A first person account of the family recovery with a daughter with schizophrenia

People with mental illness are not ill in isolation and having a family member with mental illness has a profound effect on the whole family (MHC, 2000). On the other hand, families can have a major role in the recovery of people with mental illness (MHC, 2000). Especially in community-based care, the family has become a major source of support and care to the persons with mental disorders (Tausig et. al., 2004). In Hong Kong, 40% to 60% of people with mental illness may need to be cared by family caregivers, and most of them rely on their parents, especially mothers, for daily care (Yip, 2004). In a Chinese community in Hong Kong, it is still culturally imperative for family members to take primary responsibility for the provision of care for family members (Yong, 1996 in Wong, 2000). Like the individuals with mental illness, families may also go through a process of recovery (MCH, 2000; NHS Health Scotland et al., 2008; Pratt et al., 2007). Spaniol and Zipple (1994, in Pratt et al., 2007) identified 4 stages in a family’s recovery from serious and persistent mental illness. These 4 stages are 1: Discovery/Denial; 2: Recognition/Acceptance; 3: Coping/Competence; and 4: Personal/Political Advocacy.Through the first person accounts of a mother, a carer, of a daughter with schizophrenia, one of the authors of the present paper, Lily, illustrates the 20-year-long recovery journey of her family since the onset of schizophrenia of her daughter. Lily describes the recovery process of her daughter and her family from helpless victims of schizophrenia and its effects, to seeking and receiving external help, being self help, helping others and advocating help for people with mental health problems and families in public education and policy changes. As Lily describes she and her family have gone through the following stages of recovery in Chinese: 無助à受助à有助à自助à助人à倡導.The family recovery story of Lily shed light on mental health care. The Chinese values of family obligations and reciprocal expectations may lead carers to accept undue hardship in caring for a relative with mental illness. To enable the family to provide continuous care to their mentally ill members, family burden and needs cannot be ignored (Wong, 2000; Yip, 2004). The mental health practitioners need to gain in-depth understanding of the family – not only about its burdens and difficulties but also about strengths and resources in the families. Also, culturally competent mental health professionals need to take into consideration of the cultural influences on the conceptions of the cause of mental illness and the impacts on the family so as to provide culturally appropriate services to the users.