The Importance of Involving Family in Mental Health Treatment

Mental illness impacts families. As many as 30-60% of people living with serious mental illness (e.g. severe major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia) live with family members, however, as few as 10% of families receive resources or education.

Involving family in treatment has positive outcomes for the family and patient, including reduced hospitalizations, increased treatment adherence, and increased participation and satisfaction in treatment. 

Inviting family members into mental health treatment is also associated with increased hope, empowerment, and social functioning. These elements are central to recovery and can lead to increased self-efficacy in coping among family members.

Some effective treatments that involve family are:

Family Focused Therapy (Miklowitz and Goldstein 1997) and Behavioral Family Therapy (Mueser and Glynn 1999).

Both of these interventions focus on providing education about symptoms and the disorder, developing communication skills, and problem-solving around situations that may arise.

If you have a loved one struggling with mental illness or are struggling yourself, consider involving family to get the support you need.

Lauren Delaparte, PhD (she/her/hers)
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Bridges Psychology, LLC
drlaurendelaparte@bridgespsychology.com
(904)201-9565

McFarlane, W. (2016) Family Interventions for Schizophrenia and the Psychoses: A Review. Family Process. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12235

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Murray-Swank, A. B., & Dixon, L. (2004). Family psychoeducation as an evidence-based practice. CNS Spectrums, 9(12), 905-912

Pfammatter, M., Junghan, U., & Brenner, H. (2006) Efficacy of Psychological Therapy in Schizophrenia: Conclusions From Meta-analyses. Schizophrenia Bulletin. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbl030

Pilling, S, Bebbington, P, Kuipers, E, et al. Psychological treatments in schizophrenia: II. Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials of social skills training and cognitive remediation. Psychol Med 2002. ;32783–791.

Pitschel-Walz, G., Leucht, S., Bäuml, J., Kissling, W., & Engel, R. R. (2001). The effect of family interventions on relapse and rehospitalization in schizophrenia—A meta-analysis. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 27(1), 73–92.