Mental health articles

It is extremely likely that mothers living with mental illnesses and their families will deal with a cast of characters in the community, and will benefit from advocacy role modeling and support. Most mothers have relationships with healthcare providers (e.g., pediatricians, dentists), day care or school personnel (e.g., babysitters, teachers, the school nurse, the school psychologist), friends, neighbors, and the parents of other children on the playground. Those with several children
potentially have relationships with even more people. In addition, mothers may have relationships with their own health or behavioral health care providers, a care manager, an employer, and assorted friends and family members.
Mothers may benefit from support in navigating helping relationships,
coordinating services for themselves and their children, and advocating effectively for their families. Providers can help in various ways through active participation or reflective involvement. They may attend meetings, role modeling effective advocacy skills for mothers in the school system or special education context, for example. As one mother described, “I have team meetings for one of the kids and I know I don’t have to go alone. Sitting around the table with four or five administrators can be intimidating. . .he [Family Coach] helped a lot with that.”
A provider may provide guidance in understanding complex, oftentimes confusing systems issues and service eligibility criteria. Another mother explained, “He [The Family Coach]. . .helps me read it through and make sure the IEP [special education plan] has what it needs before I sign it. So that’s really helpful. . .he breaks it down and it’s much easier to understand. . .” A provider can be a good sounding board, providing opportunity for reflection and feedback in dealing with challenging
situations. “I just have problems when it comes to getting letters for my landlord and getting services, so [the Family Coach is] just a support for trying to be organized and get advocacy and prioritize things.”
Mothers may find relationships challenging because of their particular configuration of mental health issues or histories of bad experiences in previous relationships. They may benefit from help in building and maintaining relationships with extended family members and key community stakeholders. Mothers may benefit from a provider’s assistance in navigating issues of disclosure of mental
illness to other professionals and peers. The decision to disclose a mother’s illness to a schoolteacher, for example, when a child is having behavioral difficulties in the classroom, may have positive and/or negative consequences. The teacher might be more understanding of the child’s issues and go “the extra mile” to provide support; or the teacher may be blaming of the parent, contributing to negative feelings and undermining the potential for a working relationship with the parent and child.
Providers may be in a position to help mothers negotiate the positive, supportive community relationships every family requires.

Tags: advocacy