The Secondary Family: The Result of Strong Community Partnering
| Date | 01 October 2007 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13619322200700028 |
| Pages | 30-33 |
| Published date | 01 October 2007 |
| Author | Irene Cant |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Irene R Cant
310 COPE, York Support Services Network, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
The Secondary Family: The Result
of Strong Community Partnering
Abstract
Support for individualism can leave marginalised people feeling even more isolated and hopeless. Families often
attempt to help but can soon become emotionally depleted. The ‘secondary family’, created when community
agencies partner with one another, can offer hope for stabilisation, if not recovery, for individuals living with mental
illness. This article describes a Canadian programme where crisis services are working with police to de-escalate
psychiatric crisis. Shared goals bring crisis staff and police together to provide compassion, support and follow-up.
Key words
Secondary family, crisis, partnership, families, police, Canada
Beavers and Hampson (1990) have studied
successful family functioning and they have found
that a strong affiliation among family members is
vital for optimal family functioning. These families
hold a positive view of human nature, which
ultimately enables them to relate to each other with
trust. The mutuality existing among family members
is expressed by a common belief that all partners are
doing as well as they can under particular restraints.
Healthy families can foster optimism and a hopeful
belief that there is a way out of a crisis. Research
evidence documents the strong effects that an
optimistic orientation can have on one’s ability
to deal with stress and adversity (Seligman 1990).
The stigma of mental illness
The myth of rugged individualism has fostered
expectations that a person must be self-reliant. Our
culture tends to have intolerance toward personal
suffering. People often avert their gaze from dis-
ability, and from dis-ease, often dispensing quick
advice to ’cheer up’ or ’get over it’ (Walsh, 1998).
Because of the present-day stigma of mental illness
in our society individuals will try to mask or deny any
symptoms of emotional ill health.1Mental illness can
remain hidden and many people will self-medicate
with alcohol or street drugs to soften the emotional
In the helping profession, many of us have been
witness to the significant impact a web of supportive
relationships can have on a person’s recovery.
Compassion from one’s primary family takes
precedence over any other support found in society.
Unfortunately, there are too many individuals with
mental illness who have emotional strain put upon
their caregivers as a result of their illness.
Resilience and family support
It is a common belief that a person who is able to
show resilience in the face of ill health and/or crisis
either has biological hardiness or the ’right stuff’
(Walsh, 1998).
Resilience can be defined as: ’The capacity to
rebound from adversity whereby one is strengthened
… or as an active process of endurance, self-righting
and growth in response to crisis and challenge’
(Walsh, 1998). The existence of supportive
relationships, particularly in families,can encourage
resilience. Positive family traits such as warmth,
affection, emotional support and clearly defined
structures and limits may be factors that contribute
to the development of resilience. Families that are
functioning in a healthy manner are generally more
resilient. They are able to provide the support that
a mentally ill person requires in times of crisis.
Mental Health Review Journal Volume 12 Issue 3 October 2007 © Pavilion Journals (Brighton) Ltd
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PRACTICE
1An interesting discussion of the difference between mental illness and emotional disturbance can be found in the following
article: Johnson ED (2001) The partnership model: working with families of people with serious mental illnesses. In: MacFarlane
M Family Therapy and Mental Health Innovations in Theory and Practice pp 27-53.New York: Haworth Clinical Practice Press.
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