Search results for ‘Subject term:"parental mental health"’ Sort:
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The silent parent: developing knowledge about the experiences of parents with mental illness
- Author:
- BOURSNELL Melanie
- Journal article citation:
- Child Care in Practice, 13(3), July 2007, pp.251-260.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This paper explores the lived experiences of parents with mental illness in Australia. It draws on in-depth interviews with parents (n=10) who have mental illness and provides an analysis of national mental health policies. The analysis of the parents' narratives is essential in building a picture for those involved in the issues associated with directing and developing services to support parents with mental illness. This paper also provides information for workers who are often faced with a lack of good practice programmes to address the complexities that parents with mental health issues often present. Little is known in this field about the complex needs of families who live with mental illness or recognition of the complex needs of this vulnerable group of families. In fact, there is only recently emerging evidence to indicate an awareness of children in the lives of parents with mental illness. This paper focuses upon lived experience, social process, and social policy across the troubled terrain of mental illness.
Assessing the capacity of parents with mental illness: parents with mental illness and risk
- Author:
- BOURSNELL Melanie
- Journal article citation:
- International Social Work, 57(2), 2014, pp.92-108.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This article presents findings from an empirical study of 23 parents with mental illness in New South Wales, Australia. Discussion focuses on the prevailing risk discourse associated with parental mental illness which suggests a limited capacity to parent. Risk assessment practice creates expectations about parenting ability, often utilizing rigid, inflexible and predetermined categorical information. This approach limits social work practice. The discussion presents an insight into how parents manage mental illness and how they manage risk. The narratives of the parents encourage social workers to increase their skills in family-focused working practices to enhance engagement with these families. (Publisher abstract)