Family Support Groups for Family Members of Mentally Ill Offenders: Therapeutic Factors

Abstract

This study investigates therapeutic factors of a Family Support Group (FSG) intervention for family members of mentally ill offenders. Seventeen family members completed the 'Group Therapeutic Factors-Client Questionnaire' (GTF-CQ-28) during four sessions of two FSGs. Results indicate that family members experienced the following therapeutic factors over the course of treatment: the relational climate, interactional confirmation, expressing and experiencing mutual positive feelings, forgetting own problems, hope from seeing progress in others, guidance from therapists, and getting interpersonal feedback treatment. The therapeutic factors, including learning by observation, support from the group, and universality of problems, correlated with a decrease in selfblame, improved emotional well-being, and experiencing less loss of control over one's life, respectively. Further, family members were satisfied with what the FSG has provided for them personally and for the relation with their relative. Finally, clinical implications of the FSG are discussed. The study sheds light on valuable therapeutic factors within an FSG and the important role of therapists. Key Points1 Family members who have a relative that is a mentally ill offender are often doubly stigmatised because of the latter's psychiatric problems and the criminal offences committed, which cause manyburdens that need to be addressed by others (friends, family members, or professionals). 2 Family Support Groups (FSGs) are based on Multi-Family Group therapy to support and empower family members of mentally ill offenders. 3 It is important for practitioners to know and focus on helpful therapeutic factors underlying an FSG including group support, similarity with others, and therapeutic guidance to empower and support family members in dealing with their situation. 4 Within forensic psychiatry there is a dearth of family interventions to support family members of mentally ill offenders, especially those that focus on family members, and this is also not yet addressed in research. 5 Focusing on treatment improvement is valuable in looking at the impact the FSG has on family members' coping strategies and burdens; FSG is a valuable therapy for family members to relieve burdens and to reduce feelings of self-blame.

A Family Support Group for Family Members of Offenders with a Mental Illness – Part 2: Treatment Protocol

“…The present paper adds to previous research papers (Rowaert et al., , ) by describing in detail the treatment protocol of the FSG. First, therapeutic concepts that underpin the FSG are outlined.…”

“…It can be concluded that family members of OMIs may benefit from an FSG focusing on the impact of the mental illness and the judicial order on the family life. This contributes to stimulating their self‐care and emphasising their strengths and resources, especially when they experience learning by observation, modelling, support from the group, similarities with others, and universality of problems (Rowaert et al., ).…”

“…After the FSG, family members reported less self‐blame and less burden (e.g., a decrease in loss of control over their lives and improved emotional well‐being) (Rowaert et al., ). Therapeutic factors such as learning by observation, modelling, support from the group, experiencing similarities with others, and universality of problems were associated with these positive outcomes (Rowaert et al., ).…”

“…The results of a preliminary study showed that relatives of OMIs experienced less burden (e.g., self‐blame and loss of control over their lives) and improved well‐being after participating in the FSG (Rowaert, Vandevelde, Audenaert, & Lemmens, ). Several therapeutic factors such as group cohesion, cohesive working group, acceptance, support from the group, confidence in therapists, experiencing similarity with others, and universality of problems were experienced as helpful from the start by the family members (Rowaert, Vandevelde, Audenaert, & Lemmens, ). However, only learning by observation, modelling, support from the group, experiencing similarities with others, and universality of problems were reported as therapeutic factors associated with a positive outcome (Rowaert et al., ).…”

Family Support Groups for Family Members of Mentally Ill Offenders: Family Expectations and Experiences

“…A process-pilot study investigating the outcomes of FSG's has shown that families experience less self-blame as they could learn from and observe others, have greater emotional well-being because they received support from the group, and experience less loss of control over their lives by feeling similar to others and seeing the universality of the problems (Rowaert, Vandevelde, Audenaert, & Lemmens, submitted after revision;Rowaert, Vandevelde, Audenaert & Lemmens, 2018). Furthermore, therapeutic factors regarding relational climate (e.g., group cohesion, support from group, confidence in therapists) were considered to be particularly helpful from the start of the sessions; whereas therapeutic factors such as expressing and experiencing positive feelings, forgetting one's own problems through helping others, hope from seeing progress in others, guidance from therapists, and getting interpersonal feedback gradually increased over the various sessions (Rowaert et al, 2018).…”