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Featured Resource

Keeping Families and Children in Mind from Children of Parents with Mental Illness, a national initiative in Australia, is a terrific work force development resource available online. Many people contributed to the development of the resource, including parents, children, family members, providers, and other experts.

Presentations and Media

• Family Options: An Innovative Program for Parents Living with Mental Illness.

  A brief (13 minute) presentation that provides the rationale behind the Family Options intervention, and a description of the program. The Discussion Guide is useful in training situations. (Video and downloadable PDF of discussion guide)

Web Sites and Resources

The web sites and resources with links provided below have been reviewed by us and provide helpful information to parents and family members, and the providers and policy makers working with them.

• Keeping Families and Children in Mind

  Keeping Families and Children in Mind from Children of Parents with Mental Illness, a national initiative in Australia, is a terrific work force development resource available online. Many people contributed to the development of the resource, including parents, children, family members, providers, and other experts.

• Children of Parents with Mental Illness (COPMI)

  Provides extensive information, materials, and resources for family members where a parent has a mental illness and for people who care for and work with them. (www.copmi.net.au)

• Mental Health America

  Provides brochures, self-help, and advocacy materials and referrals for state-specific resources as well as fact sheets with tips for strengthening families. (www.nmha.org)

• Families for Depression Awareness

  Focus on helping families learn about depression, reduce associated stigma, and prevent suicides. (www.familyaware.org)

• BringChange2Mind

  Combats the stigma associated with mental illness, and provides people with mental illness and those who know them quick and easy access to information and support. (www.bringchange2mind.org)

• Children of Mentally Ill Consumers (COMIC)

  Based in Australia, COMIC perceives that mental health services have failed in the past to acknowledge their unique needs and circumstances as children, or to assist their parents with mental illness and families. (www.howstat.com/comic/Home.asp)

• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

  Provides a one-page fact sheet addressing protective factors for children when a parent has a mental illness. (http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/children_of_parents_with_mental_illness)

• Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Association Ltd (AICAFMHA)

  Provides the AICAFMHA News in Brief e-letter for subscribers from mental health, welfare, education, youth and family services. Subscribe via the web site at http://www.aicafmha.net.au/jsp/enews/index.jsp.

• The UPENN Collaborative on Community Integration

  Provides access to resources on housing, employment, education, leisure/recreation, social roles, peer support, health status, citizenship, self-determination, and religion-spirituality. (http://www.upennrrtc.org)/)

• The U. S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

  Provides up-to-date information and resources on substance abuse and mental illness prevention and treatment. (http://www.samhsa.gov)

Books

• Sved Williams, A. & Cowling, V. (Eds.). (2008). Infants of parents with mental illness: Developmental, clinical, cultural and personal perspectives. Brisbane: Australian Academic Press.

  “…This book incorporates the lived experience of family members, including grandparents, siblings, mothers and fathers, with other chapters written by a multi-disciplinary group of Australian health professionals. In addressing clinical, developmental, cultural and personal perspectives, it overviews the field of infant mental health.” (http://www.australianacademicpress.com.au/)

• Cowling, V. (Ed.). (2004). Children of Parents with Mental Illness 2: Personal and Clinical Perspectives. Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research.

  Looks at the insights and experiences of children and adults who have lived or grown up with parents with a mental illness. Complementing these personal accounts are clinical chapters written by Australian practitioners with a rich and diverse range of experiences. (http://shop.acer.edu.au/acer-shop; email: sales@acer.edu.au)

• Cowling, V. (Ed.). (1999). Children of Parents with Mental Illness. Melbourne: Australian Council of Educational Research.

  “…A groundbreaking study into the frequently overlooked impact on children and families of parental mental illness. It balances theory with first-hand experiences from parents and adult children. Through case studies, it analyses a parent’s ability to still function in the role of caregiver, and the impact their illness can have on their children.” (http://shop.acer.edu.au/acer-shop; email: sales@acer.edu.au)

Recent Publications by us and others

• Nicholson, J., Albert, K., Gershenson, B., Williams, V., & Biebel, K. (2009). A developmental, mixed methods pilot study of family options for parents with mental illnesses. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 33, 106-114.

  Family Options, a psychiatric rehabilitation wraparound intervention for parents with serious mental illness and their children, focuses on recovery and resilience. Data from mothers provide evidence of significant improvements in well-being, functioning, and supports and resources after six months of participation in Family Options. This study lays the groundwork for further testing and replication of the intervention.

• Hinden, B., Wolf, T., Biebel, K., & Nicholson, J. (2009). Supporting clubhouse members in their role as parents: Necessary conditions for policy and practice initiatives. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 33, 98-105.

  It is likely that substantial numbers of clubhouse members are parents with mental illnesses. Supporting them is consistent with the clubhouse emphasis on rehabilitation and recovery. To support parents in the clubhouse it is important to: (1) secure stakeholder buy-in; (2) identify shared values and principles; (3) clarify ways in which supporting clubhouse members as parents affects current activities; (4) facilitate conversations about changes; and (5) explore ways to maximize support to all clubhouse members.

• Nicholson, J. & Deveney, W. (2009). Why not support(ed) parenting? Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 33, 79-82.

  Over the past 30 years, groundbreaking efforts have contributed to the evidence for effective psychiatric rehabilitation services. However, work on behalf of parents with psychiatric disabilities has lagged behind. Research and knowledge exchange must be encouraged to build the intervention evidence base. Policies and programs must be informed by research. Stakeholders must advocate on behalf of parents with psychiatric disabilities and their families. Training and work forces issues must be addressed by national professional organizations.

• Nicholson, J. (2009). Building the evidence base for families living with parental mental illness. Australia e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, 8 (3).

  Given the lack of evidence-based practices for families living with parental mental illness, community providers, service consumers and family members, themselves, are often faced with adapting existing best practices, or cobbling together good enough solutions. Researchers and evaluators must build innovative research frames around practices or solutions generated in the community, as well as disseminate their findings as expeditiously and creatively as possible. Providers, consumers, and family members should be engaged as partners in generating evidence regarding the work they do, as well as infusing research findings into their ongoing activities. (download PDF)