Indian Journal of Community Medicine (Jan 2020)
Parental-group interventions for parents of children with mental health problems admitted in a tertiary care center: An experience from India
Abstract
Background: Families play a critical role in their children's development and learning. Parents' understanding of their child's illness has a significant impact on the parent–child relationship and helps them to have realistic expectations. Objectives: The objective of this study is to understand the use of parental-group intervention for making parents understand the problems of the children and to develop skills to deal with the problems. Methods: A six-session parental-group intervention module was developed and tested. Data from the group session were collected for 6 months and have been analyzed. Results: Majority of the parents appreciated the intervention program as it led to skill-building and understanding of the mental health problems among children. Demonstration was liked most of the parents (74) parenting skills and stress management (71 parents); 68 parents liked session on school-related issues; 60 parents liked session on developmental disorders; 54 parents liked session on emotional and behavioral problems. Conclusion: Group-based parenting programs are found to be effective in improving the overall psychosocial health of parents and the emotional and behavioral problems of children and adolescents as a result of better parenting.
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