ABSTRACT
A new activism is empowering families of mental health consumers. For the first time since the care and treatment of people with mental illnesses became the domain of governments, social welfare organizations and medical science, families are starting to get the level of support from professionals commensurate with their responsibilities in caring for their ill members (Hatfield, 1987a). Professionals, for their part, are asking about the family's experiences in coping with mental illnesses and validating what the family identifies as its needs in developing a clinical focus (Atwood and Williams, 1978). National policies calling for family involvement in research and planning reflect this greater family role (NIMH, 1991). Especially noticeable are recent family treatment models which provide education and supports to enhance the family's quality of life and competency to cope with a disabling illness. These practices, which encourage collaborative partnerships, provide alternatives to psychodynamic approaches that blame families and create a clinical wedge in the family's relationship with its ill relative and the professional community.
