ABSTRACT
Mental health professionals may know about mental disorders in general, but the person with the disorder knows more about the experiences of that disorder than anyone else, and other family members know in detail how it affects this particular household. Therapists who wish to work with families using a behavioural family therapy approach must genuinely believe this and acknowledge each participant’s expertise and their own lack of knowledge in some situations. Counselling people about the implications of genetic factors associated with serious disorders is an area that requires special attention. Whereas some disorders, such as Huntington’s disease, have a major genetic aetiology, and counselling potential carriers of the defective gene may have a profound impact on its prevalence, most mental disorders and learning disabilities are not inherited in such a dramatic and direct manner. Education provides a basis and a rationale for treatment strategies and results in greater adherence to drug, social, and psychological interventions.
