Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Prioritizing mental health for doctors and families

Leanne Rowe, MD
Conditions
February 8, 2024
Share
Tweet
Share

In 2022, the World Health Organization released the World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental Health for All, which recognizes the critical importance of mental health to everyone, everywhere – including doctors and their families.

The consequences of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and other major issues such as climate change, global conflict, and economic downturns are continuing to have a big impact on the mental well-being of many parents and their children. Access to help is limited by serious challenges faced by our chaotic health systems, including the shortage of general practitioners (GPs) and other mental health professionals.

Doctors and their families, of course, are not immune from these universal problems.

When I worked as a GP in a youth-specific health clinic for nearly ten years, I researched and wrote extensively about the importance of authoritative parenting and parental mental health in promoting well-being in young people. Among my many memories of the clinic are the unwarranted despair, guilt, and shame of my medical colleagues when their adolescent children presented in crisis with depression, eating disorders, drug use and other addictions, self-harming behaviors, or suicidal thinking. Although these reactions were shared by non-doctor parents, my colleagues disproportionately blamed themselves for failing to recognize the impact of their work stress and their own mental health problems on their children.

The uncomfortable truth is that parental mental illness may have a negative impact on young people and children, but this common association should be seen as a catalyst to seek help rather than a cause for parental despair, guilt, and shame.

Further action is required to support doctors and their families.

Families with a medical parent also require more support, as many doctors have been subjected to abnormally demanding and unsafe work environments, long hours, high stress, and traumatic situations in the past few years and are currently at increased risk of mental health problems.

How can we tackle these complex and intractable problems?

As a profession, we can do more to ensure all doctors have timely access to evidence-based psychological and/or psychiatric treatment and to create psychologically safe health care workplaces. We can also ramp up our advocacy to encourage family-friendly health workplaces and greater work–life balance, flexible hours, and parental leave — not only for our own mental health but for the well-being of our families.

At an individual level, doctors can take proactive steps to prioritize advanced psychological protection and to seek early evidence-based treatment for burnout and mental injury.

At a family level, parents who work in highly stressful environments can protect the mental health of their children and adolescents by being proactive. As examples, here are some observations about expressing emotions and attitudes honestly and constructively, improving general mental health literacy, and role modeling early help-seeking behaviors.

Expressing emotions and attitudes honestly and constructively.

When young people are bombarded by images of a world in turmoil through social and other media, it is a normal response for them to feel overwhelmed, sad, confused, and angry. Why then do many adults avoid talking about vulnerability?

ADVERTISEMENT

In relation to work stress, adults may try to be stoic, but children and adolescents intuitively know when parents are sad, distressed or traumatized. It can help to be aware that when we quietly ruminate about work at home, our children pick up on our emotional detachment. As one of my young patients reflected: “I live in an emotional desert at home and school. I look into people’s eyes to try to find some understanding and there’s nothing there.”

In my experience, young people usually respond positively if parents talk appropriately about navigating work stress in constructive ways, as well as what it means to have a loving family at home for support when external pressures are excessive. It also helps to talk openly to other colleagues about common parenting challenges with understanding — not unwarranted shame.

Unfortunately, the negative stigma surrounding mental illness in the medical community may inadvertently deter children from talking about this “taboo” topic.

“We thought he would diagnose us” was the explanation by my own children about why they had avoided a psychiatrist guest at our family home, which was surprising given my long-term interest in mental health. This experience helped me understand the importance of talking to children about the negative attitudes they may absorb from others about psychiatric illness.

Improving mental health literacy for all.

Mental health is universal and mental health literacy should not only be the domain of psychiatrists and GPs with a special interest.

With the increasing sub-specialisation of medicine, many doctors are at risk of failing to understand the importance of early comprehensive mental health assessment and specific evidence-based psychological treatments for effective recovery.

This quote by Dr. Vikram Patel, a prominent psychiatrist, and researcher, sums up the role of non-psychiatrists in promoting mental health for all by involving all: “Mental health is too precious to be left to psychiatrists alone. We believe that mental health is everybody’s business. And there is no health without mental health.”

