More than ten million American adults live with a serious mental illness (SMI). Given the deinstitutionalization of psychiatric facilities, caregivers and family members are often needed to care for these individuals. Due to SMI individuals’ extensive needs, caregivers frequently face unique challenges and experiences. Although research has been conducted on caring for individuals with SMI, less information exists about the experiences of rural caregivers of SMI individuals. The purpose of this study was to fill this gap in research by exploring the lived experiences of caregivers of SMI individuals in rural areas with the intention of understanding this population’s unique needs. The research questions focused on the experiences and stressors of caregivers of SMI individuals in a rural community. The frameworks were critical theory and Bowen’s family systems theory. A qualitative phenomenological design study was used employing semi-structured interviews with 4 participants who are caregivers of SMI individuals in a rural New York area. Data from the interviews were coded and analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: impact on relationships, thoughts and feelings, impact on caregivers’ well-being, and rural mental health in this area. The potential impact for social change includes the dissemination of information to rural clinicians to assist caregivers with needed support and offer a framework for future curricula.

Sexual minorities (SM) are at a greater risk for experiencing a serious mental illness (SMI) compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Furthermore, SM with a SMI continue to experience stigma and discrimination that leads to more negative outcomes and a greater need for counseling services. Current researchers have not adequately addressed the specific needs of SM with a SMI and how to prepare counselors to work with this population. Furthermore, most SM with a SMI find that counseling services are inadequate and do not meet their unique needs. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study, grounded in a Husserlian philosophical and Minority Stress Model conceptual framework, was to explore the experiences and perceptions of counselors who provide counseling services to SM with a SMI. Data was collected from six participants using a semistructured interview and followed a thematic data analysis process, ensuring thematic saturation. The results of this study highlighted many themes regarding the unique needs of SM with a SMI, such as their multiple minority stressors, negative counseling experiences, and the impact of family, as well as counselor's perception regarding the lack of preparation in graduate school to work with SM with a SMI. Study findings may improve counselors' understanding of the needs of SM with a SMI so they may provide more effective counseling services. Also, this study highlights the importance of training counselors to work with this population and may bolster the efforts of counselor educators.

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Working in health care professions involves many emotional and interpersonal job stressors. Difficulties in handing such stressors commonly lead to a distinctive combination of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and reduced personal accomplishment (RPA), a syndrome known as burnout. Although most helping professionals contend with similar demands, mental health workers are faced with many unique pressures. The problem addressed by the proposed research was burnout of mental health providers. More specifically, the current study sought to identify organizational and individual factors that may lead to less--or more--burnout in providers who report having a majority of clients with long-term mental illness and/or substance use disorders (LTMI). Several hypotheses were tested. It was proposed that each of the organizational and personality characteristics would be significantly associated with all three dimensions of burnout and that the majority of the assessed variables would significantly contribute to the prediction of burnout. Exploratory moderation analyses were also conducted. Participants were recruited from regional community mental health centers, social service agencies, and chemical dependency programs. Participants included direct care staff who reported that the majority of work performed was face-to-face with clients diagnosed with LTMI. Demographic information was assessed in addition to three self-report measures. Results of this investigation demonstrated that, contrary to a priori hypotheses, levels of burnout in social services workers serving mostly LTMI clients were generally low. Most of the occupational and personality variables did not account for as much variance of each burnout dimension as expected. However, the full sets of chosen demographic, organizational, and personality variables significantly predicted each dimension of burnout. Psychological demands were most predictive of EE, job insecurity and agreeableness accounted for a significant portion of variance of DP, and none of the organizational or personality variables uniquely contributed to the prediction of RPA. The lack of significance of the proposed predictors may be attributed to several factors, especially the uniqueness of the current sample, nonrandom selection, and potential socially desirable responding. Additional empirical research including a burnout intervention for larger samples of social services workers who work with LTMI is indicated. Practical implications are discussed.

Caregiving can be stressful, and older adults’ health and well-being may be impacted by the roles and responsibilities they assume as caregivers for persons with serious mental illness (SMI). This study is the first to apply the Stress Process Model of Caregiving (SPM) in an attempt to understand how mental illness stigma influences caregiver outcomes, specifically their desire to relinquish care. The intent of this study was to call attention to care relinquishment as an under-studied stress process outcome and to explore stress factors, with a focus on mental illness stigma, that contribute to SMI caregivers’ desire to relinquish care. Using convenience sampling, members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in the eastern U.S. were invited to participate in an online survey, resulting in a sample of n = 285. Regression analysis findings suggest that caregivers’ partnership status, exposure to problematic behaviors, and perceptions of courtesy stigma predicted desire to relinquish care. Neither age nor caregiver sense of mastery moderated the relationship between perceived courtesy stigma and relinquishment desire. Perceptions of stigma were negatively associated with caregiver health, sense of mastery, and social support levels, indicating stigma’s role in the erosion of caregiver resources. This study provides information that can inform the development of educational and supportive services that may help caregivers better cope with the stressors associated with SMI caregiving. With caregiving stressors diminished, older caregivers will be able to better apply their resources toward self-care and maintaining their quality of life.