New research illuminates the challenges of caregivers for people with mental illness
Feb 23 2016
WASHINGTON, DC—Feb. 23, 2016—At least 8.4 million Americans are providing care to an adult with an emotional or mental health issue, and nearly three quarters report that caregiving causes high emotional stress, finds a new study from the National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with Mental Health America and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
The study, On Pins & Needles: Caregivers of Adults with Mental Illness, identifies startling inadequacies in the U.S. health care system in meeting the needs of families who manage moderate-to-serious mental illness. Four in 10 caregivers struggled to find an accurate diagnosis for their loved one. Families whose loved one had found an accurate diagnosis reported that it took 11.8 years, on average, to get there.