The Effect of Motivational Interview Intervention for Caregivers of Individuals With Severe Mental Disorders

Serious mental illnesses are all chronic illnesses such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and other psychotic disorders, major depression, and bipolar disorder, which cause impaired functioning in areas such as activities of daily living, self-care, social relationships, professional and academic life, quality time, etc. These chronic illnesses are a significant source of stress for the patient and family members. With the transition to community-based practices in the care of chronic mental illnesses, t he duties of families have increased and as a result, have had significant negative effects on caregiver and family functioning. Caregivers face many challenges and these challenges cause caregivers to experience feelings such as anxiety, stress, fear, guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, powerlessness, loss, and anger. It is understood that families are in significant need of psychosocial support interventions that will enable them to develop effective coping methods and reduce stress and anxiety. Themotivationall Interviewing Technique is one of the methods that can be applied to the caregivers of individuals diagnosed with chronic mental illness to adapt to the situation and cope with the difficulties they experience. Motivational Interviewing does not deal with issues such as teaching new information or ensuring acceptance of the past. It focuses on the individual's current stress, anxiety and dilemmas, goals, and plans. Studies show that any intervention that will contribute to the caregiver's coping attitude and psychological distress level will also support the empowerment of the sick individual. For this purpose, the study was planned to determine the effect of motivational interviewing intervention for caregivers of individuals with serious mental disorders on psychological distress and coping attitudes.