jckkeith
March 5th, 2010, 02:42 AM
At the session "Roles, Opportunities, and Obstacles for Psychologists--Developing and Implementing Evidence-Based Practices for Serious Emotional Disturbance," Shirly Glynn, PhD discussed a family-centered approach to treating serious mental illnesses, including chronic depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. She mainly focused on people in community mental health and VA settings, but the approach could probably work in just about any setting.
Basically, Glynn argues, by involving the patient's family in the process, better outcomes are achieved. Family members are kept up to date and also take part in sessions. This approach works, she said, because it involves the "community" -- in this case, the family -- in the recovery process. They can then serve as a support group and aren't left on the sidelines waiting for a loved one to improve, but take part in the recovery process themselves. In fact, in many of these cases, relapses are reduced by as much as half.
The question then is why aren't we doing this for every case of serious mental illness? We're not, said Glynn, because family interventions take a lot of time. Programs often take nine months to two years and are very demanding for everyone involved. It can be hard to get that kind of commitment from people whose schedules are already full.
Basically, Glynn argues, by involving the patient's family in the process, better outcomes are achieved. Family members are kept up to date and also take part in sessions. This approach works, she said, because it involves the "community" -- in this case, the family -- in the recovery process. They can then serve as a support group and aren't left on the sidelines waiting for a loved one to improve, but take part in the recovery process themselves. In fact, in many of these cases, relapses are reduced by as much as half.
The question then is why aren't we doing this for every case of serious mental illness? We're not, said Glynn, because family interventions take a lot of time. Programs often take nine months to two years and are very demanding for everyone involved. It can be hard to get that kind of commitment from people whose schedules are already full.