Family Members as Monitors in a State Mental Hospital
Michele Reiter M.S.,L.I.C.S.W.1 and
Adrienne Plotkin M.Ed.2
1 Northampton State Hospital and A Family Therapist in Northarmpton, Massachusetts
2 The Department of Mental Health in Western Massachusetts
Northampton State Hospital, Box 389, Northampton, Massachusetts 01060
In 1983 the cooperative efforts of the Western Massachusetts Alliance for Mentally Ill Citizens and the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health led to the development of a program in which family members of patients at Northampton State Hospital monitor conditions at the hospital. The authors describe the process that generated the program, the training and duties of the family monitors, the role of the hospital administration and staff in the monitoring process, and the program's outcomes. They believe that the program gives families a much-needed role in the care of mentally ill relatives and that the staff-family collaboration it fosters strengthensthe power of advocacy.
