With Toni Wolf, Cheryl Burack-Lynch, Carlie Dean and Coralie McMillan, Rose Cuff and Helen Mildred, Ann Daniel and Marie Diggins

Introduction

There is much diversity in the models of services for parents who have a mental illness, but a visit to programmes in several countries shows that all service models share a unity of purpose. They arise from a perceived local need, and they all emphasize collaboration among several agencies and disciplines. The theme of working together stands out as central in each of these programmes. This chapter describes five such programmes in three countries.

Massachusetts Clubhouse Family Legal Support Project, Marlboro, Massachusetts, USA

Problem and need

There was an early recognition in this part of Massachusetts that parents diagnosed with mental illness were at high risk, not only of losing custody of their children but of losing complete contact with them. This was happening because they were assumed to be unfit to parent, an assumption, grounded in stereotype, that appeared to be empirically unfounded. A person's ability to be a successful parent had been shown to have less to do with the fact of mental ability and more to do with parenting resources and support. Factors enhancing the ability of a parent with severe mental illness to raise children had been studied and results showed that they included respite care, education on childrearing and child development, an early intervention programme, paediatric support with extra awareness to support positive maternal development and guidance, primary care for the mother with special attention paid to her reproductive health and needs for training, vocational training, psychotherapy and psychopharmacology, and legal counsel, adequate housing arrangements and financial support (Apfel & Handel, 1993).