Help‐seeking behavior in families of schizophrenics

Abstract

To meet the exigencies of coping with the onset of schizophrenia in the family, caregivers sought out an array of professional and nonprofessional supports. The respondents to a questionnaire, all members of a self-help group, reported considerable merit to the help of friends, relatives, and group members. In contrast, the various forms of therapy were valued little; nearly half found no value at all. These findings are better understood when needs of families are expressed. Of highest priority are understanding of the illness, practical guidance in patient management, and community resources such as housing. These are not typical functions of therapy. Self-help groups may serve these needs better.

Benefits and Changes for Family to Family Graduates

“…Family Members and Self-help Some therefore turn to creating and using self-help modalities (Hatfield 1979;Solomon et al 1998). Learning from the mental health consumer movement and self-help efforts more broadly, family-member support groups, phone advice and referral lines, printed materials, and family-focused educational programs have proliferated in recent decades through organizations like NAMI, Depression and Related Affective Disorders (DRADA), and the National Mental Health Association (recently renamed Mental Health America) as well as smaller local efforts.…”

Measuring Family Caregiver Perceptions of Support in Caring for Children and Youth With Mental Health Concerns

“…PEP addresses family caregiver wants and needs that can be met by both formal and informal sources of support (Goldberg-Arnold et al, 1999). PEP acknowledges the significant burdens associated with providing care to family members suffering from a mental disorder (Chang, Chious, & Chen, 2010;Lefley, 1989Lefley, , 1997Solomon & Draine, 1995;Tessler & Gamache, 1994), coupled with an appreciation that family members' spoken needs for information, coping skills, and support (Hatfield, 1979) often go unaddressed (Hatfield, 1983;Hatfield, Fierstein, & Johnson, 1982;Magliano, Fiorillo, Malangone, & De Rosa, 2006). Beyond underscoring the need to focus attention on family member input into the treatment process, this body of work underscored the requirement of attending to perceptions of support from a variety of sources, including formal helping professionals and informal support networks.…”

Providing services to families of persons with schizophrenia: present and future

“…[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Greater dissatisfaction has been related to less information and support available to families from mental health professionals, 30 greater client symptomatology, 31,32 female caretakers and less family involvement with the system. 23 However, in the study by Grella and Grusky, 23 service system characteristics were the most important predictor of satisfaction.…”