Loneliness and Family Burden: An Exploratory Investigation on the Emotional Experiences of Caregivers of Patients with Severe Mental Illness

Authors

Francesca Dicé, University of Naples, Federico IIFollow
Felice Zoena

Abstract

We present here an exploratory descriptive investigation about the needs of the caregivers of patients with severe mental illness (SMI) referring to a mental health service of a Southern Italian city. Twelve caregivers were queried, as experienced contacts, about their own emotional involvement and their relationship with the patient by means of a semi-structured interview. Interviews were subjected to a qualitative thematic-categorical analysis. The results reveal painful experiences of anguish and feelings of inadequacy stemming from care-giving, which gravely impact the caregivers' personal well-being and family relations.

Keywords

Family Burden, Communication of Diagnosis, Severe Mental Illness, Sense-Making Process, Qualitative Research

Author Bio(s)

Francesca Dicé PhD is psychologist and specialist in clinical psychology, scholarship holder at SInAPSi Athenaeum Center of the University of Naples Federico II. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: francescadice@yahoo.it.

Felice Zoena MD is specialist in psychiatry and psychoanalyst, head physician at Mental Health Service 32, Local Health Authority Naples 1.

Publication Date

7-3-2017

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Recommended APA Citation

Dicé, F., & Zoena, F. (2017). Loneliness and Family Burden: An Exploratory Investigation on the Emotional Experiences of Caregivers of Patients with Severe Mental Illness. The Qualitative Report, 22(7), 1781-1791. DOI: https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2017.2776