Families and Mental Disorder
Chapter One
The Family of the Patient
with Schizophrenia
Christine Barrowclough
School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, UK
INTRODUCTION
Families play an essential role in supporting people with long-term mental
illness in the community and are focal in the social networks of people with
schizophrenia [1]. Over 60% of those with a first episode of a major mental
illness return to live with relatives [2], and this would seem to reduce only
by 10-20% when those with subsequent admissions are included [3]. The
carer role is often not without difficulties, and may be associated with
considerable personal costs. In schizophrenia, many family members
experience significant stress and subjective burden as a consequence of
their caregiver role. Not only is such stress likely to affect the well-being of
the relatives and compromise th ... read full excerpt from Families and Mental Disorder: From Burden to Empowerment ebook
