The Oxford Friends and Family Empowerment (OFAFE) service: support and education for those affected by friends or family with personality disorder
| Pages | 58-62 |
| Published date | 14 December 2010 |
| Date | 14 December 2010 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5042/mhrj.2010.0741 |
| Author | Sara Sanders,Steve Pearce |
Mental Health Review Journal Volume 15 Issue 4 December 2010 © Pier Professional Ltd
58
Sara Sanders
Deputy Team Leader, Oxfordshire Complex Needs Service and Clinical Lead, OFAFE Service, UK
Steve Pearce
Clinical Director, Consultant Psychiatrist and Programme Director, Oxfordshire Complex Needs Service, UK
The Oxford Friends and Family
Empowerment (OFAFE) service:
support and education for those
affected by friends or family
with personality disorder
Abstract
The Oxford Friends and Family Empowerment (OFAFE) service is a carer support service that originated
in a collaboration between the Oxfordshire Complex Needs Service and the national mental health charity
Rethink. OFAFE provides support and education for adults supporting an individual with a personality
disorder. This paper describes the background and operation of the OFAFE service, along with the
early stages of the development of a similar service for young carers, the Young Friends and Family
Empowerment (YFAFE) service.
Key words
Personality disorder, carer support, young carers, relatives, complex needs.
Introduction
Nationally, over the last decade, there has been
an increasing emphasis on the recognition of
the valuable role that carers play in supporting
relatives with mental health problems
(Department of Health, 1999). As a result,
service providers are now expected to address
the needs of carers in everyday clinical practice.
The recommendations of the Care Programme
Approach (CPA; Department of Health, 1990)
mean that professionals working within NHS
mental health service settings have professional
obligations to assess the needs of their clients’
carers, then to work to reduce any distress
associated with this role, regardless of the client’s
diagnosis. Participation is voluntary.
Despite this increasing recognition of carers
of people with mental health problems, there
has been a relative lack of attention directed
towards the specific needs of carers or families
of people with personality disorder. The key
paper Personality Disorder: No longer a diagnosis
of exclusion (Department of Health, 2003),
which drove service development for people
with personality disorder, does not include any
reference to carers or families. Recent guidance
has echoed the importance of engaging,
communicating, valuing and working with
carers, friends and families (Care Services
Improvement Partnership, 2006).
The Oxfordshire Friends and Family
Empowerment (OFAFE) service was established
by Sara Sanders and Kevin Emrys in 2005
in response to the expressed needs of local
carers. This has developed and thrived, despite
having little formal funding support. It has
10.5042/mhrj.2010.0741
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