Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Mental health
- Author:
- RYAN Peter
- Journal article citation:
- Research Matters, 15, April 2003, pp.37-42.
- Publisher:
- Community Care
Looks at three research studies which highlight the links between empowerment and the effects of stigma on services users and their families.
Being treated differently: stigma experiences with family, peers, and school staff among adolescents with mental health disorders
- Author:
- MOSES Tally
- Journal article citation:
- Social Science and Medicine, 70(7), April 2010, pp.985-993.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Perceived stigma relates to the subjective experiences of individuals suffering from mental disorders and their perceptions that society generally devalues and discriminates against people who have a mental illness and that others discriminate against or devalue them specifically. This study examined perceived stigmatisation on the part of adolescents diagnosed and treated for various mental disorders, focusing on analysis of responses to questions about being treated differently by family members, peers, and school staff. The article reviews what is known about stigma faced by young people and discusses analysis of narratives from mixed method interviews with 56 adolescents in a midwestern US city. The results showed variation in the perceived extent and nature of stigma and in factors perceived as promoting or protecting from stigmatisation, depending on the interpersonal domain. 62% of participants experienced stigmatisation in relationships with peers, often leading to friendship losses and transitions, 46% described experiencing stigmatisation by family members, often taking the form of unwarranted assumptions, distrust, avoidance, pity and gossip, 35% of participants reported stigma perpetrated by school staff, who expressed fear, dislike, avoidance, and underestimation of their abilities, and 22% reported different treatment by school staff which was interpreted as positive and supportive.
An emotive subject: insights from social, voluntary and healthcare professionals into the feelings of family carers for people with mental health problems
- Authors:
- GRAY Ben, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 17(2), March 2009, pp.125-132.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This paper explores the emotions of family carers from the perspectives of social, voluntary and healthcare professionals. Sixty-five participants in Wales were interviewed, the sample included directors, managers and senior staff from social, voluntary and healthcare organisations. Participants were encouraged to talk in detail about their understanding of the emotions of family carers. Findings highlight a rich understanding of the broad spectrum of carer emotions and the huge emotional adjustments that are often involved. Diagnosis was seen to be imbued with negative emotions, such as fear, anger and denial. However, feelings of hopelessness and desolation were often counterbalanced by feelings of hope, satisfaction and the emotional rewards of caring for a loved one. Participants noted a clear lack of emotional support for family carers, with accompanying feelings of marginalisation, particularly during transitions and especially involving young carers as well as ethnic minorities. By way of contrast, carer support groups were suggested by professionals to be a holistic, effective and economical way of meeting carers' emotional needs. This paper explores the challenge of family carer emotions from the perspective of managers and practitioners and draws out implications for research, policy and practice.
Factors associated with accessing professional help for psychological distress in midlife Australian women
- Authors:
- OUTRAM Sue, MURPHY Barbara, COCKBURN Jill
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Mental Health, 13(2), April 2004, pp.185-195.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- London
Given the high prevalence of mental health problems in midlife women it is important to understand the factors that motivate and inhibit seeking professional help. The aim was to identify factors associated with and barriers to seeking professional help for psychological distress amongst midlife Australian women. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered using semi-structured telephone interviews in NSW Australia. Seeking help from a GP was associated with poorer mental and physical health scores. But in contrast seeking help from a mental health professional was associated with being out of paid employment, being mostly able to talk about one's deepest problems, being dissatisfied with family relationships, and feeling understood by family/friends. The barriers to seek help for these women were thinking they should cope alone (64%); thinking the problem would get better by itself (43%); embarrassment (35%); believing no help available (34%); not knowing where to go for help (30%); and fear of what others might think (28%). Qualitative data also highlighted attitudinal barriers to help-seeking. Although level of need predicted GP contacts, attitudinal factors were more important in contacts with mental health services. These attitudinal barriers need to be addressed to enable midlife women to more easily seek and access mental health care when needed.
A friend in need
- Authors:
- WRIGHT Sarah, FAULKNER Alison, BIRD Lisa
- Journal article citation:
- Openmind, 109, May 2001, pp.14-15.
- Publisher:
- MIND
Explains how stigma and discrimination about mental health problems can intrude on relationships between users and those closest to them.
Parental mental health and families: think child, think parent and think family
- Author:
- SOCIAL CARE INSTITUTE FOR EXCELLENCE
- Publisher:
- Social Care Institute for Excellence
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Place of publication:
- London
This e-learning module explores the impact of parental mental illness on all family members. It also aims to develop your understanding of the ways social inequalities and discrimination can affect families where a parent has a mental health problem. Also looks at child development stages and some common diagnoses, interventions and treatments for mental illness. The modules main sections cover: Stigma, discrimination and inequalities; Parents and mental health; Parenting and mental health; and Understanding child development.
Understanding the carers' experience: examples from a Ghanaian context
- Authors:
- QUINN Neil, EVANS Tony
- Journal article citation:
- International Social Work, 53(1), January 2010, pp.62-72.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Informal carers play a key role in mental health care. This article draws on the work of Goffman to analyse the experiences of carers in Ghana. The findings illustrate the complex nature of caring and the need to develop social work practice that acknowledges the social context of carers’ reality.
The Wellfamily service
- Author:
- de PAEZTRON Rose
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Review, 10(2), June 2005, pp.19-22.
- Publisher:
- Pier Professional
Provides an insight into the Family Welfare Association's Wellfamily service, that is designed to support the problems of users and their families in a non-stigmatising way . The article includes a summarised evaluation of the service and case examples. It also highlights future development plans.
Shame, blame, and contamination: A review of the impact of mental illness stigma on family members
- Authors:
- CORRIGAN Patrick W., MILLER Frederick E.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Mental Health, 13(6), December 2004, pp.537-548.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- London
In his classic text, Goffman defined courtesy stigma as the negative impact that results from association with a person who is marked by a stigma. Family members of relatives with mental illness are frequently harmed by this kind of stigma. Using a social cognitive model of mental illness stigma, the authors review ways in which various family roles (e.g., parents, siblings, spouses) are impacted by family stigma. The authors distinguish between public stigma (the impact wrought by subsets of the general population that prejudge and discriminate against family members) and vicarious stigma (suffering the stigma experienced by relatives with mental illness). Results of our review suggest parents are blamed for causing their child's mental illness, siblings and spouses are blamed for not assuring that relatives with mental illness adhere to treatment plans, and children are fearful of being contaminated by the mental illness of their father or mother. The current body of literature suggests several important directions for future research including identification of stereotypes in addition to shame, blame, and contamination that harm family members; developing rigorous research methods that validate the link between stigmatizing attitudes and discriminatory behaviours; and testing programs that help to erase the various manifestations of family stigma.
Psychological factors in relatives of people with mental illness
- Authors:
- OSTMAN Margareta, KJELLIN Lars
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 181(12), December 2002, pp.494-498.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Stigma affects not only people with mental illnesses, but their families as well. Understanding how stigma affects family members in terms of both their psychological response to the ill person and their contacts with psychiatric services will improve interactions with the family. In a Swedish multi-centre study, 162 relatives of patients in acute psychiatric wards following both voluntary and compulsory admissions were interviewed concerning psychological factors related to stigma. A majority of relatives experienced psychological factors of stigma by association. Eighteen per cent of the relatives had at times thought that the patient would be better off dead, and 10% had experienced suicidal thoughts. Stigma by association was greater in relatives experiencing mental health problems of their own, and was unaffected by patient background characteristics.