Importance of family support in the journey of recovery

Importance of family support in the journey of recovery

Medication and therapy are the two aspects of mental health treatment that are generally considered essential in the recovery of the patient. Besides these two aspects of mental health treatment, familial support is another branch that is essential for the recovery of the patient. In this piece, I write about the role that family have in efficient recovery of a mental health patient and the importance of their support in the journey of a mental health patient to recovery.

Family has an important role to play in determining the status of mental health of the patient. It could lead to maladaptive scenarios where mental illness can be easily conceived. However, substantial evidence has been provided by research for how beneficial it is to involve families in the treatment mental health patients (WHO, 2001).  A change in the emotional atmosphere at home can affect the probability of relapse of the patient. The reduction in the mental illness of the person also depends on the attitude that the family has towards the disorder (Kumar, Tiwari, 2008). Thus, it is important to have the support and involvement in the process of recovery.

 Lack of family involvement and support is considered to be a barrier to effective treatment of the patient (Baker-Ericzén, Jenkins, Haine-Schlagel, 2012). One way in which the family can support the mental patient is by being actively involved in the therapy. This has been proved by a qualitative study by Attride-Stirling, Davis, Farrell, Groark and Day (2004) in which they compared the families of children who sought therapy; who completed the therapy, and who did not complete it. The ones that completed the therapy and were particular about attending the sessions seemed to receive positive outcomes for their child and family. They had fewer obstacles compared to the ones who did not complete the treatment and terminated before completion. Non completers faced more problems and obstacles compared to the ones who completed the therapy. Therefore, family support and involvement makes the task easier for not just the therapist but also for the family of the patient.

The importance of family support was also found in another study by Piat, M., Sabetti, J., Fleury, M. J., Boyer, R., & Lesage, A. (2011). The results of this study is important to focus on because the patients were admitted in residential structures away from family. The physical distance between the family and the patient played hardly any role in reducing the patients’ perceived support from their families. This was contrary to what the researchers expected. They anticipated that since the patient had been moved to the community housing due to the problems they had with their families and due to family burden or conflict they would rank their families lower than mental health professionals and the staffs at the community housing in terms of emotional support. Contrary to this, they viewed their families as the primary source of support in their journey to recovery. In addition to this, their family viewed them as capable, whole people with good qualities, and promising future. Thus, family support is shown to be important even when they are not in proximal distance.

Most family members withdraw from participating in the treatment process because of the fear of being blamed for their methods of upbringing of the patient. They do not settle to acknowledge the fact that there could have been faults in their lifestyle and upbringing and that a change can be brought through involvement in the treatment (Baker-Ericzén, Jenkins, Haine-Schlagel, 2012). These studies exhibit the importance and explain how crucial family support is in the journey of recovery. But, there has been less research conducted in the cases where patients have no source of family support to look up to; for example, the case of orphans. A study by Boyes, Gardner, Cluver and Orkin (2012) that looked into mental health of orphaned children who had been diagnosed with AIDS, showed a decline in their mental health over a span of 4 years. But, this could have been due to various other factors and not just due to the fact that they had no family support. Thus, this area needs more research so that more substantial claims about the importance of family support can be made. Research should also be carried out to understand how participation, adherence and attendance of family members can be improved during treatment.

References

Attride-Stirling J, Davis H, Farrell L, Groark C, Day C. Factors influencing parental engagement in a community child and adolescent mental health service: A qualitative comparison of completers and non-completers. Clinical child psychology and psychiatry. 2004;9(3):347.

Baker-Ericzén, M. J., Jenkins, M. M., & Haine-Schlagel, R. (2012). Therapist, Parent, and Youth Perspectives of Treatment Barriers to Family-Focused Community Outpatient Mental Health Services. Journal of child and family studies, 22(6), 854-868.

Cluver, L. D., Orkin, M., Gardner, F., & Boyes, M. E. (2012). Persisting mental health problems among AIDS‐orphaned children in South Africa. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53(4), 363-370.

Kumar, P., & Tiwari, S. C. (2008). Family and psychopathology: An overview series-1: Children and adults. Delhi Psychiatry Journal, 11(2), 140-149.

Piat, M., Sabetti, J., Fleury, M. J., Boyer, R., & Lesage, A. (2011). "Who believes most in me and in my recovery": the importance of families for persons with serious mental illness living in structured community housing. Journal of social work in disability & rehabilitation, 10(1), 49-65.