Mini Workshop 20 - Reimagining Family Peer Support in the Treatment of Young Adults with Serious Mental Illnesses: The Family Connector Experience

In response to research demonstrating that evidence-based psychosocial intervention and medication could significantly improve outcomes for individuals with first episode psychosis (FEP), FEP programs offering comprehensive early intervention services have been implemented across the globe. Unfortunately, individuals with FEP frequently stop treatment before it is clinically indicated. Lack of family involvement predicts treatment disengagement, highlighting the important role of caregivers. However, caring for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI), including FEP, is challenging, and caregiver wellbeing has been overlooked. A family peer support intervention model would likely address this need.

An ongoing NIMH-funded study is evaluating Family Connectors (FC), a peer-to-peer intervention adapted from the evidence-based Parent Connectors program, for caregivers (typically parents or other family members) of young adults discharged from FEP programs. This time-limited, phone-based program is the first manualized intervention of its kind to provide peer support to caregivers of loved ones with SMI. The intervention team includes research team members, an FC coach (a psychologist), and five FCs, all with lived experience caring for adult loved ones with mental health needs, three who have loved ones discharged from FEP programs. The FC coach, a clinician, is responsible for supervising the FCs. While there are commonalities in supervising FCs compared to trainee clinicians, several complexities present requiring careful consideration (e.g., managing differences in the power imbalance caused by distinct but coordinating areas of expertise, addressing FC cognitions/emotions that may interfere with services while maintaining appropriate boundaries).

In this presentation, participants will be introduced to the benefits of family peer support services; understand how clinicians and family peer support professionals collaborate; discuss strategies to integrate principles of CBT into FC supervision; discuss advantages and complexities of FC supervision by a clinician; and describe clinical considerations when applying this intervention to caregivers of adult loved ones with SMI, informed by FC lived experience.

Outline:
• An ongoing NIMH-funded study is evaluating Family Connectors (FC), a peer-to-peer intervention adapted from the evidence-based Parent Connectors program, for caregivers of young adults discharged from first episode psychosis (FEP) programs. This time-limited, phone-based program is the first manualized intervention of its kind to provide peer support to caregivers of loved ones with serious mental illness (SMI).
• In this presentation, a team of researchers, clinicians, and family peer professionals will introduce the benefits of family peer support services and describe how clinicians and family peer support professionals collaborate to improve patient outcomes.
• We will discuss the advantages and complexities of a clinician supervising the work of family peer professionals and identify cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) strategies which have been helpful to integrate into the supervision process.
• We will describe essential clinical considerations when applying this intervention to caregivers of adult loved ones with SMI, informed by the lived experience of our family peer professionals.