1. INVISIBLE LIVES
Shining light on the
Children of Parents with
Mental Illness and
Addiction in New Zealand
brontë jefferies brontejefferies@gmail.com

2. HOW DO CHILDREN EXPERIENCE PARENTAL MENTAL ILLNESS
AND ADDICTION IN THEIR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES?
WHY THEY ARE SO INVISIBLE IN RESEARCH AND SERVICE
PROVISIONS?
RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

3. 1 IN 5 FAMILIES HAVE A PARENT WITH
MENTAL ILLNESS
50% OF PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
ARE PARENTS
THESE NUMBERS ARE UNDERESTIMATED!
IT CAN “AFFECT ALMOST EVERY ASPECT
OF [A] CHILD[‘S] DEVELOPMENT”.
THE PREVALENCE OF PARENTAL MENTAL ILLNESS

4. INTRODUCING COPMIA KIDS
‘RISKY’
VULNERABLE
PARENTIFIED
RESILIENT
RESPONSIBLE
INVISIBLE

5. INVISIBLE LIVES, BUT WHY?
MEDICALISATION
BIOMEDICALISED IDENTITIES
CULTURAL UNDERSTANDINGS OF CHILDREN
STIGMA OF MENTAL ILLNESS
NO COLLABORATION BETWEEN SOCIAL AND
MEDICAL PROVIDERS
LIMITED RESOURCES AND FUNDING FOR
PROGRAMMES

6. CHILDREN’S PERSPECTIVES

7. GOOD DAYS
• WHEN THE PARENT IS “DOING
WELL”, THE CHILDREN “FEEL
HAPPY”.
• PARENTS WILL “READ THEM
STORIES, PLAY GAMES, HELP
WITH HOMEWORK AND ASK
ABOUT SCHOOL”, AND “DO THE
DISHES”.
• CHILDREN WORRY LESS AND
RELAX MORE

8. BAD DAYS
 ON “BAD DAYS” PARENTS CAN
BECOME WITHDRAWN, “YELL”,
“GET ANGRY”, OR “CRY ALL THE
TIME”
 MANY CHILDREN ASSUME THEIR
PARENT’S ROLE BY “DOING JOBS
AT HOME”.

10. THE FAMILY SECRET: NEGATIVE IDEAS
OF MENTAL ILLNESS HURT
“I THINK IT IS SOMETHING THAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK BAD ABOUT”
“THE WORSE THING IS, ACTUALLY, IS OTHER PEOPLES REACTIONS”
 EXCLUSION
 OTHERING
 SHAMING
 STIGMA
 DISCRIMINATION
 LABELLING

11. INDIRECT HARDSHIPS:
THE BIG PROBLEMS
SOCIAL MARGINALIZATION
UNEMPLOYMENT
LOW INCOME
POOR HOUSING
DISCRIMINATION
SOLO PARENTING
LACK OF SOCIAL SUPPORT

12. COPMIA WORKSHOP IN
TARANAKI
“IN MENTAL HEALTH, AH THE FOCUS IS
ON THE ADULT, NOT ON THE CHILD, IT
MIGHT BE TO DO WITH THE PARTNER,
BUT NOT THE CHILD. IN MY
EXPERIENCE…. THE CHILD IS NOT
LOOKED AT…
AT ALL”.
ROLLER, PERINATAL AND INFANT
MENTAL HEALTH SOCIAL WORKER,
2014.

13. COPMIA WORKSHOP
IN TARANAKI
• “THERE IS A TREMENDOUS GAP IN THE COMMUNITY IN
SUPPORT AND HELP WITH LITTLE ONES IN THIS AREA
AND AH HALF OF MY TIME IS SPENT IN ADVOCACY. AND
THAT IS PERSISTENT ADVOCACY, TO TRY AND GET SOME
SORT OF HELP FOR THESE CHILDREN” (LOWE, 2014).
• “SERVICES WORKERS FEEL THE NEED TO GO OUTSIDE
THEIR ROLE TO LOOK AFTER THESE KIDS, BECAUSE
THERE’S NOBODY UM WHO’S MEETING THEIR NEEDS”
(MUNRO, 2014).
• “WHEN WE WERE DOING THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT WE
WOULD IDENTIFY AND MENTION THE CHILDREN, BUT
THEIR NEEDS WERE NEVER TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT”
(TENNEJ, 2014).

14. “THEY’RE FALLING THROUGH THE
GAP AND BECAUSE THEY’RE
FALLING THROUGH THE GAP,
•IT EFFECTS THEIR EDUCATION;
• IT AFFECTS HOW THEY
SOCIALIZE;
•IT EFFECTS THE WHANAU;
IT EFFECTS EVERY ASPECT OF
THEIR LIVES”
(Lowe, Social worker in schools, August 2014).

15. PARENTIFIED CHILDREN
“THEY FEEL A TREMENDOUS SENSE OF
RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS THEIR PARENT, WHO MAY
WELL BE IN HOSPITAL, THEY [CAN] START TO LIE, TO
DECEIVE FOR THEM, AND THEY START TO TAKE ON
RESPONSIBILITY. THE ISSUE HERE IS HUGE” (LOWE,
2014).
“THEY BECOME RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR PARENTS,
SIBLINGS, AND OR, BOTH” (BONES, 2014).

16. “THEY DON’T WANT THEIR PARENTS TO GET INTO
TROUBLE BECAUSE THEY’RE SCARED THEY’RE GOING TO
BE REMOVED” (TENNEJ, 2014).
SLIENCED
FEAR

17. OUR CONCLUSIONS
1.
CHILDREN OF PARENTS WITH
MENTAL ILLNESS OR ADDICTION
FACE SIGNIFICANT “STRUGGLES”
IN CHILDHOOD.
THEY ARE “FALLING THROUGH THE
GAP”, AND “THEY NEED SUPPORT
NOWAND THEY NEED HELP NOW”.

18. 2.
THERE IS A “TREMENDOUS GAP”
IN SUPPORT FOR THESE
CHILDREN AND THERE NEEDS
TO BE MUCH MORE DONE FOR
COPMIA FAMILIES TODAY.

19. 3.
IN THE FUTURE SUPPORTIVE
AND PRACTICAL INITIATIVES
THAT SHOULD BE DEVELOPED
INCLUDE PEER SUPPORT
GROUPS FOR SCHOOL
CHILDREN, AND AFTER
SCHOOL AND HOLIDAY
PROGRAMMES ARE THAT FUN
AND ‘MANA ENHANCING’.

20. MOVING FORWARD
•OPEN DIALOGUE
•THINK PARENT, THINK CHILD, THINK
FAMILY
•CHALLENGE STIGMA
•POLICY CHANGE
•RESEARCH
•PEER SUPPORT GROUPS
•COPMIA DEVELOPED CHECKLIST

21. A SIMPLE CHECKLIST
1. Introduce yourself. Tell us who you are. What your job is.
2. Give us as much information as you can.
3. Tell us what is wrong with our Mum or Dad.
4. Tell us what is going to happen next.
5. Talk to us and listen to us. Remember it is not hard to speak to us. We are not aliens.
6. Ask us what we know, and what we think. We live with our mum or dad. We know how they have been
behaving.
7. Tell us it is not our fault. We can feel really guilty if our mum or dad is ill. We need to know we are not to
blame.
8. Please don’t ignore us. Remember we are part of the family and we live there too!
9. Keep on talking to us and keeping us informed. We need to know what is happening.
10. Tell us if there is anyone we can talk to. MAYBE IT COULD BE YOU!

22. REFERENCES
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23. REFERENCES
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