Parental mental illness: incidence, assessment and practice

Background: Parental Mental Illness (PMI) increases risk of mental illness and other negative outcomes in children. Work on the family impacts of PMI can protect children’s mental health, but little is known about current assessment and practice. Methods: An audit of mental health service case notes was undertaken in one NHS Trust. A template was designed to code information on family mental health, assessment and referral for comparative analysis. Results: 60% CAMHS cases with data were children of parents with mental illness and 40% AMHS cases were parents of dependent children. Presence of PMI was poorly assessed: 32% CAMHS cases, 38% AMHS cases and 44% LD cases showed no evidence of assessment. Assessment of impacts of PMI on children and rates of referral to support services were very low. Conclusions: Mental health services should review practice in assessing, recording and treating cases where PMI might impact children’s mental health.