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Implementation and evaluation of family-based interventions within the Germany-wide Children of Mentally Ill

Theresa Paumen1, Anna Leidger1, Joana Ralfs1

  • 1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.

Frontiers in Psychiatry
|April 6, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Children of mentally ill parents are at higher risk for mental illness. New tailored interventions through the Children-of-Mentally-Ill-Parents-Network (CHIMPS-NET) aim to reduce this risk and improve family mental health outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Psychiatry
  • Child Psychology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Children of parents with mental illness face elevated risks for developing psychiatric disorders.
  • Transgenerational mental illness transmission necessitates targeted psychotherapeutic interventions for at-risk families.
  • The complex psychosocial needs of these families require customized support strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of three new family-based, needs-tailored forms of care (NFC) for children of mentally ill parents.
  • To assess the impact of these interventions on children's mental health problems compared to Treatment-as-Usual (TAU).
  • To conduct comprehensive health economic and qualitative evaluations alongside biometric assessments.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective, rater-blinded, cluster-randomized controlled studies at 21 German sites.
  • Data collection from parents, children (≥8 years), external raters, and therapists at four time points (baseline, 6, 12, 18 months).
  • Randomization based on baseline assessments of children's mental health and family functioning.

Main Results:

  • Hypothesized reduction in parent-reported mental health problems for children in intervention groups at 12 months post-randomization.
  • Biometric, health economic, and qualitative data to supplement effect evaluation.
  • The Children-of-Mentally-Ill-Parents-Network (CHIMPS-NET) facilitates networking and raises awareness.

Conclusions:

  • The CHIMPS-NET initiative provides evidence-based, customized care for children of mentally ill parents.
  • Ongoing updates to the CHIMPS manual support the implementation of tailored interventions.
  • These new forms of care are crucial for mitigating the risk of transgenerational mental illness transmission.
Abstract

Keywords:
family therapynew forms of carepsychodynamic work with familiespsychosocial preventionpsychotherapy researchtransgenerational mental illness

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