A family-focused, recovery approach when working with families when a parent has a history of mental health problems: from theory to practice

In this chapter the authors bring together concepts around family-focused practice and recovery and translate these into particular psychiatric/mental health nursing practices when supporting such families. It illustrates how such work can be approached differently to ‘traditional’ or ‘historical’ efforts—such as they were—and focuses on families where a parent, who cares for children, has mental health challenges. The chapter points out how the recovery journey for such parents is intimately related to the relationships and interactions within their family and community. Further, the chapter also posits how focusing on the parent-child relationship not only contributes to positive outcomes in children but may also facilitate a client’s recovery. Subsequent to this, the chapter presents and considers the principles of family-focused practice, and the authors advance their theoretical framework of family-focused recovery. The chapter then examines and discusses the particular needs and associated challenges for these families, in the context of family-focused P/MH nursing. The chapter concludes by arguing that at its essence, family recovery means valuing and celebrating the family life of our clients and simultaneously conveying a sense of hope that the lives of these families will be better. It is therefore incumbent on services to provide the necessary organisational and policy initiatives that embed parenting and children as a routine part of treatment.