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Caretakers and Mental Illness: A Case Study of an Adult Education Program

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Caretakers and Mental Illness: A Case Study of an Adult Education Program

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care·giv·er

a family member or paid helper who regularly looks after a child or a sick, elderly, or disabled person

J. Dalzell: Dissertation qualifying paper 02 05 2105

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As anyone who lives with someone suffering from a severe and chronic mental illness knows, the backbone of the long-term care is placed on the shoulders of family Caretakers (Elliott, 2011)

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As anyone who lives with someone suffering from a severe and chronic mental illness knows, the backbone of the long-term care is placed on the shoulders of family Caretakers (Elliott, 2011)

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Early intervention offers substantial benefits for Caretakers and their mentally ill relative. For instance, people living with psychosis reduce their frequency and duration of hospital stays and emergency room visits are reduced by 75 percent when their mental conditions are addressed early, and 54% of those treated early  are employed or in school at the time of their second assessment (Groves, n.d. para. 6). 

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Early intervention offers substantial benefits for Caretakers and their mentally ill relative. For instance, people living with psychosis reduce their frequency and duration of hospital stays and emergency room visits are reduced by 75 percent when their mental conditions are addressed early, and 54% of those treated early  are employed or in school at the time of their second assessment (Groves, n.d. para. 6). 

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The purpose of the proposed research investigation is to improve our understanding of the psychological and educational needs of caretakers, who live with the sudden onset of a family member's sudden onset of psychosis and who suffers from severe and persistent mental illness.

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Myths about psychosis: what it is, and what it is not.

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1. Shared Trauma
2. Distance Education
3. Relationships

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Mixed Methods:
1. Quantitative: Pre-mid- and post-treatment measurement scales
2. Qualitative: Post treatment focus group

Assessment Factors:
1. Shared trauma experience
2. Distance education content and method
3. Relationship strength and weaknesses (professional and personal)

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N = 10
1. One caretaker per family
2. Allow attrition rate of 3 subjects
3. Subjects with family member x 1 hospitalization w/ psychosis

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Caretaker’s also suffer from the shared trauma associated with the  sudden exposure to caring for a suddenly mentally ill relative sharing the same environment and exposure to a severely negative stimulus (Avieli, Ben-David, & Levy, 2016; Phelps, Lloyd, Creamer, & Forbes, 2009)

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1. Family members are doing the best that they can under extraordinary circumstances (Milstein, Guarnaccia, & Midlarsky, 1995, p. 159)
2. program participants will most likely be the primary caretaker and a female, for instance a mother or elder sister. (Milsetin, Guarnaccia, & Midlarsky, 1995)
3. Family participant will offer a detailed family reaction to the illness, identify precipitating factors and reactions
4. Families are assumed having a willingness to address these issues in a way that uses their strengths as a family and as person
5. Participants will have variety of cognitive and affective needs that must be addressed independently of this group
6. Participants will be willing to participate in the structured sessions involving socialization, learning go-rounds and help other client with problem solving suggestions and support
7. Participants have access to technology and time to meet for biweekly sessions in a 1.5-hour session
8. Finally, there is an assumption that the clients will need some education on the group method, benefits and learning associated with the online group participation process

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As a result of the formally predictable biological, social, cognitive and emotional functions from the mentally unstable family member, caretakers experience a profound sense of shared trauma, and have an emergent need for educational information on a variety of topics from aggression management to psychopharmaceuticals.

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Many caretakers can not find time to leave their work, family and patient responsibilities to travel and learn. Distance learning environments allow learners to develop skills in  problem solving, interpersonal skills, critical analysis and creativity aid in linking classroom or therapy sessions with real life situations improve the likelihood of a transfer of knowledge from classroom to the learner’s world-at-large (Rezaee, 2015).

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The leader’s role will involve organizing and facilitating meeting topics and encouraging community-building relationships between family members as well as group participants. Particular emphasis will be on imparting current research and resources