Although self-diagnosis and self-management of mental illness are inappropriate and inadequate, everyone can benefit from improving their mental health literacy and knowing where to access high-quality mental health resources and mental health services for their families and themselves.

Role modeling early help-seeking.

There are many attitudinal barriers deterring mental health care access for doctors and their families. At one extreme, doctors may fail to seek medical or psychological help for their children for fear of being misjudged by their colleagues as overanxious. In contrast, they may bypass the wisdom of an independent GP to consult a specialist family friend, but this can prevent an adolescent from engaging with the chosen professional for fear parents will intrude when sensitive matters are discussed.

Family members of doctors seeking help also face the usual structural barriers that the general public faces in accessing mental health care.

Mental health services are currently swamped by the enormous unmet community need and waiting lists are excessive.

One of the most damaging experiences for young patients is to finally muster the courage to seek help, only to find there is a long wait or to be turned away by a GP, psychiatrist, mental health service, or emergency department.

To overcome these structural and attitudinal barriers, parents can role model early help-seeking behaviors and build trusting relationships with independent GPs (not friends or doctors in the same practice) for routine health matters, including preventive health screening and informal mental health screening when appropriate. When there is continuity of general health care by a GP, it is easier for adults and young people to seek early help and appropriate referral for any mental health concern.

A clarion call for further action

Unacceptably high levels of work-related mental health problems. persist in the medical profession for complex reasons, including the compromised psychological safety of health care workplaces.

Further action is also required to address this impact on doctors and their families. There are solutions.

If this opinion piece has triggered any discomfort or if a family member needs support, please make a long consultation with your independent and trusted GP or other mental health professional.

Leanne Rowe is a physician in Australia and is the co-author of Every Doctor. 

Prev

Do parasites predispose to dangerous behaviors in humans?

February 8, 2024 Kevin 0
…
Next

Navigating emotional storms in the ER [PODCAST]

February 8, 2024 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Psychiatry

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Do parasites predispose to dangerous behaviors in humans?
Next Post >
Navigating emotional storms in the ER [PODCAST]

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Leanne Rowe, MD

  • Senior doctors must take greater leadership on the psychological safety of early career colleagues

    Leanne Rowe, MD
  • Addressing the enormous scale of work-related burnout and mental injury in doctors

    Leanne Rowe, MD
  • How to manage narcissistic doctors

    Leanne Rowe, MD

Related Posts

  • Sharing mental health issues on social media

    Tarena Lofton
  • Physician burnout: the impact of social media on mental health and the urgent need for change

    Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Amy Bissada, DO & Jen Barna, MD
  • Improve mental health by improving how we finance health care

    Steven Siegel, MD, PhD
  • We need a mental health infrastructure bill

    Jennifer Reid, MD
  • A step forward: a way to advance the mental health of health care professionals

    Mattie Renn, Thomas Pak, and Corey Feist, JD, MBA
  • Navigating mental health challenges in medical education

    Carter Do

More in Conditions

  • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

    Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD
  • The emotional first responders of aesthetic medicine

    Sarah White, APRN
  • Why testosterone matters more than you think in women’s health

    Andrea Caamano, MD
  • How veteran health care is being transformed by tech and teamwork

    Deborah Lafer Scher
  • What Elon Musk and Diddy reveal about the price of power

    Osmund Agbo, MD
  • Understanding depression beyond biology: the power of therapy and meaning

    Maire Daugharty, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Decoding your medical bill: What those charges really mean

      Cheryl Spang | Finance
    • The emotional first responders of aesthetic medicine

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why testosterone matters more than you think in women’s health

      Andrea Caamano, MD | Conditions
    • A mind to guide the machine: Why physicians must help shape artificial intelligence in medicine

      Shanice Spence-Miller, MD | Tech
    • How subjective likability practices undermine Canada’s health workforce recruitment and retention

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Decoding your medical bill: What those charges really mean

      Cheryl Spang | Finance
    • The emotional first responders of aesthetic medicine

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why testosterone matters more than you think in women’s health

      Andrea Caamano, MD | Conditions
    • A mind to guide the machine: Why physicians must help shape artificial intelligence in medicine

      Shanice Spence-Miller, MD | Tech
    • How subjective likability practices undermine Canada’s health workforce recruitment and retention

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...