, 2003). BC's mental health reform best practices recognizes that "training in coping skills, communication, information and support reduces the level of crisis in families, as well as reducing the relapse rate of the patient" (Ministry of Health, 2000, p.…”