Family Support Groups for family members of mentally ill offenders: a pilot study

ABSTRACT

To date, there is a lack of family interventions for family members of persons with a mental illness who offended (PMIO). With the aim of addressing this issue, a Family Support Group (FSG) has been developed. The current pilot study investigated the impact of two pilot FSGs for family members of PMIO in relation to quality of life, burden, coping strategies, and resilience. Family members completed several questionnaires (i.e. WHOQOL-BREF, ZBI-22, CERQ, RS-nl) both before and after the group intervention. A total of 20 family members participated in both FSGs. The results indicated that participants experienced less self-blame, a decrease in loss of control over their lives, and improved emotional well-being. The findings showed that attending an FSG can be empowering for family members as it offers support in the management of emotional experiences and coping strategies.

KEYWORDS:

• Family Support Group
• family members
• persons with a mental illness who offended

Acknowledgments

The Family Support Groups (FSGs) were carried out in cooperation with Lies Vandamme and Michiel Cuypers, two master-level students in Special Needs Education (Ghent University). This study is funded by the Special Research Fund of Ghent University for concerted research actions from 2014 till 2019 entitled: ‘Developing multidisciplinary strengths-based strategies for mentally ill offenders’. First we would like to thank the family members who were willing to participate in this study during 3 months. Second, we would also like to thank both the psychiatrists and the medical resident in Psychiatry from the Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology at Ghent University Hospital.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. In Belgium the internment measure is defined as: ‘a safety measure to protect society and that simultaneously aims to ensure that the mentally ill offender is provided with the care his/her condition requires in view of his/her reintegration into society’ (Heimans, Vander Beken, & Schipaanboord, 2015, p. 1051, translation by the authors).

Additional information

Funding

The study is funded by the Special Research Fund of Ghent University  with grant number  01G00614 for concerted research actions;Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds