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Interviews with psychiatric inpatients about professional intervention with regard to their children
1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hilleroed Hospital, Denmark.
Insights
Many parents with mental illness need more support for their children, yet often don't receive it or know where to find help. Child psychiatrists identified significant concerns for most children of mentally ill parents.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychiatry
- Mental Health Services Research
Background:
- Parental mental illness significantly impacts child welfare.
- Effective intervention requires understanding parental perspectives.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore mentally ill parents' views on professional interventions for their children.
- To enhance cooperation between patients and professionals regarding child welfare.
Main Methods:
- Interview survey with 50 psychiatric inpatients (children aged 0-10).
- Data collected by child psychiatrists.
- Previous data on family situations and children published separately.
Main Results:
- 25% of parents had children placed in care.
- 40% received no professional help for their children.
- 33% expressed unmet support needs.
- Many parents were unaware of or uncomfortable seeking child-related help.
- Child psychiatrists noted concerns for ~80% of children, often aligning with parental views.
Conclusions:
- Significant gaps exist in support for children of mentally ill parents.
- Improved communication and accessible services are crucial for effective intervention.
- Intervention planning must consider parental experiences and perceived needs.
Abstract:
A description of mentally ill parents' experience and points of view concerning professional intervention in relation to their young children is presented in this paper. The results are from an interview survey designed with the purpose of improving the basis for cooperation between mentally ill patients and professionals, when intervention in relation to these patients' children is needed. Fifty consecutively admitted psychiatric inpatients with children 0-10 years old were interviewed by child psychiatrists and their information constitutes the study material. Data concerning the family situations and children have been published previously. One quarter of the patients had experienced having children placed in institutions or with foster families. Forty per cent had never received professional help related to their children. One third of the patients expressed a need for support, which was not presently received. A large group of patients did not know where to go for help related to children or would not be comfortable doing so. When making a global assessment of the childrens' situation based on the study material the child psychiatrists found reason for concern in regard to approximately 80% of the children. In most cases their views were in accordance with those of the mentally ill parents. Clinical implications concerning planning of intervention in regard to children of mentally ill parents are discussed.