Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc.
(Publication Archives)

Community Connections, Fall 2002

Families Facing Solutions - Mental Health Module® 1995
By Arlene Brett Gordon, Ph.D. LMFT

Parenting, a rigorous task for any adult, can be particularly challenging to parents diagnosed as having a mental illness. These parents each cope in unique ways with being a parent, having a psychiatric disability, and living with the fear of losing custody of their children. Their children also have specific needs, so support providers must consider all aspects of these children's lives that affect their emotional, social and physical development.

Families Facing Solutions (FFS), a systemic family education program, addresses such challenges by embracing the Solution-Focused Family Therapy perspective based on the work of Insoo Kim Berg and Steve deShazer. FFS is a strength-based program designed to support, educate and empower parents to raise their children in a healthy way.

In 1994, the staff of the Intensive Psychiatric Rehabilitative Treatment (IPRT) program in Duchess County worked with client-parents to identify their specific family needs. The program goal was to develop the critical skills that would support the parents' efforts. Through these efforts, the staff identified challenges unique to parents with a mental illness.

As the developer of Families Facing Solutions, I was invited to meet with IPRT staff and the client-parents to learn about the parents' familial concerns. We constructed a list that reflected these parents' unique parenting concerns and focused on their most challenging issues. The FFS Mental Health Module was then developed, reviewed, and revised by the team of staff and parents. Training on this model was introduced to the local community, and in 1995, the client-parents, IPRT staff and I were invited to present on our work at the New York State Conference on Psychiatric Rehabilitation.

The Families Facing Solutions Mental Health Module developed into a skills-oriented program designed for families with a parent who has a psychiatric disability and is at an elevated risk of having parenting difficulties. The lesson plan format interweaves the concepts of family preparation, open communication, continuity and wellness to create a rich tapestry of healthful living.

This Mental Health Module builds more effective family habits. Each skill is presented in a comprehensive lesson plan that the Family Mentor shares directly with the client/family. Each lesson incorporates hands-on experience with follow-up activities that include both observational and behavioral tasks. Reinforcement hand-out materials provide the client/family with the ability to continue their work independently and at their own rate.

Because each family is expected to utilize only the tools which address their needs, every lesson plan is self-sufficient. The caseworker and clients together determine a Family Prescription that includes as many lesson plans as will help the family to parent their children in the healthiest way they can.

posted 9/17/02