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Couples with Schizophrenia “Becoming like Others” in South Korea: Marriage as Part of a Recovery Process
Author(s) -
YU MYUNGYEE,
SHIM WOOCHAN
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
family process
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.011
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1545-5300
pISSN - 0014-7370
DOI - 10.1111/j.1545-5300.2009.01293.x
Subject(s) - schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , process (computing) , psychology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , computer science , operating system
Very little is known about the married life of couples with schizophrenia. In this paper, authors report perceptions and experiences of 5 married couples with schizophrenia on their strategies in forming and maintaining healthy marriage. Our data reveal that participants had realistic expectations of marriage, and recognized benefits as well as obstacles in their marriages with respect to their recovery. This paper examines the importance of extended family members, mental health professionals, and the larger society's attitudes toward marriage as a factor in the recovery process for persons with schizophrenia. The authors identify implications for mental health professionals regarding the respect of client dignity and the applicability of a strengths perspective when working with couples with schizophrenia. The authors argue that mental health professionals' decisions regarding the balance between respecting a client's self‐determination and protecting a client from risks associated with cohabitation and marriage should no longer be a dilemma for those working with people with mental illness.