Parent Support Needs Tip Sheet
For Service Providers
Facts about Parents with Mental Illness and their Families
Parents with mental illness parent at the same rate as the general population.
Their children are at greater risk for developing mental health problems.
Parent’s illness may cloud their ability to see that it can affect their parenting.
Their parenting capacity may be diminished which impacts their child's mental health and emotional development (in severe or mild disorders alike).
These parents want to be good parents but stigma and fear of losing their children may prevent many from seeking help they need.
Parent’s illness may affect their ability to provide basic care and can result in repeated parent/child separations (e.g., hospitalization) and family instability.
Effective early intervention improves outcomes for children and parents.
Succeeding at parenting is as important to parents with mental health issues as it is to anyone else. A basic principle of parenting is that people will often do for their kids what they might not for themselves. If their parental concerns for their children are sensitively discussed, typically parents will have greater motivation for treatment adherence because of the positive effects for their children..................
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