What Works in Work with Relatives? – A Hypothesis

Abstract

In the past, psychiatry has paid little attention to the relatives of the mentally ill, but this attitude has changed gradually since the 1950s, when increasing numbers of patients began to be discharged from psychiatric hospitals through the introduction of neuroleptics and other changes. Especially for schizophrenic patients, with the low age of onset of the disorder, this development has meant that in many cases, the burden of care fell on their families, and as a consequence of this development, relatives have gradually become an important factor in care (Katschnig & Konieczna, 1987a). This field of involvement of relatives continues to expand, but is becoming increasingly confusing and complex. Our task here is an attempt to offer a structure within which to understand the manifold relative-centred activities that exist today.