NCJ Number
212250
Journal
Criminal Behaviorur & Mental Health Volume: 15 Issue: 3 Dated: 2005 Pages: 154-163
Date Published
2005
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined the perceptions of barriers to receiving effective mental health care that were experienced by patients who had committed intra-familial homicide in the context of severe untreated mental illness.
Abstract
This study used a qualitative, naturalistic model which focused on the representation of reality through the eyes of the participants and emphasized the emergence of concepts from the data rather than their imposition from current theory. During 1997 and 1998, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 individuals who had committed intra-familial homicide and who had been diagnosed by their treating psychiatrist with major mental illnesses. The interviews included open questions about perceived available support, help-seeking, experience of illness, ideas about the children or family member who had been killed, experience of parenting or family relationships, stressors, motivation for killing, rehabilitation, and what participants felt might have helped prevent the death(s). All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed, and the transcripts were analyzed for themes related to barriers to help-seeking. The following themes were identified from the interviews: hiding or minimizing difficulties by the participant; lack of knowledge or understanding of mental illness; loss of control in the context of illness; seduction by the illness; reality-distorting effects of the illness; distortion of interpersonal relationships; diminished ability to trust; and difficulty acknowledging the need for medication. These findings show that barriers to mental health care exist at individual, interpersonal, and societal levels, and that these barriers need to be addressed so that persons suffering with severe mental illness are more willing and able to receive the help they need. References