Women and caring: five mothers tell of their experiences of caring for an adult child with schizophrenia

Abstract

Many studies have focussed on the causes, problems and implications of the mental illness schizophrenia. Very little research has focussed on the lives of those who live with and care for individuals who suffer from mental illness. Community care has become widely known in recent years and has been heralded as a success. As a result psychiatric institutions have been closed down and patients moved out to be cared for by this 'community'. What has become apparent is that 'community' is a term used to disguise the fact that it is women who are doing the bulk of caring for the ill and dependent in society. New right policies of recent Governments have further instilled the notion that the ill should be taken care of by the family. Mothers of adult children with schizophrenia now find themselves expected to do the caregiving for their son or daughter, where previously it was carried out by health professionals with years of training and a lot of resources available to them. The status of caring, carers and the mentally ill is so low in our society, that these issues are not being debated or addressed Meanwhile women are put under enormous strain, emotionally, physically and financially while attempting to cope with individuals who need and deserve access to specialist care. This study aims to detail the larger external factors that bring women into the caregiving role and keep them there. It also highlights the experiences of five women who have been caring for an adult child with schizophrenia. Their difficult and at times traumatic experiences reveal the true nature of caring which is not acknowledged by those who espouse the virtues of de institutionalisation and community care. Lastly a discussion as to the implications of a study such as this for social work practice is included.