Aspects of family mental health in Europe : contributors, D. Buckle ... [et al.].

Date:
1965
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Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Credit: Aspects of family mental health in Europe : contributors, D. Buckle ... [et al.]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    14 ASPECTS OF FAMILY MENTAL HEALTH IN EUROPE tion. Abortions, work in the household and outside, and divorce are some of the principal features of this development. It is this situation that provides the reason for the Mothers' Aid institutions in Denmark. FAMILY PROTECTION The Director-General of Health Services of Norway, Dr К. Evang, when setting up the family protection centres in Norway, described systematically the fields that such an organization should cover. The following list is partly based on his classification: (a) Psychological, physical, and social problems in connexion with pregnancy, birth, infertility, abortion, sterilization, contracep¬ tion, and the menopause. (b) Physical conditions caused by the situation within the home and family, such as domestic accidents, varices, prolapse, tumours and inflammations of the genital organs, flat foot, obesity, and back¬ aches. (c) Further health problems concerning the whole family. These consist primarily of the mental maladjustments of the housewife caused by unfavourable working conditions. For example, she is usually isolated, does a routine job with no fixed hours or programme, and has nothing to stimulate her interest throughout the day. The worn-out housewife is such an important problem to the family that her needs ought to be of paramount concern to the family protection centre. The stress syndrome of the housewife — its etiology, pathology, and therapy — is examined more closely on page 27. Dr Evang points out that the treatment of such cases, when carried out through the existing organization, will often fall between two stools, and that a centre with more holistic working principles is needed. (d) Marital and sexual disharmony often leading to divorce or separation. (e) Problems of children and adolescents. Educational prob¬ lems. The family as a group comprising parents and children. The preparation of children for grown-up life, vocational guidance, preparation for marriage, sexual education, etc. (/) Maladjusted children. Problem parents. The special prob¬ lem families with defective children or parents. (g) Pre-marital guidance. The psychological and social prob¬ lems of young families (marriage age constantly decreasing).