Children visiting parents in inpatient psychiatric facilities: perspectives of parents, carers, and children

A significant number of clients utilizing mental health services will also be parents. Being a child of a parent with mental illness increases health risks for the child, and hospitalization of the parent has been identified as one of the most difficult times for children. However, few proactive measures have been taken to understand or provide for the needs of children visiting psychiatric inpatient facilities. The aim of this exploratory study was to identify the perspectives children, their parents, nominated carers, and clinicians from their experience of children visiting. The study used qualitative data gathered from interviews to develop an understanding of the issues. The purpose of this paper was to present the findings from parents, carers, and children. Children indicated that they wanted to visit and to remain involved with their parent, but that there was little support from staff. Families indicated that children visiting psychiatric inpatient facilities were not well managed, and they received little support about decisions around children visiting. The issue of children visiting psychiatric facilities when they have a parent who is an inpatient appears not to have been addressed in models of inpatient mental health care.