ORIGINAL ARTICLE Thinking families: A study of the characteristics of the workforce that delivers family-focussed practice Melinda Goodyear, 1,2 Darryl Maybery, 1 Andrea Reupert, 3 Rebecca Allchin, 4 Cait Fraser, 5 Sabin Fernbacher 6 and Rose Cuff 7 1 School of Rural Health, Monash University, Moe, 2 The Parenting Research Centre, East Melbourne, 3 Krongold Centre, Monash University, Clayton, 4 Eastern Health Adult Mental Health Program, Ringwood East, 5 Bendigo Health, Psychiatric Services, Bendigo, 6 Northern Area Mental Health Service, NorthWestern Mental Health, Epping, and 7 The Bouverie Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ABSTRACT: Parenting with mental illness is not uncommon and is often associated with a range of challenges for parents, children, and the family unit. Family-focussed practice involves the provision of services to the wider family system, including children. While family-focussed practice is important to consumers and their families, adult mental health practitioners do not routinely discuss parenting or children with their clients, nor work closely with the whole family. In the present study, we aimed to examine the characteristics of practitioners from Australian adult mental health services associated with family-focussed practices. Characteristics included sex, years of experience, location, and previous training in child and family-focussed practice. A total of 307 adult mental health practitioners from Victoria, Australia, responded to the Family Focused Mental Health Practice Questionnaire and a series of demographic items. The results indicated that particular practitioner characteristics predicted the delivery of family-focussed practice. Practitioner experience, sex, working in a rural location, and previous family- or child-related training were found to be important in the provision of family-focussed practice. More experienced, female, rurally-located, and well-trained practitioners undertake most family-focussed practice. These results suggest that training in family-focussed practice needs to be promoted, with considerations made for differing needs according to the characteristics of the adult mental health practitioner. KEY WORDS: family-focussed practice, mental illness, parenting, workforce. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Mental illness can have a profound impact upon families and their relationships (Maurin & Boyd 1990; Wyder & Bland 2014). Moreover, families can exert a powerful influence over the course of mental health problems (Barrowclough & Hooley 2003; Miklowitz et al. 2003). This is particularly true among families where a parent has a mental illness (Nicholson 2014), where parent and child well-being are intimately intertwined. Previous studies have shown that stress in parents with a mental illness is associated with the expression of anxiety/de- pressive symptoms in children (Compas et al. 1994, 1996), and improvements in a parent’s symptoms of mental illness have been shown to improve a child’s mental health (Swartz et al. 2008). Prevalence rates indicate that over 50% of people with a diagnosis of mental illness in their lifetime are Correspondence: Melinda Goodyear, School of Rural Health, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia. Email: melinda.goodyear@monash.edu Melinda Goodyear, PhD, MBSc, BBSc (Hons). Darryl Maybery, PhD, BSc (Hons), BA. Andrea Reupert, PhD, GradDip Couns Psych., Dip.Ed, BA. Rebecca Allchin, MAVP (Aid & Development), BAppSc (OT). Cait Fraser, MA BSW (Hons), Ba (Hons). Sabin Fernbacher, Dr Pub HealthMA GTGrad Dip GTB Ed (Special Ed). Rose Cuff, Dip COT, Grad Dip Family Therapy. Accepted September 28 2016. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing (2016) , – doi: 10.1111/inm.12293