The Family and Schizophrenia: Recovery and Adaptation (original) (raw)
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Family Therapy in Mental Health
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 2012
This issue is testament to the increasing relevance, effectiveness and application of family therapy in the mental health field. It includes articles on a family-sensitive intervention for the community treatment of adult mental illness (e.g. psychosis), an attachment-based family therapy approach to healing intergenerational trauma in the parent-child relationship, research into the effective component of multifamily groups for treating schizophrenia, a narrative approach to working with non-custodial parents that enriches our ideas and practices of motherhood, a narrative art group intervention to address indigenous mental health for parents and children in remote Aboriginal communities and how to do qualitative research in family therapy, for eating disorders, intellectual disability, the dialogical process of therapy and systemic consultation. Leading off is Cowling and Garrett's rousing call for a child-inclusive family approach in the community treatment of adults with mental health issues. The evidence-based treatment literature supports it, as does research demonstrating that parent(s) suffering from a mental illness have a significant impact on young persons in their care. And the numbers are compelling; in Australia alone one third of clients of mental health services are parents and over one million children live with one or two parents with a mental illness. For this reason recent government initiatives, like COPMI, encourage a child and family sensitive approach in adult psychiatric services. The authors present an integrative child-inclusive family intervention that is informed by systemic, attachment, narrative and strengths-based models. This utilises individual and family sessions to enhance the narrative voice of young persons and family members affected by parental mental illness and fosters the relationship between parents and children. Next, the paper by Jai Friend is an intimate and informative account of how to mitigate intergenerational trauma in the parent-child attachment relationship. Grounded in attachment theory and neurobiology research it presents an integrated family therapy intervention using three therapeutic modalities: Theraplay, Family Attachment Narrative Therapy, and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy. These three attachment based therapies are applied to a challenging case of developmental trauma affecting a mother and her nine-year-old boy living in a family context complicated by a father suffering from a psychotic illness. The paper illustrates how to incorporate attachment focused therapies in the theory and practice of family therapy. Continuing the theme of using family therapy to treat adult mental health issues, Frank Deane, Joanne Mercer, Anahita Talyarkhan, Gordon Lambert and Judy Pickard present an empirical study of multi-family group therapy (MFGT) for people with schizophrenia. A primary component of MFGT is the specific problem-solving skills taught in-session and their generalisation to the outside environment, by the
Family management training in the community care of schizophrenia
New Directions for Mental Health Services, 1981
Families and schizophrenic patients receiving the family intervention program cope more eflectively with adversip, change family attitudes and behavior, are less excitable, reduce critical attitudes toward the patient, and show significantly reduced risk for patient relapse.
Family therapy and schizophrenia: a brief theoretical overview and a framework for clinical practice
BJPsych Advances
SUMMARYFamily or systemic therapy is often contrasted with psychoeducational approaches, but their historical differences have become blurred with the increasing development of integrated family interventions for psychosis. This article describes the theoretical context for the development of integrated family interventions and provides a framework for practice. It presents a collaborative, resource-oriented integrated family intervention for working with families and wider support networks within seven phases: the sharing of information and provision of emotional and practical support; identification of patient, family and wider network resources; encouraging mutual understanding; identification and alteration of unhelpful patterns of interaction; improving stress management, communication and problem-solving skills; coping with symptoms and relapse prevention planning; ending and ensuring that each session is a mini-intervention. It also includes guidelines for family intervention...
Helping Families of Persons with Mental Illness: Role of Psychiatric Social Work
Indian Journal of Psychiatric Social Work, 2017
Families' ability to adapt positively to a new situation is important to maintain a healthy balance in any difficult situation. It plays a major role in cure and recovery from mental illness. Studies reported that families with severe mental illness often have poor adaptation and functioning. The gross dysfunction in family functioning may be the cause and outcome of mental illness. Families often lack knowledge about the illness and illness management skills. Proper guidance and support from mental health professionals play a significant role in the success of treatment and recovery. The present article will discuss about the strategies for developing better acceptance, providing proper professional support and harvesting resources in the living community to help the families with mentally ill by giving a key focus on the role of Mental Health Social Work.
This article weaves together my social work journey over 23 years with my involvement in research, projects, publications and policy development in Australia concerning children of parents with mental illness and their families, a group described not so long ago as 'invisible'. I acknowledge the part many people in Australia, and other countries, have played in achieving significant increases in knowledge and understanding, and in achieving commitment from governments to fund state and National initiatives in this country. 3