gms | German Medical Science

Background: The mental illness of a parent has an impact on the entire family, especially on children and adolescents. Affected families are exposed to a variety of stressors. Nevertheless, the German healthcare system is currently predominantly individual-centered, which means that mental stress and illnesses of relatives are often not adequately treated.

Objective: Four new forms of care – CHIMPS therapy, CHIMPS multifamily therapy, CHIMPS prevention and the online intervention iCHIMPS – are being evaluated in the CHIMPS-NET Germany research and care network – embedded in international collaborations – in order to be able to implement them in long-term care. The participation of families in one of the four new forms of care is expected to lead to long-term improvements in the mental health of children and adolescents.

Methods: Between 2020 and 2023, 406 families at 21 participating centers nationwide were included in four prospective, two-arm (intervention group vs. treatment-as-usual group) studies. Data was collected from the perspective of the mentally ill parent, the partner, the children aged 8 and over, therapists and external raters at four measurement points: at the start of the study and 6, 12 and 18 months later. The development of mental health (measured with the Child Behavior Checklist [CBCL]) over the four measurement points in the comparison of the intervention group vs. the treatment-as-usual group is analyzed using multilevel models.

Results: The final results are not yet available. We expect an improvement in the mental health of the children and adolescents in the four intervention groups compared to the four treatment-as-usual groups. The assumption is that the CHIMPS forms of care have an effect on the central variables of coping with illness, the extent and quality of interpersonal relationships and couple and family dynamics.

Implication for research and/or (healthcare) practice: Proven effectiveness of the CHIMPS forms of care would support their long-term implementation in the German healthcare system. These new forms of care would strengthen the mental health of the group of children of mentally ill parents, who are exposed to many burdens, and at best prevent pathologies.

Funding: Innovationsfonds/Versorgungsforschung; Project name: CHIMPS-NET – Kinder und Jugendliche mit psychisch kranken und suchtkranken Eltern – children of mentaly ill parents – network; Grant number: 01NVF18003