Caregiving for People with Severe Mental Illness in Asia

This book answers the fundamental questions of why and how Asian families take up the responsibility of caregiving. It brings about a better understanding of the distinct difficult Asian situations of family caregiving, in light of the intra-personal, social, and societal interactions in shaping one’s experiences. Family caregiving for people with mental illness is often challenging in view of the nature of the illness, limited mental healthcare, and the lack of community support. In Asian societies, family caregiving is expected – families assume the responsibility to care for their own members or such a responsibility is assumed of them. This book stems from the author’s fieldwork experience in six major Asian cities and will explore the synthesis, commonalities and differences of the experiences of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea and Singapore.