Meeting the Intergenerational Needs of Families Where a Parent Has a Mental Illness

Abstract

Parental mental illness can have significant psychological, social and economic impacts on families. Because of the potential impact of a parent’s mental illness on children, it can also have an “intergenerational” impact. For example, children may develop a heightened awareness of their parent’s symptoms, become burdened with caring responsibilities and may even develop their own mental health conditions though a mix of genetic and environmental influences. It is important for services to address the intergenerational impacts of parental mental illness. This issue brief is about one program in Australia that may be able to meet the intergenerational needs of families where a parent has a mental illness. A Spanish translation of this publication is available to download under "Additional Files".