Clinician experiences of “Let’s Talk about Children” training and implementation to support families affected by parental mental illness

Date27 June 2019
Pages201-211
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-08-2018-0044
Published date27 June 2019
AuthorHanien Karibi,Karen Arblaster
Subject MatterHealth & social care
Clinician experiences of Lets Talk about
Childrentraining and implementation to
support families affected by parental
mental illness
Hanien Karibi and Karen Arblaster
Abstract
Purpose Lets Talk about Children (LTC) is a structured intervention which aims to improve outcomes for
children of parents with a mental illness. An enhanced form of training has been developed to support
clinician uptake of this intervention. The purpose of this paper is to explore cliniciansexperiencesof this form
of training and of implementing LTC.
Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research desi gn was adopted, underp inned by social
constructionism. Sem i-structured intervi ews were conducted with a dult community mental he alth
clinicians (n ¼10) and were audio-recorded. The interview data were transcribed verbatim, coded and
thematically analysed.
Findings Participants experienced both the training and the LTC intervention as a step in the right
direction, with the enhanced training seen as superior to standard online modules, but not sufficient for
implementation in practice. Additional training support, partnership working with families and service partners
and overcoming challenges by adapting the model are some strategies that may support routine
implementation of LTC.
Originality/value This studyis the first to explore clinicianexperiences of this enhancedface-to-face training
format followed by the implementation of LTC in an Australian context. Findings suggest strategies for
enhancing clinician skills and confidence, improving fidelity to the model and identifying success factors for
serviceslooking to implement LTC. Thepotential value of face-to-faceover online training and commonbarriers
to implementationat an organisational level are identified and require further exploration in future studies.
Keywords Qualitative research, Mental health
Paper type Research paper
Background
Families affected by parental mental illness are among the most vulnerable groups in the
community. An international review identified that the prevalence of parents experiencing mental
illness rangesfrom 15 to 23 per cent worldwide (Leijdesdorff et al., 2017).Children of parents with
a mental illness(COPMI) are more likely to experience psychological, socialand behavioural issues
comparedto children of parents without a mentalillness, and to be diagnosed with a mentalillness,
ADHD or other behavioural disorder themselves (Leijdesdorff et al., 2017; Maybery et al.,2005).
As a result, these childrens social relationships, work productivityand overall quality of life can be
severely affected well into adulthood (Aldridge, 2006; Reupert and Maybery, 2010).
Family-focussed practice
Family-focussed practice (FFP) broadens the focus of mental health care, aiming to improve
childrens long-term outcomes. This is done by first identifying service users who have
Received 6 August 2018
Revised 4 February 2019
Accepted 7 May 2019
This study would not have been
possible without the guidance and
support of the two COPMI
Coordinators, Sarah Bergan and
Adele Sargent. Sarah and Adele
developed the face-to-face version
of LTC, delivered the training and
provided mentoring and support
to clinicians using LTC with
families. They assisted Hanien
Karibi to learn about FFP and with
some of the practical aspects of
the pilot study. Thank you for
sharing your passion and wisdom
throughout this project.
Hanien Karibi is based at the
School of Science and Health,
Western Sydney University,
Penrith, Australia and Nepean
Blue Mountains Local Health
District, Kingswood, Australia.
Karen Arblaster is based at the
Nepean Blue Mountains Local
Health District, Faculty of
Health Sciences, University of
Sydney, Kingswood, Australia
and School of Science and
Health, Western Sydney
University, Penrith, Australia.
DOI 10.1108/JMHTEP-08-2018-0044 VOL. 14 NO. 4 2019, pp. 201-211, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1755-6228
j
THE JOURNAL OF MENTALHEALTH TRAINING, EDUCATION AND PRACTICE
j
PAGE201

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