An Assessment of Family Reaction to the Stress of Psychiatric Illness

Mental health professionals are beginning to recognize that the assessment ofa patient's immediate social environment, especially the family, is essential for proper diagnosis and treatment. The authors present a compre-hensive and practical plan for assessing the behavior of a family under the stress of an illness; they focus on six major factors, including the family's past reactions to crisis, the structure of the family and roles of its members, and the degree of Lsolation from other social-support systems. They also present a case example and make recommendations for therapy.