Research by SANE Australia shows 56% of people caring for someone with mental illness find their physical and mental health suffer as a result of their caring role. Alarmingly, 70% of carers report having received no relevant training or education, and due to lack of availability more than half have not accessed support services of any kind. One in four carers experience mental illness themselves.

Families play a major role in providing day-to-day care for people affected by mental illness. A number of government policies and initiatives have been aimed at helping this group over the years, including the recent COAG National Action Plan on Mental Health. Nevertheless, they are still very often unsupported, given no training to help their family member or themselves, and have important information withheld without reason by health professionals.

This SANE Research Bulletin investigates the effects of caring for someone with a mental illness, and what needs to be done to support families in this role.