When a Loved One Won't Seek Mental Health Treatment
Found a better price? Request a price match
When a Loved One Won't Seek Mental Health Treatment
When someone resists mental health treatment, the whole family suffers. This guide provides validation and doable strategies for anyone who feels trapped by a family member or loved one suffering from mental illness. Readers will learn how to help their loved one while improving their own emotional well-being.
Escape the “family trap,” help your loved one on the road to recovery, and take back your life.
If you have a family member who suffers from mental illness, but refuses to seek treatment, you may feel like you’re caught in a trap. If you try making life easier for your loved one, you wind up perpetuating dependency and entitlement. If you push for treatment, you are met with resistance or outright animosity. And when you reach out to professionals for help, you are told that nothing can be done unless your family member is ready to change. So, how can you escape the “family trap?”
Written by clinicians and introducing the innovative family well-being approach (FWBA), this essential guide provides validation and doable strategies for anyone who feels trapped by a family member or loved one suffering from mental illness. Using the skills in this book, you’ll learn how your responses to your loved one can worsen and even perpetuate the very problems you are trying to resolve. You’ll also discover ways to promote healthy behavior in recovery avoiders, but only after the whole family is emotionally and strategically prepared to follow through successfully.
The family well-being approach outlined in this book is based on established principles of behavior change, family interaction research, and more than three decades of clinical experience. If you’re feeling caught in a trap with a loved one who won’t seek help—also known as a recovery avoider—this practical guide can help you find your way out, once and for all.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781648483134
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 27 June 2024
Country: United States
Imprint: New Harbinger Publications
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 14.0mm
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 226.0mm
Weight: 240g
Pages: 168
About the Author
C. Alec Pollard, PhD, is founding director of the Center for OCD & Anxiety-Related Disorders at Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute, and professor emeritus of family and community medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He is a licensed psychologist with a special interest in the study and treatment of individuals with anxiety and emotional disorders who refuse or otherwise fail to benefit from evidence-based treatment. Pollard, codeveloper of the family well-being approach (FWBA), has authored or coauthored more than one hundred publications and leads the Family Consultation Team at Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute.
Melanie VanDyke, PhD, is a licensed psychologist at the US Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Center for OCD & Anxiety-Related Disorders at Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute. She was awarded Missouri Psychologist of the Year (2023) and has authored research articles and educational materials for professionals, patients, and families. VanDyke was principal investigator for the family well-being consultation research project, and is codeveloper of FWBA.
Gary Mitchell, LCSW, is a senior staff clinician at the Center for OCD & Anxiety-Related Disorders at Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute. He is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in the treatment of children and adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders, and related problems. He is an original member of the Family Consultation Team at Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute, and codeveloper of FWBA.
Heidi J. Pollard, RN, MSN, (1951-2024), was codeveloper of the family well-being approach (FWBA), and consulted with families dealing with a treatment-resistant loved one. She was an original member of the Family Consultation Team at Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute.
Gloria Mathis, PhD, is co-owner of the Mid-Atlantic Center for OCD & Anxiety in Columbia, MD. She is a licensed psychologist specializing in OCD, anxiety disorders, and body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB) disorders in individuals of all ages. While completing her postdoctoral fellowship, Mathis received training in FWBA from the Family Consultation Team at Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute.
Foreword writer Gail Steketee, PhD, is a professor and cochair in the department of clinical practice at the Boston University School of Social Work. She is coauthor of Buried in Treasures.
More from Parenting & Family
View allWhy buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
Parenting & Family lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!


