GUILT
Families often feel guilty and frustrated when a family member is ill and
are concerned that the illness may be the result of something they said or
did. Parents may feel that they passed on a defective gene to their child.
Although there is general consensus that serious mental illness has a
chemical or hereditary component, the truth is that not all individuals
exposed to the same circumstances become ill. While identical twins
have the same genetic makeup, there is only a one in four chance that
both twins will become ill. Genetic inheritance is not the only cause of
mental illness. Mental illness significantly alters a family’s relationship
with each other and with the ill relative. It is important to remember that
the best families can do is to be supportive and encourage their relative
to remain in treatment.
TREATMENT
The very best way to keep your ill relative well is to see that he/she
receives proper care and treatment. If on medication, it should be taken
faithfully as prescribed. Your relative should visit his or her therapist or
doctor as often as necessary and participate in activities during the day.
It may be beneficial for individuals with mental illnesses to have a case
manager who will advocate for them and help them with housing,
finances, recreation and other supports.
Families should make themselves available to doctors, case managers
and therapists. Ask to be included in the development of treatment or discharge
plans. Families may become involved in family therapy or they
may join a support group. Here in Rochester, we have a local chapter of
the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
STIGMA
Deciding whom to tell about a mental illness is a very sensitive and personal
issue. Many ill people will not admit to being ill, therefore
reinforcing the stigma attached to mental illness. Throughout our lives,
one in five people is affected with mental illness in one form or another.
It is truly unfortunate that people find it difficult to discuss mental illness
the same way that they do other illnesses.
Hopefully, the efforts of NAMI, its affiliates, the Mental Health
Associations and other concerned groups to educate the public through
television, literature and the media will help reduce the stigma.
MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
More and more, mental health professionals are recognizing the value of
communicating with the family during the course of therapy. Of course,
mental health professionals are bound by confidentiality laws regulating
disclosure of information about specific therapy sessions. Families are
encouraged, however, to keep the lines of communication open and to
ask about the general progress of therapy and the prognosis for the ill
relative. Families can also offer therapists a unique perspective in the
illness because of their close and ongoing relationship to the consumers.
Consumers may sign a release form at any time during therapy, which
will allow the therapist more freedom to discuss the therapy process with
family members. Particularly when therapy is on an outpatient basis and
treatment teams cannot observe the client on a daily basis, information
provided by the family can significantly aid the progress of therapy.
Most professionals welcome the opportunity to have input from the
family.
WHERE TO LIVE
Once the relative is recovered, the question of an appropriate residential
setting may be raised. The answer depends on the needs of the relative as
well as the needs of the family. Many consumers and families agree that
living away from home is best. The consumer can live at a comfortable
pace and the family can resume their own way of life.
Options include licensed community residences, single-room occupancy
programs, supported and supportive housing and apartments. In making
the decision, both the family and consumers needs should be respected.
CONCLUSION
Family members and consumers share many of the same goals for access
to treatment, for appropriate residential settings, and for a reduction in
the guilt and stigma often associated with mental illness. Working
together with mental health professionals, families and consumers can
advocate for more research dollars, improved access to treatment, and
appropriate, available living arrangements. As each of these goals is
accomplished, individuals with mental illness will truly represent a
meaningful, important and productive segment of our population.