Supporting Children of Parents With a Mental Illness: State of Research and Two Practice Approaches and Claims for the Government

Children of parents with a mental illness (COPMI) are at an increased risk to develop (severe) mental disorders (SMI) themselves. Estimates for Germany result in about 25 % of COPMI. This is thus a large and high risk group. On the other hand, prevention programs for COPMI are still scarce, especially in Germany, and central features of the transgenerational transmission of mental disorders have not been studied in conjunction to shed light on potential transmission mechanisms. The current article presents two current research projects on COPMI focusing on preventive approaches. The BMBF funded project "Children of Parents with a Mental Illness At Risk Evaluation" (COMPARE) targets parents of children aged 1.5 to 16 years of age. Parents need to fulfil a current DSM-5 based diagnosis of a mental disorder and then receive either 25-45 sessions gold standard cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or CBT plus 10 sessions Positive Parenting Program (PPP) to test the effects of parental therapy on the children and whether an additional parent training results in incremental effects above and beyond CBT alone. The project "The Village" is a model project in the region Tyrol, Austria, targeting the improved identification and collaborative care of COPMI.