Families of Mentally Ill Need More Support

dublin | miscellaneous | news report Wednesday November 01, 2006 12:04 by Frebyrd Freeman - TicketyTock

People caring for family members who are mentally ill feel socially isolated and need more support, a new report states.

The Family Support study, published by the Health Research Board (HRB) examined the needs and experiences of people who care for a family member with enduring mental illness in Ireland.

The study, which examined 36 participants from Dublin city and county, found:

A general lack of information about mental illness and how best to support relatives during treatment.
A lack of understanding, practical advice or an appropriate response from mental health services especially in the initial stages of the illness.
Rehabilitation was not actively promoted by mental health services and integration back into the community was made difficult by public perceptions of mental illness.
According to Ms Yulia Kartalova-O’Doherty, researcher at the HRB, the focus on mental health services needs to move from hospital to community care.

“Participants felt that without support from the wider community rehabilitation would be more difficult for their relative,” she said.

Carers of people with mental illness also want to promote the fact that people who are mentally ill can get well and function in their community.