Elizabeth J. Bruce

Psychoeducational Support for Parents of Children with Intellectual Disability: An Outcome Study

The pressures frequently encountered by the parents of children with chronic conditions and the concomitant impact on family life have been well‐documented. Family‐focussed interventions have been advocated to address parents’ difficulties. The present evaluation study was undertaken to ascertain long‐term outcomes of the psychoeducational support program, Caring for Parent Caregivers. The aim of the program is to empower the individual and thereby strengthen family resources. Quantitative and qualitative analytical procedures, which included the written evaluations of treatment subjects, were employed to examine program effectiveness. For the fathers and mothers of children with disabilities, psychological health and well‐being was assessed on the General Health Questionnaire, using a pretest and follow‐up control group design. Results showed a statistically significant difference between groups, 12 months after treatment, with program participants displaying less emotional distress than control group su...

Non‐finite loss and challenges to communication between parents and professionals

Elizabeth Bruce PhD, a psychologist in private practice, and Cynthia Schultz PhD, honorary associate at LaTrobe University, both live and work in Australia. Their work on supporting parents who have children with special needs, however, has been published around the world. In this article Bruce and Schultz explore the notion of ‘non-finite loss’, defined as the ongoing sense of grief experienced by parents caring for children with severe disabilities. The authors discuss the issues that professionals need to consider when working with parents in these circumstances. The article closes with a set of recommendations for promoting more effective partnerships between parents and professionals.

Caring for fathers and mothers of children with intellectual disability: A pilot study

The present outcome evaluation study was undertaken to obtain information pertinent to the formative stages of the psychoeducational programme “Caring for Parent Caregivers”. Quantitative and qualitative analytical procedures, which included the written evaluations of 39 treatment subjects, were employed to examine programme effectiveness and associated issues such as content specific to fathers and mothers. For 24 fathers and 33 mothers of children with disabilities, perceptions of family functioning and subjective distress were assessed, using a pretest-posttest control group design. Quantitative data analyses, from which demonstrable programme effects were not found, suggested that, in contrast to fathers, mothers were likely to have more frequent occurrences of intrusive thoughts regarding their children and were more likely to acknowledge realistic concerns. The themes which emerged from qualitative evaluations of the small group intervention reflected generally positive behavioural and attitudinal o...