Family support group in psychosocial rehabilitation.
BACKGROUND
Support groups for families of persons with mental illness are emerging as significant components in psychosocial rehabilitation programmes.


OBJECTIVE
To ascertain the expectations of family members who attend family support group meetings and to find out the efficacy of such programmes.


METHODS
The data were collected from support group members using a semi-structured interview schedule. The study sample (n=20) was drawn from family members who attended the support group meetings regularly for a minimum period of 6 months. Data analysis was done using percentile.


RESULTS
Analysis of the data revealed that members attending the support group meetings expected to get more information about the illness, develop skills to cope with problems at home and learn skills to deal with the ill person. An important finding of the study was that the members developed a 'feeling of togetherness' as a result of being a member of a group with common aims.


CONCLUSIONS
Participation in a support group meeting positively affects key variables in the participant's adaptation to mental illness in a relative.
Ponnuchamy
L
L
Lecturer, The Richmond Fellowship Post Graduate College for Psychosocial Rehabilitation, Bangalore.
Mathew
Baijumon K
BK
Mathew
Sheeba
S
Udayakumar
G S
GS
Kalyanasundaram
S
S
Ramprasad
Dharitri
D
Schizophr Bull. 1994;20(3):557-66
7973471
Community Ment Health J. 1993 Apr;29(2):143-60
8500287