No abstract

Most attempts to study the impact of psychosocial interventions on parents of persons with severe mental illness (SMI) are quantitative. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the subjective experience of parents of persons with SMI who participated in either a psychoeducational intervention which emphasized providing information on the illness and support, or a therapeutic alliance focused intervention (TAFI) which emphasized the alliance between the group members and group leaders. Ninety-three parents, who participated in either one of these two interventions, were interviewed using the Narrative Evaluation of Intervention Interview. Results show that participants found both interventions to be beneficial with no statistical differences in the level of perceived change. Themes describing change in relating to illness were significantly more frequently mentioned by participants in the TAFI group, whereas significantly more participants in the family psychoeducation interventions reported that implementation and information provided contributed to positive change. Also participants in the TAFI reported significantly more often that group regulation contributed to change. As both interventions were perceived as contributing, the findings support the relationship orientation to psychosocial interventions, which stresses the quality of the social support and interpersonal interaction as the source of positive outcomes of intervention.

Research has revealed that approximately one third of persons with a serious mental illness (SMI) experience elevated internalized stigma, which is associated with a large number of negative outcomes. Family members of persons with SMI are also often subject to stigma, but the degree to which these experiences are internalized and lead to self-stigma has rarely been studied. The present study investigated the factor structure of a modification of the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) scale by Ritsher, Otilingam, and Grajales (Psychiatry Res 121:31-49, 2003). A central assumption of this investigation was that the factor structure of the Parents' Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness (PISMI) scale would be similar to the factor structure of the ISMI scale. A total of 194 parents of persons with SMI completed the PISMI scale. The results revealed that the PISMI scale has high internal consistency and that it is made up of three distinctive factors: discrimination experience, social withdrawal and alienation, and stereotype endorsement. These factors are similar, but not identical, to the factors that underlie the ISMI scale. This study's findings also indicate that parents' prominent reaction to self-stigma is stereotype endorsement.

This study examined the relationship between insight and mental health consumers and providers agreement regarding consumers rated quality of life (QoL). Seventy mental health consumers and their 23 care providers filled-out parallel questionnaires designed to measure consumer QoL. Consumers' insight was also assessed. For most QoL domains, agreement between consumers and providers was higher for persons with high insight. For the Psychological well being dimension a negative correlation was uncovered for persons with low insight indicating disagreement between consumer and provider. These findings are discussed within the context of the literature on insight and agreement between consumer and provider as related to the therapeutic alliance.

The current cross-sectional study investigated and compared the associations between insight, self-stigma, and family burden among Jewish and Arab mothers of an adult son or daughter with serious mental illness (SMI) in Israel. A total of 162 Israeli mothers of a person with SMI participated in the study; 95 were Jewish (58.6%), and 67 were Arab (41.4%). Insight, self-stigma, and family burden scales were administered. Jewish mothers reported higher levels of insight into their son's or daughter's illness and reported greater family burden compared to Arab mothers. No significant differences in self-stigma scores were found between Jewish and Arab mothers. The pattern of associations between insight, self-stigma, and burden differed between Jewish and Arab mothers. Self-stigma was found to mediate the relationship between insight and burden among Jewish mothers but not among Arab mothers. Ethno-national affiliation should be taken into consideration regarding how family members conceptualize and experience mental illness, as this might affect care.