Effectiveness of Group Counseling Among Children of Parents with Mental Illness

Literature Review and Research Proposal by:

Blair Bergner, LaRhonda Cockrell, Demia Espinal, Meredith Hilton, David Saunders, & Tanisha Williams
Tennessee State University

PURPOSE PROPOSED INTERVENTION IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH

For children who grow up under the care of a mentally ill parent, their
lives can be filled with hypervigilance, extreme anxiety, and
uncertainty. Many times they are left to compete with the parent’s
symptoms in order to receive care for themselves. Children that have
a parent with mental illness may lack coping strategies to help them
deal with complex situations. As a result, these children may move
into adulthood facing challenges in areas of social rejection, troubled
relationships, martial concerns and family dissolutions. This literature
review and research proposal seeks to study the effectiveness of
group counseling among children of parents with mental illness. It is
hypothesized that this intervention would decrease the level of
worry.
LITERATURE REVIEW
School counselors are expected to meet the needs of all
students. In order to accomplish this goal, school counselors
can and should provide direct and indirect services to students
with mental health needs. In some cases, school counselors
may need additional training to provide direct services to
students. In addition to working directly with students to
address their mental health issues, school counselors should
also develop and tap new resources to help all students reach
their potential. One way to increase service provision is to
build alliances within and outside the school community
(Kazak et al., 2010).
In an effort to provide a broad array of services that will assist
students in dealing with the social and emotional issues they
bring to the classroom, schools and community mental health
agencies have begun to implement collaborative partnerships
(Walsh & Galassi, 2002). Walsh and Galassi asserted that if we
are to successfully intersect the complicated in-school and
out-of-school lives of children, we must focus on the
development of the whole child. Doing so will require
"collaborations that span the boundaries of professions and
agencies" (p. 680). Expanded school mental health programs
are a growing movement in the United States, which
represents partnerships between schools and community
mental health agencies. In these programs, school-hired
mental health professionals (MHPs) provide a myriad of
services, which emphasize effective prevention, assessment,
and intervention (Weist, Lowie, Flaherty, & Pruitt, 2001).
This collaborative effort is intended to lessen the burden and
liabilities of the educational system while improving the
fragmented and incomplete delivery of services to school-
aged children and youth. Research has indicated that less than
one-third of youth who are candidates for mental health
services receive the care they need (U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, 1999). Given the importance and
acceptance of multisystem collaboration in improving child
and youth mental health, the perceived efficacy of these
collaborative partnerships is what drives this research agenda.
Precisely, we are interested in the following research question:
Participants
The participants of our study will be elementary and middle school students who have been
identified as having parents or guardians who suffer with mental health. Majority of the
participants will attend a Title I school in Nashville, TN.
Methods
In conjunction with the Westgate Charities, the Mental Health Life-Skills Curriculum Guide was
developed to provide students whose parents suffer from mental illness with the knowledge,
resources, and communication skills they need to overcome a unique set of life challenges. This
small group curriculum guide aligns with the ASCA National Standards and promote both
academic and personal success. The curriculum guide consists of six modules that are designed
to be implemented over a 6-week period for approximately one hour each week.
Module Breakdown Lesson Topic
Module 1 How Does the Brain Work?
Module 2 Understanding Mental Health and Mental Illness
Module 3 Removing the Stigma of Mental Health
Module 4 Fostering Open Dialogue
Module 5 Knowing Your Resources
Module 6 Emergency Medical Planning
Evaluation
The Mental Health Life-Skills Curriculum Guide will be evaluated through process, perception,
and outcome data. Pre/Post tests will be conducted to review grades, attendance, and behavior
of the participants. The Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children (PSWQ-C) will also be used
to measure the level of worry. The PSWQ-C is a 14-item self-report measure of worry in children
and adolescents. An example question is When I am under pressure, I worry a lot (Item 5).
Participants respond on a Likert scale by choosing Never True, Sometimes True, Most Times True,
or Always True.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
After participation in this psychoeducation group experience, the researchers believe that the
attendees will have lower scores on the PSWQ-C scale, indicating a lower level of worry. Other
possible outcomes can be an increase in attendance, higher grades, and lower rate of discipline
infractions. The researchers believe that the provision of support through this intervention may
● If a reduction in the PWSC-Q scale score positively correlates with
a reduction in absenteeism and discipline and/or negatively
correlates with grades then the intervention program developed
will be considered a success.
● Further study should be conducted to see if any gains would be
considered long term by evaluating data at later points in the
school year.
● Data should be also be looked at to see what a minimum score on
the worry scale would indicate referral to group with possible
consideration of the worry scale as a screening tool in addition to
teacher referral.
● If the intervention program did not result in a reduction of
PWSC-Q scale scores and/or absenteeism and discipline or
improve grades then the program would not be successful and the
data should be analyzed to determine what changes might lead to
success. Possible causes for failure might be:
○ Too short of intervention time
○ Other outside factors not accounted for or screened out:
familial barriers, limited resources, learning disability, mental
health issues of the child independent of the family
environment, health issues and/or classroom environment
issues
IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS
If this program is considered successful then school counselors
should examine their student populations to see who might
benefit from intervention. Although we cannot always control
the environment that our students go home to, we can teach
them the skills to make coping with that home environment
less impactful on their social, educational and personal
environment. In addition, schools should look to partner with
community agencies to improve student
outcomes(Kaffenberger & O-Rourke-Trigiani, 2013).
REFERENCES
Kaffenberger, C. J., & O’Rourke-Trigiani, J. (2013). Addressing
Student Mental Health Needs by Providing Direct and
Indirect Services and Building Alliances in the Community.
Professional School Counseling, 16(5), 323–332.
Kazak, A. E., Hoagwood, K., Weisz, J. R., Hood, K., Kratochwill,
T. R., Vargas, L. A., & Banez, G. A. (2010). A meta- systems
approach to evidence-based practice for children and
adolescents. American Psychologist, 65(2), 85-97.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1999).
Mental health: a report of the Surgeon General. Rockville,
MD.
Walsh, M.E., & Galassi, J.P. (2002). An introduction: Counseling
psychologists and schools. The Counseling Psychologist, 30,
675-681.
Weist, M.D., Lowie, J.A., Flaherty, L.T. & Pruitt, D. (2001).

Does participation in school group counseling interventions

positively impact overall functioning. Collaboration among the education, mental health, and
public health systems to promote young mental health.
impact level of worry for children of parents with mental Psychiatric Services, 52, 1348-1351.
illness?
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