Walking alongside psychosis : Strategies of engagement while living with a person with a serious mental illness
(2020) SOAM21 20201School of Social Work
- Abstract
- Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are lifelong illnesses that include psychosis and difficulty maintaining stability. These illnesses are also characterized by limited abilities to self-assess and seek treatment when necessary. Informal caregivers of people living with a serious mental illness are often relatives or spouses. The objective of this study was to determine what strategies were used by informal caregivers. Informal caregivers often find themselves in a position of caring for a family member. In order to manage relationships, informal caregivers have developed inventive strategies and roles to cope with long-term care. The study was conducted by means of qualitative interviews with informal caregivers. Use of role-set theory... (More)
- Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are lifelong illnesses that include psychosis and difficulty maintaining stability. These illnesses are also characterized by limited abilities to self-assess and seek treatment when necessary. Informal caregivers of people living with a serious mental illness are often relatives or spouses. The objective of this study was to determine what strategies were used by informal caregivers. Informal caregivers often find themselves in a position of caring for a family member. In order to manage relationships, informal caregivers have developed inventive strategies and roles to cope with long-term care. The study was conducted by means of qualitative interviews with informal caregivers. Use of role-set theory and resilience theory was applied to the data for analysis. Results of this study determined that informal caregivers employ four strategies for maintaining a relationship with the family member; upholding traditional roles, recalibrating expectations, playing along, and separating the illness from the person. Results also concluded that informal caregivers take on three roles in relation to mental healthcare systems. These roles are referred to as becoming the expert, the identity guardian, and the role of ally. Lastly, this study has determined that these informal caregivers exhibit signs of a progression towards resilience whereas caregivers of other forms of long-term illnesses usually experience greater feelings of burnout. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9014033
- author
- Coffeen, Allison LU
- supervisor
-
- Tove Harnett LU
- organization
- course
- SOAM21 20201
- year
- 2020
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- caregiver, mental illness, resilience, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder
- language
- English
- id
- 9014033
- date added to LUP
- 2020-06-08 13:50:57
- date last changed
- 2020-06-08 13:50:57
@misc{9014033,
abstract = {{Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are lifelong illnesses that include psychosis and difficulty maintaining stability. These illnesses are also characterized by limited abilities to self-assess and seek treatment when necessary. Informal caregivers of people living with a serious mental illness are often relatives or spouses. The objective of this study was to determine what strategies were used by informal caregivers. Informal caregivers often find themselves in a position of caring for a family member. In order to manage relationships, informal caregivers have developed inventive strategies and roles to cope with long-term care. The study was conducted by means of qualitative interviews with informal caregivers. Use of role-set theory and resilience theory was applied to the data for analysis. Results of this study determined that informal caregivers employ four strategies for maintaining a relationship with the family member; upholding traditional roles, recalibrating expectations, playing along, and separating the illness from the person. Results also concluded that informal caregivers take on three roles in relation to mental healthcare systems. These roles are referred to as becoming the expert, the identity guardian, and the role of ally. Lastly, this study has determined that these informal caregivers exhibit signs of a progression towards resilience whereas caregivers of other forms of long-term illnesses usually experience greater feelings of burnout.}},
author = {{Coffeen, Allison}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Walking alongside psychosis : Strategies of engagement while living with a person with a serious mental illness}},
year = {{2020}},
}