The familial and social context, family consultation of patients and their families referred to the Family Therapy Unit of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of CM UJ, Kraków

W artykule przedstawione są wyniki badań własnych, których celem było przeanalizowanie, które z czynników rodzinnego i społecznego kontekstu wpływają na motywację pacjentów i ich rodzin (lub jej brak) do podjęcia terapii rodzinnej. Czynniki sprzyjające podjęciu terapii, tom. in. krótszy czas trwania objawów, specyfika obrazu psychopatologicznego, poczucie bezradności rodziców. Dłuższy niż 2 lata czas trwania objawów oraz rozumienie przez rodzinę problemu w kategoriach medycznych są główną przyczyną niepodjęcia terapii rodzinnej.

The aim of the study was to analyse the familial and social context of the patients and their families referred to the Family Therapy Unit of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of CM UJ, Kraków. The study was based on the first referral interview and the first consultation family session. The assumption was that the obtained results allow us to describe which families and social factors are connected with the motivation towards the treatment based on family therapy. The results of the study show that motivation to participate in family therapy is connected with short duration of the illness and proper referrals (by psychiatrist or other specialist). Also parents’ feelings of helplessness in dealing with their child’s problem, and partly the specificity of their child’s symptoms play a vital role. In the case when the problems and symptoms lasted more than 2 years, even when a family participates in a family consultation, family members are not ready to start family therapy. It can be said that the patient’s problems and symptom chronicity is maintained by parents’ and patients’ difficulties in understanding the psychological, family and social context of the symptoms, medical model o f the illness, late searching for professional help in solving problems.