Treatment refusal

Having a loved one who avoids treatment for mental illness is a common experience. It can also be bewildering and heartbreaking. But, it isn’t a hopeless situation.

Take this lesson to understand why people refuse treatment and how your family can approach this tricky issue. Some of the reasons for treatment refusal you’ll learn about include:

  • A symptom called anosognosia that keeps people from recognizing their own symptoms
  • Stigma and challenges to their identity
  • Bad or even traumatizing experiences with past treatment
  • Mixed feelings about treatment and other life changes (a state of mind known as ambivalence)
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Having a loved one who avoids treatment for mental illness is a common experience. It can also be bewildering and heartbreaking. But, it isn’t a hopeless situation.

Take this lesson to understand why people refuse treatment and how your family can approach this tricky issue. Some of the reasons for treatment refusal you’ll learn about include:

  • A symptom called anosognosia that keeps people from recognizing their own symptoms
  • Stigma and challenges to their identity
  • Bad or even traumatizing experiences with past treatment
  • Mixed feelings about treatment and other life changes (a state of mind known as ambivalence)

Resources

Blog post
There are steps that family members can take to de-escalate tensions in the hous...
Activity
The inability for a person to recognize that their thoughts and behaviors are pr...
NAMI, Kingdon & Turkington Article
Information and techniques to communicate about and despite psychosis. Brief art...
3rd-party resource
Entirely peer-led and operated approach to supporting people experiencing voices...
Ellen Forney Book
Illustrated memoir that provides insights into lived experience of mania and its...
Andy Dunn Book
Memoir of mental illness and entrepreneurship through the momentum and liabiliti...
D. Miklowitz Book
Book shares proven strategies for managing bipolar or supporting a loved one.
BBC Article
A reasonably even-handed report following stories of several families and the co...
NAMI, Dr. Xavier Amador 3rd-party resource
Amador’s book and LEAP method for communicating and collaborating effectively wi...
Psychiatry.org 3rd-party resource
Relatively brief summary of mental health stigma in society and in ourselves, br...