Abstract
Purpose: To review international and domestic literature on the process of family experiences in caring for a person with a serious mental illness and identifiy common stages of the process.
Methods: Through a database search, I identified international and Japanese research articles published since 1980 that examined the process of family experiences in caring for a family member with schizophrenia, depression, or bipolar disorder.
Results: Seventeen qualitative research articles, including fourteen international and three Japanese articles, were identified. From nine international articles on general family experiences, the following twelve common stages of the process were identified: awareness of the problem, ineffective effort and being consumed, crisis, diagnosis or recognition of illness, dissatisfaction with professionals and care systems, negative emotions, feeling of loss and grief, difficulties because of stigma, unstable condition of patient, learning to cope and using care systems, stability and chronicity of patient's condition, and realistic hope.
Conclusion: Although the identified common stages could be applied to Japanese families, further research on the process of general family experiences in Japan is recommended.
