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Motherhood for women with serious mental illness

University of British Columbia

Much of the literature about maternal mental illness makes assumptions about the problems in the relationship between mentally ill mothers and their children without the perspective of the mother's point of view. This exploratory qualitative study focused on the experiences of six mothers who were currently parents of school age and younger children, and were concurrently receiving treatment for a serious mental illness from the Greater Vancouver Health Service Society. The mothers were interviewed one or two times for approximately one hour each time, using a semi structured interview guide employing open ended questions. The interview examined the meaning to the mother herself of her role as a parent; the struggles and successes she identified; the significance of her social support network; and other aspects of her experience which have been important for her. The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of each mother's particular situation and to explore the themes and issues raised in these mothers' stories. The data was analyzed using a narrative approach, to preserve the individuality and diversity of the mother's stories. The common themes that emerged for the mothers were: the centrality of the children to the mother's life; struggles around custody issues; the need for planning for the children in case of relapse; the need for social workers to understand mental illness; coping with children's behaviour problems; problems with the children's fathers; coping with poverty and related problems; and isolation and the need for social support. Social workers and health care professionals may use these narratives to increase their understanding of mothers who have a mental illness, and to develop policies, programs, practices, and education to improve services for these families.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-04-30

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/7760

Social Work

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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