Provider Contact with Families of Adults with Severe Mental Illness: Taking a Closer Look TINA MARSHALLw PHYLLIS SOLOMONz This exploratory study examined the frequency and nature of providers’ contact with families of persons with severe mental illness. Fifty-nine providers in six community mental health programs completed a self-administered survey. A subsample of 8 pro- viders also completed two in-depth interviews. Although most providers had some fa- mily contact, the contact was restricted to a small percent of their caseloads. The nature of contact that providers have with families is generally limited by their professional role. Best practice guidelines for the treatment of mental illness and agency adminis- trators responsible for instituting these guidelines will need to clarify the types of providers who are expected to implement various aspects of family involvement. Fam Proc 43:209–216, 2004 F amily involvement in the treatment of severe mental illness has been found to have beneficial effects for both consumers and their families. The provision of education and routine sharing information with families about their relatives’ illness and treatment process allows families to recognize prodromol symptoms and more effectively support their ill relatives. For these reasons, current practice guidelines for the treatment of severe mental illness recommend ongoing contact with families (APA, 1997; Lehman & Steinwachs, 1998). Because most mental health programs do not record the frequency or type of con- tact that providers have with families (Lucksted & Dixon, 1999), it is unclear how fully these recommendations are being implemented. Research indicates that between 31% and 77% of families have some contact and receive information from their relative’s provider (Greenberg et al., 1997; Dixon, Lucksted, et al., 2000; Marshall & Solomon, Family Process, Vol. 43, No. 2, 2004 r FPI, Inc. 209 wClinical Research Specialist, Systems Evaluation Center, Mental Health Systems Improvement Colla- borative, University of Maryland, Baltimore. zProfessor, School of Social Work, and Professor of Social Work in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Tina Marshall, Clinical Research Specialist, Systems Evaluation Center, Mental Health Systems Improvement Collaborative, University of Maryland, 3700 Kopper Street, Suite 402, Baltimore, MD 21227, Tel: (410) 646-1743. E-mail: tmarshal@ psych.umaryland.edu Research for this article was supported by NIMH, Grant 1-R03-MH-61031.