Article/Report

Children’s mental health and wellbeing: Exploring competencies for the early childhood education and care workforce (Final report)

Author: The Hunter Institute of Mental Health

‘What knowledge and skills can educators integrate into their practice, to most effectively support children’s mental health and wellbeing? This project, an initiative of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, explored this issue by drawing on research, policy, expert opinion and consultation. Other objectives for this project were to examine the inclusion of […]

Read more

Supporting parents, supporting children: A Victorian early parenting strategy

This report has been written for early parenting services to guide on providing specialist support to vulnerable children and families from pregnancy to pre-school years.

Read more

Parents with mental health issues: Consequences for children and effectiveness of interventions designed to assist children and their families

Author: Dr Leone Huntsman

‘This report reviews research on the consequences for children of having a parent with mental health issues, and the effectiveness of strategies and interventions designed to support affected families. The review aims to address the following key questions: What is the evidence regarding parental mental health issues as a significant risk factor for child abuse […]

Read more

Reviews of the ‘SMILES program’ for young people with a parent or sibling who has a mental illness

Author: Various

Access program evaluations of the SMILES program (‘Simplifying Mental Illness + Life Enhancement Skills’). This is a peer-supported program for children who have a parent or sibling experiencing mental illness. Evaluations from Canada, Australia and America.

Read more

Children’s needs: Parenting Capacity. The impact of parental mental illness, problem alcohol and drug use, and domestic violence on children’s development

Author: Cleaver H, Unell I, Aldgate J.

The second edition of this report provides an update on the effect of parental problems, such as substance misuse and mental illness, on children’s welfare. In many families, children’s health and development are being affected by the difficulties their parents are experiencing. The findings from research, however, suggest that services are not always forthcoming. Practically […]

Read more

Children of Parents with a Mental Illness (COPMI) NSW Framework for Mental Health Services 2010-2015

Author: Department of Health, NSW

This is a policy directive from the NSW Government that aims to: Foster the continuing development of Area Mental Health Services for children of parents with a mental illness and their families; and Assist Area Mental Health Services in the ongoing development of collaborative approaches with key partners and agencies working with children and their […]

Read more

Fourth National Mental Health Plan: An agenda for collaborative government action in mental health 2009-2014

Author: Commonwealth of Australia, Australian Health Ministers

This document, launched by the Australian Health Ministers’ Conference (AHMC) in November 2009, is the product of twelve months of development work including a comprehensive stakeholder consultation process. Endorsement of the plan represents commitment by all governments to implementation of the following vision for mental health set out in the National Mental Health Policy 2008: […]

Read more

Interactive Use of Genograms and Ecomaps and Genograms

Author: Gwen R. Rempel, Anne Neufeld, RN, Kaysi Eastlick Kushner

This article argues for the concurrent and comparative use of genograms and ecomaps in family caregiving research.

Read more

Living Well: A Strategic Plan for Mental Health in NSW 2014-2024

Author: NSW Mental Health Commission

‘The Strategic Plan sets out actions and future directions for reform of the mental health system in NSW. It maps a demanding agenda for change that puts people – not processes – at the heart of its thinking. It asks that the NSW Government recommit to completing the process of reform begun with the Inquiry […]

Read more

Mental Health Services Consumer and Carer Participation Review -Sept. 2009

Author: Statewide & Mental Health Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Tasmania

‘This report provides recommendations in relation to how mental health services will build and implement a consumer and carer participation model in conjunction with consumers and carers. This, we envisage, will ensure a responsive, inclusive and integrated participation model throughout Tasmania.’ (Excerpt from document)

Read more

Melbourne Charter for Promoting Mental Health and Preventing Mental and Behavioural Disorders

The Melbourne Charter for Promoting Mental Health and Preventing Mental and Behavioural Disorders is the outcome of a worldwide discussion initiated by the organisers and participants of the Global Consortium for the Advancement of Promotion and Prevention in Mental Health (GCAPP) conference entitled From Margins to Mainstream: 5th World Conference on the Promotion of Mental […]

Read more

Protecting Children is Everyone’s Business: National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children (2009-2020)

The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020 (the National Framework), endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments in April 2009, is an ambitious, long-term approach to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of Australia’s children and aims to deliver a substantial and sustained reduction in levels of child abuse and neglect over time. Under the […]

Read more

Promoting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people from families with a parental mental illness: Key Findings and Promising Practices

Author: Maybery, D. et al

‘This publication highlights the key outcomes and learnings from two projects which responded to the needs of children and young people with a parental mental illness. Paying Attention to Self (PATS) focuses on young people aged 12 to 18 years, while VicChamps is for children aged 5 to 12 years.’

Read more

Preventive interventions in families with parental depression: children’s psychosocial symptoms and prosocial behaviour

Author: Tytti Solantaus, E. Juulia Paavonen, Sini Toikka, Raija-Leena Punamaki

‘The aim is to document the effectiveness of a preventive family intervention (Family Talk Intervention, FTI) and a brief psychoeducational discussion with parents (Let’s Talk about the Children, LT) on children’s psychosocial symptoms and prosocial behaviour in families with parental mood disorder, when the interventions are practiced in psychiatric services for adults in the finnish […]

Read more

Parents as patients: Supporting the needs of patients who are parents and their children

In 1999, a College Working Party was established to consider the issues posed by ‘the patient as parent’ and the implications for children whose parents experience mental disorders. In 2002, the first Patients as Parents report was produced. The current Working Group was set up in 2007 to revise and update this report in the […]

Read more

Patient Experiences – You’d think this roller coaster was never going to stop

Author: Associate Professor Kim Foster

The aims of this qualitative study were to explore the experience of being an adult child of a parent with serious mental illness and how adult children have coped with their experience.

Read more

Think child, think family: How adult specialist services can support children at risk of abuse and neglect

Author: Dorothy Scott

This article focuses on how adultspecialist services can support children at risk of abuse and neglect.

Read more

Stress and resilience factors in parents with mental health problems and their children

Author: Lester Parrott, Gaby Jacobs and Diane Roberts

This SCIE briefing focuses on research regarding factors contributing to stress or resilience in families where one or both parents have mental health problems.

Read more

SCIE Research Briefing 29: Black and minority ethnic parents with mental health problems and their children

Author: Ruby Greene, Richard Pugh and Diane Roberts

This document covers research that aids an understanding ofthe experiences of UK black and minority ethnic (BME) families where one or both parents have severe or enduring mental health problems and where children are under the age of 18. The briefing does not include older people (those aged 65 and over), dementia, detailed evaluations of […]

Read more

SCIE Guide 30: Think child, think parent, think family – a guide to parental mental health and child welfare

SCIE has published a revised version of their Parental mental health and child welfare guide (first published in July 2009). The guide, which is about working with parents who have mental health problems and their children, has been updated to include’Putting it into practice’. The resource reviews the findings from the ten implementation sites across […]

Read more

Working together with families and carers: Chief Psychiatrist’s Guideline

Author: Department of Human Services, Victoria

‘Clinical practice needs to be more sophisticated in the assessment of the role of family and others as carers and in their engagement in treatment and care so that it places appropriate value on the vital role that carers play in the recovery process. It establishes a partnership between clinicians and carers based on respect […]

Read more

Why Draw Genograms Anyway?

Author: Jay Memmott

This powerpoint document very simply outlines what genograms are and how to use them to effeciently obtain family history and help you understand the target family and its members.

Read more

Download Free COPMI Resources

For use by families where a parent has a mental illness, their supporters, and services who work with them.