Think child, think parent, think family: a guide to parental mental health and child welfare

Implementation site tools and resources

Improving access to services

(Northern Ireland)

• Are you thinking family (Northern Ireland)?
• Are you thinking family? A4 poster (Northern Ireland)
• Champion Job Role
• Communication strategy (Northern Ireland)
• Mental Health Childrens Services Think Family Newsletters (Northern Ireland)
• Think Family Glossary
• Young carers’ poster – students
• Young carers’ poster – teachers
• Young Carers Mental Health Leaflet

Assessment

• Think Family Assessment Protocol
• Understanding the Needs of Children (Northern Ireland)

Providing care

• Recognising Young Carers - A guide for practitioners
• Young Carers Charter

A strategic approach

• Final Draft Parental mental health and child welfare protocol
• Joint Protocol Responding to the Needs of Children whose Parents have Mental Health and/or Substance Misuse issues (Northern Ireland)
• Mental health framework (Northern Ireland)
• Protocol for Joint Working Across Adult Mental Health And Children’s Services
• Service Framework for Mental Health and Wellbeing (Northern Ireland)

Putting it into practice

• Composite Implementation Plan

General resources

Whilst this is not an exhaustive list of the wide range of resources that are available on parental mental health and child welfare, it is a starting point for accessing information that supports and informs the guidance. The vast majority of the references are hyperlinked, designed to give instant access as you need it.

• Advance directivesOpen

  • Royal College of Physicians (2009) Advance care planning: national guidelines.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2009) Mental Capacity Act 2005 resources.
  • MIND (2008) Overview and key provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. .
  • MIND (2008) Healthcare and welfare/Personal care decisions under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

• Carers and young carersOpen

  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2007) Implementing the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004,
  • Butler, A. and Astbury, G. (2005) 'The caring child: an evaluative case study of the Cornwall Young Carers project', Children and Society, 19(4), September 2005, pp 292–303.
  • Becker, S. and Dearden, C. (2004/05) 'Carers', Research Matters, No18, October 2004–April 2005, pp 11–18.
  • Fox, A. (2004), 'Who cares about us?: the unmet needs of young carers' Childright, No 209, September 2004, pp 17–18.
  • Princess Royal Trust for Carers (2002), Consultation with carers: good practice guide.
  • Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (OFSTED) (2009) Supporting young carers: identifying, assessing and meeting the needs of young carers and their families, Manchester: OFSTED.
  • Becker, F. and Becker, S. (2008) Young adult carers in the UK: experiences, needs and services for carers aged 16–24, Woodford Green: Princess Royal Trust for Carers.
  • Department of Health (2008) Carers at the heart of 21st-century families and communities, London: Department of Health.
  • Aldridge, J. (2008) 'All work and no play?: Understanding the needs of children with caring responsibilities, Children and Society, 22(4), July 2008, pp 253–264.
  • Bernardo's (2009) Barnardo's 10 messages from young carers (part of 'Keeping the family in mind' project and pack), Ilford: Bernardo's.
  • Bernardo's (2009) For children's sake (anti-stigma pack), Ilford: Barnardo's.
  • Rethink (2001) Young carers of people with a severe mental illness
  • Children's Society (2008) Young Carers Initiative, Promoting good practice for young carers and their families
  • Princess Royal Trust for Carers (2008) Young Carers.net – information and advice for young carers.

• Children's and families' servicesOpen

  • Barnardo's – information and support for young carers
  • Childline – free 24-hour telephone counselling service
  • Family Action – providing practical, emotional and financial support to families through over 100 services based in communities across England.

• Confidentiality and information sharingOpen

  • Royal College of Psychiatrists (2004) Carers and confidentiality in mental health.
  • Department of Health (2005) Confidentiality and Disclosure of Information: General Medical Services (GMS), Personal Medical Services (PMS), and Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS) Code of Practice 2005.
  • Patient Information Advisory Grouphttp://www.dh.gov.uk/ab/PIAG/index.htm

• Developing interagency protocols Open

  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2006) Supporting disabled parents and parents with additional support needs
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2007) Working together to support disabled parents.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2003) Families that have alcohol and mental health problems: a template for partnership working

• Family visiting roomsOpen

  • Robinson, B. and Scott, S. (2007) How mental health services can best promote family contact when a parent is in hospital, Ilford: Barnardo's.

• Mental health servicesOpen

  • MIND – offering support and information about mental health
  • NHS Direct – 24 hour advice from trained nurses
  • The Princess Royal Trust for Carers – provides comprehensive carers support services across the UK.
  • Rethink
  • Sane – information and advice for people with mental health problems and those who support them.
  • Samaritans – confidential support for people needing emotional support.
  • Young Minds – information about mental health for young people.

