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Parenting and Recovery for Mothers with Mental Disorders

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A Public Health Perspective of Women's Mental Health

Abstract

Parenting is a significant role for many mothers with mental disorders, offering both opportunities to facilitate as well as impede recovery. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an ecological approach to motherhood and recovery, acknowledging the complex nature of the relationships between mothers and children, and considering the context in which these relationships grow and develop. National prevalence data are used to describe mothers with mental disorders and the background and experiential characteristics that shape their life contexts. Key components for interventions are described, drawing from relevant literature and previous studies, and implications for mental health policy and services delivery are discussed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Quotes from mothers with serious mental health disorders are taken from previous studies (Nicholson and Henry 2003; Nicholson et al. 1998a, b)

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Center for Mental Health Services Research, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, 01655, Worcester, MA, USA

    Joanne Nicholson

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  1. Joanne Nicholson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, Bruce B. Downs Blvd. 13301, Tampa, 33612, U.S.A.

    Bruce Lubotsky Levin

  2. Dept. Mental Health Law & Policy, University of South Florida, Bruce B. Downs Blvd. 13301, Tampa, 33612, U.S.A.

    Marion Ann Becker

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Nicholson, J. (2010). Parenting and Recovery for Mothers with Mental Disorders. In: Levin, B., Becker, M. (eds) A Public Health Perspective of Women's Mental Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1526-9_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1526-9_19

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