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Qualitative Health Research
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Being There for Another With a Serious Mental Illness

Barbara E. Champlin

St. Catherine University, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, bechamplin{at}stkate.edu

In this article I describe the unique caring and caretaking relationship between a mentally ill person and the nonprofessional caretaker in his or her life. Stressing the perspective of the caretaker, I call this relationship "being there" for the mentally ill person. I collected the data through in-depth interviews and used a descriptive phenomenological approach to unveil the general structure of the experience. Eight constituents emerged as central to the general structure of this experience: (a) accepting the changed other and grieving the loss of who the other once was; (b) taking action in challenging circumstances; (c) recognizing the ongoing, never-ending, and sometimes unpredictable nature of the experience; (d) feeling isolated; (e) having ambiguity of the heart; (f) experiencing the tension of waiting; (g) knowing the other well; and (h) caring for the other. Knowledge gained from the study findings will help health care professionals understand and support people who are in this experience from a more caring paradigm.

Key Words: caregiving • informal • mental health and illness • mental health nursing • phenomenology • relationships

Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 19, No. 11, 1525-1535 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1049732309349934
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