Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Engaging the family of the schizophrenic client
- Author:
- WALSH Joseph
- Journal article citation:
- Social Casework, 70(2), February 1989, pp.106-113.
- Publisher:
- Alliance for Children and Families
Describes the preliminary task of persuading the family to become involved in treatment.
Caregiver's burden, coping and psycho-education in Indian households with single- and multiple-affected members with schizophrenia
- Authors:
- CHAKRABORTY Satabdi, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 15(2), 2013, pp.288-298.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
There is considerable evidence that family psycho-education combined with pharmacological intervention for patients with schizophrenia increases family understanding of the illness, reduces familial burden of care and improves patient outcomes. However, no studies have determined whether the burden of care is greater for those families with more than one ill member (multiplex), than for families with a single-affected individual (simplex), and whether psycho-educational programmes should be adapted to meet the specific needs of multiplex families. The study was conducted at a tertiary care postgraduate teaching hospital in New Delhi, India. Caregivers in simplex (N = 50) and multiplex families (N = 30) were compared with regard to levels of burden, coping and the impact of psycho-education on family functioning. All the caregiver participants attended eight bimonthly psycho-educational intervention sessions. They were assessed on the Burden Assessment Schedule (BAS) and the Coping Check List (CCL) before and after psycho-education. Caregivers from the multiplex families reported significantly more burden on two domains of the BAS, but there were no significant differences between the groups with regard to coping on the CCL. Following psycho-education, significant improvement occurred in the majority of domains of the BAS and the CCL; the effect sizes varied by domain and family type. Multiplex families face a greater burden of care compared with simplex families. Currently available psycho-education programmes are moderately effective for such families. (Publisher abstract)
A positive aspect of caregiving: the influence of social support on caregiving gains for family members of relatives with schizophrenia
- Authors:
- CHEN Fang-pei, GREENBERG Jan S.
- Journal article citation:
- Community Mental Health Journal, 40(5), October 2004, pp.423-435.
- Publisher:
- Springer
This study examines family members'' caregiving gains as a result of caring for their relatives with schizophrenic spectrum disorders, and the influence of formal and informal social support on these positive experiences. The results from interviews with 560 family members support that the experience of caregiving gains is prevalent. Moreover, formal support from mental health professionals through information sharing and collaborative interactions with family members, and informal support from other family members, support group participation, and contributions from the relative with mental illness all have significant, positive associations with family members' experiences of caregiving gains.
Assessing the family functioning of inner-city African-American families living with schizophrenia with the McMaster Family Assessment Device
- Authors:
- GUADA Joseph, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work in Mental Health, 8(3), May 2010, pp.238-253.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
The mental health literature has historically focused on the deficits of families, especially for those families with a family member with schizophrenia. This study assessed the family functioning of a group of inner-city African-American families who have a family member living with schizophrenia. This study analyses potential clinical problems for these families using a commonly used family functioning device – the McMaster Family Assessment Device (MFAD), a measure used to assess a broad range of family functioning domains that can be used with confidence across ethnic communities. Participants included 94 African-American families, from South Central Los Angeles, which is an economically challenged area with high rates of crime and unemployment. The families were assessed at baseline before any intervention began. The assessment was a 53 item self-administered questionnaire, used on conjunction with interviews. Findings indicate that the families showed no clinical problems on five of the seven sub-scales, implying that families with a family member with schizophrenia are not deficit-ridden. The authors conclude that the study provides preliminary quantitative evidence that social work research and practice models should avoid a deficit-oriented model when assessing and intervening with similar families.
Do families cause 'schizophrenia'? Revisiting a taboo subject
- Author:
- JOHNSTONE Lucy
- Journal article citation:
- Changes an International Journal of Psychology and Psychotherapy, 17(2), Summer 1999, pp.77-90.
The issue of whether family dynamics plays a causal role in the development of the conduct that is labelled 'schizophrenia' has been one of the most controversial in the whole of psychiatry. This paper explores the inconsistencies in family management approaches to schizophrenia and proposes a return to more honest attempts to explain distress.
Children caring for parents with severe and enduring mental illness
- Author:
- CENTRE FOR CHILD AND FAMILY RESEARCH
- Publisher:
- Loughborough University. Centre for Child and Family Research
- Publication year:
- 2002
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Loughborough
Reports on the findings of a two year study by the Young Carers Research Group (in partnership with Rethink, formerly National Schizophrenia Fellowship) which looks at the experiences and needs of children who care for parents with mental illness, their caring and filial relationships and the nature of professional interventions in these families. Parents with mental illness, their children/young carers and families as a whole will be supported more effectively when the division between adult and children’s services is successfully addressed and reconciled. This involves addressing the current ‘patient led’ approach, particularly among statutory professionals from mental health services, that leads to adults with mental illness gaining access to a range of inputs from multi disciplinary teams but their children being excluded (through professional lack of awareness, poor practice, limited resources etc.) from statutory support and consultation.
An ethnographic study of the longitudinal course of substance abuse among people with severe mental illness
- Authors:
- ALVERSON Hoyt, ALVERSON Marianne, DRAKE Robert E
- Journal article citation:
- Community Mental Health Journal, 36(6), December 2000, pp.557-569.
- Publisher:
- Springer
This two-year ethnography conducted among 16 dually diagnosed clients in the US yielded two longitudinal findings. Four 'positive quality of life' factors were strongly correlated with client's efforts to stop using addictive substances: regular engagement with an enjoyable activity; decent, stable housing; a loving relationship with a person accepting of mental health problems; a positive relationship with a mental health professional. The study also revealed that five predictive 'negative background factors' were present in participants' childhood homes: substance misuse; extreme poverty; 'non-functional' household members; abuse by care-givers; severe mental illness in household. The implications of these findings for treatment are discussed.
Family functioning and mental illness: a comparison of psychiatric and nonclinical families
- Authors:
- FRIEDMANN Michael S., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Family Process, 36(4), December 1997, pp.357-367.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Examines adaptive functioning in the families of patients with a wide range of psychiatric disorders. Seven dimensions of family functioning, as measured by the Family Assessment Device (FAD), were compared across families of patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, anxiety disorder, eating disorder, substance abuse disorder, and adjustment disorder. Results indicated that having a family member with a psychiatric illness is a general stressor for families, and family interventions should be considered for most patients who require a psychiatric hospitalisation for either the onset of, or an acute exacerbation of, any psychiatric disorder.