Prenatal Planning for People with Schizophrenia: Integrating Individual and Couple-Level Interventions

In contrast to commonly held assumptions, a significant number of people with schizophrenia marry and have children. Although there is a demonstrated link between the illness and marital quality, as well as between these two factors and children's psychological well-being, marital-level interventions are given little if any attention in schizophrenia rehabilitation programs. This is the case even when the person is pregnant or considering whether or not to have a child. In response, in the current paper we propose a two-part intervention that addresses clients' prenatal planning concerns, as well as the couple's ability to understand and talk about these issues. The first level of intervention, easily incorporated into a traditional case management approach, helps the client and his or her partner identify and consider several critical issues surrounding the choice to have a child. The second level is designed to teach the couple a set of communication skills that will enable them to more effectively discuss and deal with these issues.