Patients Have Families
- Author:
Henry B. Richardson, M.D.,
F.A.C.P. The Commonwealth Fund. Humphrey Milford. Oxford University Press. Price 16s. 6d. net.
The title of this book expresses a well known truth ^hich may not always have been sufficiently appreciated ?y the various medical departments which deal with ^dividual units of the family. The work described here ls based on research carried out through the co-operation ?f the faculties of Public Health, Medicine and Psychiatry ln association with the medical social worker, the case Worker, and the educational nurse. The object of this scheme was to study the family unit and indications for its treatment and also to explore the best methods to obtain co-operation in treatment. The concept upon which the work was based was the interrelation between illness and family situations.
The book is divided into three sections. In Part I the author describes the family as the unit of illness and, with several clear-cut examples, shows how time and energy may be misapplied if investigation and treatment are limited to the physical complaint of individual members without consideration of the family background with its social, economic and emotional problems. In addition he points out the importance of psychological mechanisms, the interplay of family relationships and the way in which they affect the individual. At the same time he stresses the need for the maintenance of a stable equilibrium both within the family and between the family and its environment.
In Part II Dr Richardson describes the family as a unit, rather than the individual to be treated, and with many case histories shows the way in which individual units may receive help from different members of the hospital team.
A concise account is given of the work of Physician and Psychiatrist and the ways in which their fields of activity may overlap. This is followed by a detailed discussion of the work of other members of the team? the Case Worker, the Social Worker and the Public Health Nurse, all of whom have important and welldefined functions.
In Part III, the problems which have arisen in the family as a direct result of wartime conditions, are discussed. This is followed by suggestions for the practical application of the methods and schemata which have been found to be of value in the course of this research.
Dr Richardson has covered a wide field during his investigations and describes in clear and simple language the conclusions which he has drawn. His case histories are excellent examples of the way in which the stresses and strains of family life react upon different members, and give convincing evidence of the need to study all forms of illness from the point of view of psychosomatic and social medicine.
This subject is of interest and importance to all members of the medical profession, and Social Workers, in particular, will find that the principles so clearly expressed are of immense value in every department of their work. E.C.
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