# Family involvement in the care of people with severe mental illness in the Caucasus: implications for community psychiatry - URL: https://alisanburak.com/en/wcp-2026-posterler/ev0769 - Language: en - Last updated: not specified - Page title: Family involvement in the care of people with severe mental illness in the Caucasus: implications for community psychiatry | WCP 2026 Summary > Family involvement plays a dual role in severe mental illness: it can support treatment adherence, but it can also delay help-seeking through stigma and reduce… This page was translated automatically from Turkish. [Read the original](https://alisanburak.com/wcp-2026-posterler/ev0769) This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it. EV0769 E-PosterStigma and RecoveryQualitative study # Family involvement in the care of people with severe mental illness in the Caucasus: implications for community psychiatry FAMILY INVOLVEMENT IN THE CARE OF SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS IN THE CAUCASUS: IMPLICATIONS FOR COMMUNITY PSYCHIATRY Presenter: Ketevan Shalikashvili Country: Georgia Institution: Tbilisi State Medical University Family involvement plays a dual role in severe mental illness: it can support treatment adherence, but it can also delay help-seeking through stigma and reduce autonomy. The aim was to examine patterns of family involvement in the care of people with severe mental illness in the Caucasus and assess their implications for community psychiatry services. The method was a qualitative service-level analysis based on observation, review of program documents, and discussions with the clinical team in community mental health services in Tbilisi. Families were reported to take responsibility for medication monitoring, daily support, and crisis management; this could support treatment adherence and social stability, but could also create caregiver burden, reduce autonomy, and delay help-seeking in the presence of stigma. It was emphasized that services relied informally on families but rarely offered structured support or psychoeducation. The poster identifies two patterns: when illness is concealed or minimized because of stigma, contact with professionals is postponed and the duration of untreated illness increases; when families take over tasks that the patient could perform, opportunities to practice self-care and independent living skills diminish. Family involvement is considered within a three-part framework comprising under-involvement, collaborative involvement, and overprotection; under-involvement is associated with concealment of illness and prolonged periods without treatment, while overprotection is associated with failure to maintain skills and possible dependence. It is suggested that stigma can operate within the family as well as outside it, and that repeated experiences of shame or concealment at home may be the starting point for self-stigma. The recommendations are therefore to aim for an appropriate rather than maximal level of family involvement, and for caregiver psychoeducation to address stigmatizing beliefs as well as provide information. The poster notes that the findings are preliminary observations from a single service, based on clinical impressions rather than measured prevalence, and that the proposed framework does not constitute a demonstrated causal pathway. [View the original poster](https://cslide.ctimeetingtech.com/wcp26/attendee/eposter/file/1338) How to cite this study APA 7: Shalikashvili, K. (2026, September 23-26). Family involvement in the care of severe mental illness in the caucasus: implications for community psychiatry [E-poster]. 26th WPA World Congress of Psychiatry (WCP 2026), Stockholm, Sweden. https://cslide.ctimeetingtech.com/wcp26/attendee/eposter/file/1338 Vancouver: Shalikashvili K. Family involvement in the care of severe mental illness in the caucasus: implications for community psychiatry [e-poster]. 26th WPA World Congress of Psychiatry (WCP 2026); 2026 Sep 23-26; Stockholm, Sweden. Available from: https://cslide.ctimeetingtech.com/wcp26/attendee/eposter/file/1338 Author names and title formatting were generated automatically from the congress system; please check them against the original poster before use. ## On the same topic - [Kendinizi yazın: dışavurumcu sanatlar ve kendi öykünüzü paylaşma yoluyla iyileşme](https://alisanburak.com/en/wcp-2026-posterler/ev0129) - [Akıl hastanesi arşivlerinden yaratıcı bir alana: art brut mirası ve toplumsal içerme, ARTESPIDA projesi](https://alisanburak.com/en/wcp-2026-posterler/ev0137) - [Sanat ile psikiyatri arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi: 19. yüzyıldan günümüze iki Portekiz psikiyatri hastanesi örneği](https://alisanburak.com/en/wcp-2026-posterler/ev0139) - [Bir hastadan bir sanatçıya](https://alisanburak.com/en/wcp-2026-posterler/ev0143) - [Şili'de otizmli yetişkinlerde kurumsal damgalanma ve sağlık hizmetlerine erişim](https://alisanburak.com/en/wcp-2026-posterler/ev0156) [All WCP 2026 summaries](https://alisanburak.com/en/wcp-2026-posterler) --- Kaynak / Source: https://alisanburak.com/en/wcp-2026-posterler/ev0769 İletişim / Contact: Bağdat Caddesi, Veli Güneysu Apt. No:453 K:4 D:9, Suadiye / Kadıköy, İstanbul · +90 532 642 95 25 · info@alisanburak.com · https://alisanburak.com/bagdat-caddesi-psikoterapi-iletisim