We developed a framework for family-focused practice to help mental health practitioners to support the recovery of consumers and their families.
Project details
Mental health nurses play key roles in supporting the recovery of consumers and their families through family-focused practice (FFP).
FFP is the provision of psychosocial support to the family as a whole. Providing FFP has shown to reduce burdens for family members, improve children’s wellbeing and mental health literacy, and support family relationships and family recovery (Foster et al. 2012).
There is substantial evidence to suggest that healthcare practitioners lack confidence in FFP when working with people with mental illness and their children. An FFP framework (EASE: Engage, Assess, Support, Educate) was developed to support practitioners to easily incorporate brief FFP in their everyday practice (Foster et al. 2019).
Watch the following short video to learn more about the EASE practice framework.
The video was collaboratively developed by: Prof Kim Foster, Jo-Ann Giandinoto (Mental Health & ACU), Louise Alexander (ACU), Carol Clarke (Families where A Parent has Mental Illness [FaPMI] coordinator) and Chris Dutton (FaPMI coordinator) in conjunction with the Sketch Group.