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This book examines the challenges of caregiving in mental health with unusual depth and breadth, covering developmental, cultural and spiritual contexts of care, and stressing the need to see care as a community, rather than an individual or family experience.

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Caring for the ill, disabled, very old, or very young requires a labor-intensive commitment that is not only essential to the well-being of individuals and to society as a whole, but also fraught with physical, financial, and psychological risks. And despite the critical nature of their job, caregivers rarely have avenues of support.

The Challenges of Mental Health Caregiving addresses the complexities of the situation with uncommon depth and breadth. Suited to researchers, scientist-practitioners and clinicians, and students seeking a rounded understanding of the field, it examines how caregiving affects the lives, work, and mental health of family and professional caregivers. Chapters explore developmental, cultural, and spiritual contexts of care, addressing ongoing concerns about care in relation to larger health systems and emphasizing the need for care to be viewed as a community, rather than an individual or family experience. Further, the book´s conclusion strongly advocates for more effective and efficient uses for available funds and resources while offering workable proposals for service improvements at the policy level.

Key areas of coverage:

The impact of caregiving on physical and mental health.
Integrating mental health and primary care.
The promotion of positive mental health outcomes in children and youth.
Mid-life concerns and caregiver experience.
Loss, grief, bereavement and the implications for mental health caregiving.
Policy issues in caregiving and mental health.

The Challenges of Mental Health Caregiving is a clear-sighted reference for researchers, clinicians and scientist-practitioners, and graduate students in the caregiving fields, including clinical psychology, social work, public health/medicine, geriatrics/gerontology, public policy, and educational policy.

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Foreword; Rosalynn Carter.- Chapter 1. Caregiving to Promote Mental Health and Prevent Mental Illness; Ronda C. Talley, Gregory L. Fricchione, & Benjamin G. Druss.- Section I: Developmental Issues in Mental Health Caregiving.- Chapter 2. The Impact of Caregiving on Physical and Mental Health: Implications for Research, Practice, Education, and Policy; Diane L. Elmore.- Chapter 3. Cultural Considerations in Caring for Persons with Mental Illness; Brent E. Gibson. - Chapter 4. Chronic Illness and Primary Care: Integrating Mental Health and Primary Care; Susan Taylor-Brown & Susan H. McDaniel.- Section II: The Mental Health Caregiving Context.- Chapter 5. Mental Illness Prevention and Promotion; William R. Beardslee & Tracy R. G. Gladstone.- Chapter 6. Systems of Caregiving: Promoting Positive Mental Health Outcomes in Children and Adolescents; Patricia Stone Motes & Chaundrissa Oyeshiku Smith.- Chapter 7. Midlife Concerns and Caregiving Experiences: Intersecting Life Issues Affecting Mental Health; Jane E. Myers & Melanie C. Harper.- Section III: Local, State, and National Issues Effecting Caregivers and Mental Health Caregiving.- Chapter 8. Loss, Grief, and Bereavement: Implications for Family Caregivers and Health Care Professionals of the Mentally Ill; Sherry R. Schachter & Jimmie C. Holland.- Chapter 9. Caring for a Family Member with Mental Illness: Exploring Spirituality; Thomas R. Smith & Mary G. Milano.- Section IV: Issues in Policy and Research.- Chapter 10. Caregiving and Mental Health: Policy Implications; Michael J. English & Kana Enomoto.- Chapter 11. Research in Caregiving; Elizabeth A. Crocco & Carl Eisdorfer.- Chapter 12. Mental Health Caregiving: A Call to Professional Providers, Family Caregivers, and Individuals with Mental Health Challenges; Donald Lollar & Ronda C. Talley.

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