Family caregiving: application of Newman's and Peplau's theories

The purpose of this paper was to apply Newman's and Peplau's theories in situations where family members assumed the role of the primary caregiver for their relative diagnosed as mentally ill. The commonality between the two theories is the nurse—client relationship. Despite different theoretical underpinnings, both theories were found useful when applied to family caregiving situations. Both theories aim toward the inner growth of the client, which is the goal of psychiatric and mental health nursing.