Creating positive parenting experiences: Family Options

The Impact of Organizational Factors and Government Policy on Psychiatric Nurses’ Family-Focused Practice With Parents Who Have Mental Illness, Their Dependent Children, and Families in Ireland

“…Many psychiatric nurses, especially those in community settings, described various organizational enablers that promoted FFP, including a holistic, family-focused philosophy framed by prevention and early intervention and collegial and managerial support. This finding is similar to that found by others, regarding the importance of a family-focused organizational culture (Korhonen et al, 2010; Lauritzen, 2014; Nicholson, Wolf, et al, 2015). In addition, the present study suggests how family-focused philosophy within these community settings made it easier for psychiatric nurses to address parenting on a routine basis; it conveyed to them and their colleagues that families were important and that parenting- and family-related issues needed to be factored into service users’ care.…”

“…As existing child skills training (i.e., skills training that focuses on child development and well-being) in Ireland has a dominant focus on child protection, future training might focus on the capacity of mental health professionals to work with children and families in a strengths-based, early intervention manner, aligned with Nicholson, Wolf, and colleagues’ (2015) recommendations regarding developing organizational capacity in the United States and Goodyear and colleagues’ (2015) recommendations in Australia. Nonetheless, applying child protection policy in this area can be problematic for nurses’ relationships with parents and the manner in which nurses work with parents and children (Doucet, Letourneau, & Blackmore, 2012; Khalifeh, Murgatroyd, Freeman, Johnson, & Killaspy, 2009).…”

“…Foster et al, 2016). The increasing focus on FFP for these families results from a growing awareness, in Europe, Australia, and North America, that parenting capacity is a potent and modifiable risk factor contributing to the development of emotional problems in children (Falkov, 2012; Lauritzen, 2014; Nicholson, Reupert, et al, 2015; Nicholson, Wolf, Wilder, & Biebel, 2015).…”

The ParentingWell Learning Collaborative Feasibility Study: Training Adult Mental Health Service Practitioners in a Family-Focused Practice Approach

“…The experiences of parents have been explored, their concerns and needs documented, and rehabilitation resources and interventions developed and pilot-tested (Biebel et al, 2014 ; Nicholson, 2009 ; Nicholson & Blanch, 1994 ; Nicholson & Henry, 2003 ; Nicholson et al, 2009 , 2014 , 2016 ). The needs of parents, however, remain frequently unidentified and unmet in clinical practice, contributing to poor outcomes for adults and their families.…”

“…Practice principles underlying the approach include the principles of family-focused, culturally-sensitive, strengths-based and trauma-informed practice. We anticipate proximal parent outcomes of ParentingWell practice, based on prior pilot studies, to include improved well-being and functioning; reduced stress; enhanced self-efficacy, hope and optimism; and an improved therapeutic alliance (Nicholson et al, 2009 , 2014 , 2016 ). Distal outcomes include an enhanced parent–child relationship and, ultimately, improved outcomes for children.…”