• Parent and children's accountsOpen

  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2008) Experiences of children and young people caring for a parent with a mental health problem.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2008) Children's and young people's experiences of domestic violence involving adults in a parenting role.
  • Bernardo's (2009) Keeping the family in mind – resource pack.
  • Townsend, M. (2007) The father I had, London: Bantam Press.
  • Cowling, V. (ed) (2004) Children of parents with mental illness, West Drayton: Acer Press.

• Personalisation and user involvement in service changeOpen

  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2008) Seldom heard – Developing inclusive participation in social care.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2008) Looking out from the middle: User involvement in health and social care in Northern Ireland.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2007) Developing social care – service users driving culture change.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2007) Improving social and health care services.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2008) Personalisation: a rough guide.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2009) Co-production: an emerging evidence base for adult social care transformation.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2009) Changing social care: an inclusive approach.

• Mental health policy and practice guidanceOpen

  • Department of Health (2009) New Horizons Next Steps For Mental Health Policy
  • Department of Health (1999) National service framework for mental health: modern standards and service models.
  • Care Quality Commission – inspection for health and social care.
  • Department of Health (2002) Women's mental health: into the mainstream.
  • Department of Health (2008) Refocusing the care programme approach: policy and positive practice guidance.
  • Department of Health (2008) Making the CPA work for you: booklet and summary leaflet.
  • SCIE/CSIP/DH (2008) Care programme approach (Cpa) Briefing:

• Parents with mental health problems and their childrenOpen

  • Department of Health (2009) Mental Health Act 1983 information leaflets.
  • Independent mental health advocates
  • Department of Health (2009) Valuing people – a new strategy for learning disability for the 21st century.

• Professional development and improvement networksOpen

  • Parental Mental Health and Child Welfare Network
  • Children of Parents with a Mental Illness (COPMI) – Australia

• Recovery modelOpen

  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2008) Supporting people in accessing meaningful work: Recovery approaches in community-based adult mental health services.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2007) The recovery approach in community-based vocational and training adult mental health day services.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2007) A common purpose: Recovery in future mental health services.

• Resilience and stressorsOpen

  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2004) Promoting resilience in fostered children and young people.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2008) Stress and resilience factors in parents with mental health problems and their children.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2005) Managing risks and minimising mistakes in services to children and families.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2008) Learning together to safeguard children: developing a multi-agency systems approach for case reviews.

• Screening, assessment tools and guidelinesOpen

  • Gopfert, M. (ed) (2004) Parental psychiatric disorder: distressed parents and their families, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Falkov, A. (ed) (2008) 'A family-focused assessment tool' in The Clinician MH-Kids Volume 4, Vulnerable families: children of parents with mental illness.
  • Mental Health outcomes and training tool (MHOAT)
  • DCSF and University of Warwick (2008) Health-led parenting interventions in pregnancy and early years.
  • Mental Health Foundation (2003) From pregnancy To early childhood: early interventions to enhance the mental health of children and families.
  • National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2007) Antenatal and postnatal mental health: The NICE guideline on clinical management and service guidance.
  • Royal College of Psychiatry (2007) A series of resources on postnatal depression
  • Royal College of Psychiatry (2007) Being seen and heard (Patients as parents) training pack.

• Social inclusion Open

  • Social Exclusion Taskforce (2009) Families at risk review.
  • Social Exclusion Taskforce (2009) Family nurse partnerships.
  • National Social Inclusion Programme (2009) Vision and progress: social inclusion and mental health.
  • Social Exclusion Unit – ODPM (2OO4) Mental health and social exclusion.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2008) Black and minority ethnic parents with mental health problems and their children. .
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2009) The relationship between dual diagnosis: substance misuse and dealing with mental health issues.
  • Barnardo's (2008) Family minded: supporting children in families affected by mental illness.
  • Barnardo's (2009) Improving opportunities and outcomes for parents with mental health needs and their children: A review of the implementation of Action 16 of the Mental Health and Social Exclusion Action Plan 2005–2008.

• Training and development resources Open

  • Meriden project
  • State Government, Victoria, Australia (2007) Families where a parent has a mental illness: a service development strategy.
  • Department of Health (1998) Crossing Bridges Crossing bridges training resources for working with mentally ill parents and their children reader – for managers, practitioners and trainers.
  • Barnardo's (2009) Keeping the family in mind.
  • Social Care Institute for Excellence (2008) Poverty, parenting and social exclusion.