Adolescent mental health inpatient unit: The experience of caregivers

Adolescent mental health inpatient units (AIPU) have been established to provide a safe and therapeutic environment for adolescents with serious mental health presentations. Families often report high stress, exhaustion, and family dysfunction when a child is admitted to an AIPU. Caregivers frequently experience uncertainty about how to effectively support their child, and dissatisfaction with a lack of involvement and collaboration with these services. Further, family dysfunction and impaired caregiver-child relationships often persist despite adolescent symptom stabilisation following discharge. This study aimed to explore the experiences of caregivers who were involved in their child’s episode of care at an AIPU to understand how collaborative caregiver involvement may influence caregivers’ ability to manage distress, the caregiver-child relationship, and family functioning post-episode of care. Interviews were conducted with 10 caregivers and data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The themes generated indicated that caregivers were satisfied overall with their level of involvement and described the benefits of receiving applicable information and strategies around distress management. Caregivers gained an increased understanding of their child’s mental health difficulties, which improved communication between themselves and their child. New and shared ways of communicating about distress were reported to positively impact the parent–child relationship. Caregivers expressed a desire for increased family involvement and further support in ensuring care for their adolescent after being discharged from the unit. This research provides evidence that the active involvement of the caregiver in their child’s care facilitates the caregiver’s use of effective distress management strategies and improves the caregiver-child relationship. In line with caregiver responses, it is recommended that similar adolescent services prioritise individualised information and upskilling for caregivers and whole families. Based on these findings, we have developed a framework for caregiver involvement in an AIPU.