Supporting children in families affected by mental illness

This report, which is based on the experiences of Barnardo’s services working with children affected by parental mental ill-health, and informed by research evidence in this field, explores the challenges of parental mental illness for policy and practice.

The findings show the importance of improving understandings of how mental illness affects parents, working in partnership with children to sustain the whole family, and focusing on the needs of the whole family when commissioning and delivering services.

Keywords: Mental Health and Wellbeing; Parental Mental Health