Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Exploring The Concept Of “Young Carer” In Families Living With Parental Mental Illness, Antonia Seligowski, Peter Mcnamee, Karen Albert, Valerie Williams, Joanne Nicholson

Joanne Nicholson

Background Information: The concept of “young carers” has been framed in the literature as children providing care and assuming household responsibilities when parents have physical and/or mental disabilities (Aldridge & Becker, 2003). In the United Kingdom, young carers have been studied extensively, leading to increased access to services and supports (Dearden & Becker, 2004). Our goal is to explore the concept of young carers in the U.S.

Aims: 1) To describe the care giving and household responsibilities of children and youth living with parents with mental illnesses, how often they are performed, and the feelings of children and youth about …

Family Options For Parents With Mental Illnesses: A Developmental, Mixed Methods Pilot Study, Joanne Nicholson, Karen Albert, Bernice Gershenson, Valerie Williams, Kathleen Biebel

Joanne Nicholson

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to provide a description of Family Options, a rehabilitation intervention for parents with serious mental illnesses and their children focusing on recovery and resilience, and to report the findings from a pilot study at 6-months post-enrollment for participating mothers. METHODS: A developmental design, and mixed quantitative and qualitative methods facilitate an in-depth understanding of Family Options and its impact on parents early in the implementation process. RESULTS: Participating families faced significant challenges, including long-term mental health conditions in adults, and emotional and behavioral difficulties in children. Data from mothers (n = 22) demonstrate …