The Role of Family and Community in Mental Health Recovery
Mental health recovery involves more than medical intervention, it also requires a strong support system. Family and community play an important part in fostering an environment that promotes healing. This type of environment offers emotional, social, and practical support to people who are facing mental health challenges. In this post, you’re going to learn more about the role and importance of family and community in mental health recovery.
Table of Contents
Importance of family support
Family members are oftentimes the first point of contact for people struggling with mental health conditions. Their support can manifest in several ways including emotional stability. Family support provides a safe and understanding environment where people feel heard and valued. Moreover, family members help their loved ones adhere to the treatment plans. They do so by reminding them of appointments and medication schedules.
Openly discussing mental health within the family can normalize conversations and reduce stigma. This is particularly important because mental health is still stigmatized. Many people feel embarrassed to ask for help. Family is there to remind them that there is nothing embarrassing about seeking help to recover and feel better.
Family members know one another more than anyone else. For that reason, they’re capable of recognizing warning signs that suggest something is wrong. Once they identify warning signs, family members can arrange crisis intervention and encourage their loved ones to seek professional help when necessary.
Evidence confirms that family support is important for mental health recovery. Studies show that family involvement in long-term mental health care is a considerable therapeutic aspect in managing mentally ill patients. For that reason, it is essential to educate family members of mental health care users about mental illnesses.
One study reported that family can both facilitate and impede the recovery process. More precisely, family facilitates recovery from depression through moral support, practical support, and motivation to recover. On the other hand, family can impede recovery by acting as a stressor, displaying stigma and lack of understanding, and forcing hospitalization.
As seen above, family has either a positive or negative role in a person’s mental health recovery. The goal is to ensure that the family supports recovery and exhibits a positive influence. Effective familial support in mental health recovery starts with open communication. No one should feel like they’re being judged or criticized for having a mental illness. That’s why the family needs to show empathy and validate their loved one’s feelings instead of minimizing their meaning.
An important aspect of family support in mental health recovery is setting boundaries. Establishing boundaries helps family and their loved ones maintain supportive relationships. In other words, as much as family loves someone, they shouldn’t enable unhealthy or risky behaviors. Instead, they should provide support, and understanding, and encourage their loved one to seek help.
Role of community in mental health recovery
They say it takes a village to raise a child. In the same way, it takes more than family to support mental health recovery. Community is important, as well. Peer support, social networks, and community services can improve resilience and a sense of belonging, which are important aspects of mental health.
When a person is struggling with a mental illness, they often feel alone and misunderstood by their community. Due to the stigma surrounding mental illness, people may feel isolated. The role of community is to offer acceptance so that people don’t feel isolated and alone. As a result, a person with mental illness develops a more positive thinking pattern and may actively work on their recovery.
Additionally, community support offers responsibility and inspiration during the recovery process. People are more inspired to adhere to their treatment protocol when they feel community support.
Community support comes in many ways, including:
Support groups: peer-support groups allow members who are experiencing the same or similar issues to discuss their experiences and help one another. Evidence confirms that peer support programs are practical for people with mental health disorders because they provide practical information about self-care and offer guidance in navigating the health system.
Access to resources: local organizations offer mental health services, financial assistance, and educational programs that may positively influence people who are recovering from mental health disorders.
Social inclusion: research indicates that social inclusion is beneficial for the mental health of adolescents. Adults can benefit from social inclusion as well. Community activities, volunteer work, and employment opportunities are examples of social inclusion and they foster a sense of purpose and engagement. As a result, a person’s confidence goes up and they become more resilient in terms of their mental health.
Mental health awareness: community initiatives such as awareness (and even advocacy) help educate the public and promote policies that promote easier access to mental health resources.
Just like family, community can exhibit either a positive or negative influence on mental health recovery. Negative influence stems from misinformation, stigma, and lack of understanding of people with mental illness and the recovery process they’re going through. Fortunately, it’s possible to make sure the community's impact on mental health recovery is positive. This can be achieved through activities that raise awareness of mental illness, forming support groups, and establishing programs where people can seek help when it’s necessary.
In the community itself, friends play an important role in mental health recovery. Friends can practice self-care together thereby strengthening their collective resilience. They can also participate in various activities that promote wellbeing and relaxation.
Conclusion
The main subject of this post was the role of family and community in mental health recovery. Both family and community can exhibit either a positive or negative influence on a person who’s going through mental health challenges. Mental illness education, access to useful resources, various activities, and active work on eliminating stigma are some of the many things that family and community can do to help. It’s always important to remember that family and community should keep an open mind and avoid criticizing or judgmental attitudes toward people in mental health recovery.
References
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9518157/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25492380/