Deane, F.P.

Carers of people with mental illness frequently report interpersonal difficulties in their caring relationship, and experiential avoidance likely contributes to these problems. This study aimed to examine the relationship between experiential avoidance and eight interpersonal problem domains amongst lay mental health carers, and tested the mediating role of attachment anxiety and hostility. In addition, an alternative (reverse) mediation was tested in which experiential avoidance played the mediating role.

The use of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Schema group intervention with the mental health carer population has a strong justification: 1) There is a theoretical rationale for the role of experiential avoidance and negative expectations of relationships (and associated cognitive fusion) in underpinning mental health carers interpersonal problems; 2) Correlational data demonstrates that the processes targeted by ACT (i.e. experiential avoidance) and Schema therapy (i.e.

Objectives: Stigma compounds the burden experienced by family members of those with a mental illness. This study aimed to examine burden experienced by carers of people with schizophrenia or affective disorders and to explore the relationship between carer burden and stigma. Method: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted with patient-carer dyads involving 67 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 51 diagnosed with affective disorder.