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Support For Family Members Of Mentally Ill Patients Book Review

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When Madness Comes Home

Secunda (1997) shows in When Madness Comes Home that tens of millions of people, if not more, are directly impacted by mental illness in the family. This means that there is an urgent need for people to understand what mental illness is, what it is not, and how to care for a person experiencing mental illness. Secunda (1997) addresses issues of trauma, stigma, and how relationships can best be fostered through support systems and networks. The main point of the book is that mental illness affects more than just the person who is diagnosed or experiencing it himself; it also affects those people who are family members of the individual or who are in a relationship with the person. They need care and support as well.

Secunda (1997) spends time reinforcing the argument that family members of individuals with mental illness have to know that they are not alone and that there are ways to deal in a positive manner with the challenge presented them. Struggling with mental illness in the family can be heartbreaking because it strains personal relationships...

But what they need to understand and appreciate is that mental illness is a real problem that can be addressed. The best thing for family members to realize is that there is hope, situations can improve, but it takes some patience and adjustment. Secunda (1997) shows that everyone at times can feel physically and emotionally exhausted from this challenge, so no one should ever get down on himself for feeling that way.

My reaction to the book is that it was very well-written, compassionate, and deeply sympathetic because it allowed the reader to put himself into the shoes of others who have been through it all and feel what they felt. The other good point about the book is that has a positive response to the problem of living with mental illness in the family. It offers encouragement and hope and that makes this book something that really should be required reading for anyone who is in that situation. I would highly recommend this book for someone…

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References

Hack, S. M., Muralidharan, A., Brown, C. H., Drapalski, A. L., & Lucksted, A. A.

(2020). Stigma and discrimination as correlates of mental health treatment engagement among adults with serious mental illness. Psychiatric rehabilitation journal, 43(2), 106.

Patterson, C., Perlman, D., Moxham, L., Sudhakar, C., Nayak, A. K., Velayudhan, B., ...

& Tapsell, A. (2021). Australian and Indian nursing students’ skills and attitudes surrounding mental illness: Preparing for a transnational nursing education collaboration. Nurse Education in Practice, 50, 102909.

Secunda, V. (1997). When Madness Comes Home: Help and Hope for Families of theMentally Ill. Hyperion.

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