The Silent Parent

The Silent Parent This book explores the experiences of parents with mental illness. The stories reflect the in-depth interviews with parents with mental illness alongside conversations about national and state mental health policies. Analysis of the interviews are assimilated to provide a clear picture of the troubled terrain faced by parents with mental illness. The narratives reveal stories of long-term mental health issues for parents with mental illness whose parenting role is largely unsupported. This book provides a greater understanding of how parents negotiate their parenting role within the context of socially prescribed notions, limited agency, and limited capacity due to a lack of support services for parents with mental illness. This book documents for the first time parenthood as lived by parents with mental illness, it also offers theories as to how the gaps in policies and services can be filled to support the silent parents whose parenthood is so often unacknowledged the lack of attention paid to their mental illness.

Autorentext

Dr Melanie Boursnell is an expert in contemporary family issues. This study about parenthood in society is of importance to all families, as it encourages us to think about the assumptions we make about and of parents. I enourage you to read and to think about the expectations that we hold of ourselves and others in relation to parenting.