 |
| Photo: Caer Weber |
CAREGIVING & SCHIZOPHRENIA
THE WELL SIBLINGS' PERSPECTIVE
Thesis by Christopher Edwin Dodge
Mount Allison University, 2006
The following is written by Susan Inman in response to this thesis:
Many of us who are parents of people living with psychotic disorders are concerned with the experiences of our other children as current and future caregivers. Chris Dodge's recently completed MA thesis from the University of Victoria examines the experiences of 10 well siblings and suggests important changes for mental health practices. I've included a few selected quotes below. The thesis is attached and is also available at the website:
https://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8443/.../Dodge_Christopher_MA_2011.
I think this valuable research project deserves wide dissemination; this topic, while relevant to hundred of thousands of Canadians, is basically ignored.
Congratulations to Chris Dodge for this excellent contribution to increasing the public's understanding of the impact of schizophrenia on families.
Susan
However, because of the chronic and debilitating nature of schizophrenia, the ill siblings became highly dependent on their siblings to assist them with the tasks and responsibilities of daily living. p95
Caregiving responsibilities included attending to the sibling‘s needs for food, water, shelter, and clothing. Well siblings also provided support and attended to their siblings‘ social-psychological needs such as socialization, life skills training, and educating about the illness. There was a range in the amount and type of activities well siblings participated in depending on the severity, course of the illness, and how much support was therefore required. Gauging on how well Luke was doing at the time, Claire ―made an agreement with herself‖ to call him daily and visit him in the hospital when he is in need of medical attention (e.g., suicide attempts) as often as she can. In all cases, well siblings managed the tasks that were needed to help them with functioning, including monitoring of medication, helping with chores, and dealing with mental health professionals.
Well siblings primarily considered these caregiving activities a way to connect and reinforce sibling bonds with their affected loved one. While they thought spending time with him or her in a supportive role was a source of burden, it allowed well siblings to nurture their relationship and get closer. A few siblings even stated that they did not see being with their sibling as a source of burden, but rather as something they took pleasure in and did out of kindness. p104
The lack of reciprocity in the well and ill sibling relationship was also a cause for concern. Well siblings felt that their ill siblings were continually ―stuck in their own minds or [preoccupied with their] thoughts.‖ They were described as incapable of taking the role of the other as indicated by the following comment from Ethan: ―It‘s all about her now... she likes to talk about herself... [and] the topics center around her.‖ Tyler also volunteered the following comment about his brother:
He really lives in his head. He kind of notices things but everything is related back to him. So when you go talk to him, it‘s always about his latest thoughts on whatever. He‘ll say ‗how are you?‘ but he is not really interested in the answer. He just wants to tell you his latest delusion that he has. Now it‘s about how he thinks my sister is going to be murdered.
This self-centeredness impacted the way well and ill siblings interacted. These interactions primarily consisted of well siblings asking the ill sibling various questions about their life, giving advice, and guiding the topic of conversation while avoiding sensitive issues. Ironically, as a result of caring for their ill brother or sister, many well siblings built a stronger bond and became much closer. p.106
Siblings in this study often attempted to avoid mental health services because of the mixed messages, negative interaction, and poor resources from professionals. p.124
No comments:
Post a Comment