Martha C. Tompson, Behind the Writing

1. What inspired the idea for or concept of your book? 

Throughout my career, I’ve been fascinated by how family relationships affect the well-being of individuals with mental health challenges. I want to understand and help people with mental health challenges, and the family unit is extremely important to people striving to achieve and maintain balance. Unfortunately, too much of the history of psychology and psychiatry has been one that blames parents and caregivers. However, research shows that social support, generally, and strong family connections, specifically, foster emotional well-being. People with supportive families are happier, more well-adjusted, and at lower risk for mental health problems. When individuals are struggling with mental illness, a caring family can be a key factor in their recovery and long-term stability.

Many families of people with mental illness- including schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety-desperately want to help their loved ones, but they don’t know what to do. Family members nearly always feel unprepared and don’t know how to respond; sometimes natural responses, while well-intentioned, are actually unhelpful. Families need education, guidance and support. How can therapists and clinicians use the family as a valuable resource in supporting recovery?

Mental health problems don’t happen to isolated people in a vacuum; they happen to individuals in the broader context of their families, friends, lives, jobs, and school environments. Mental health professionals need to treat people in the context of their lives and families. Clinicians should coach families to better support their struggling loved ones. This team approach results in stronger mental health and greater happiness, resilience and stability.

2. What was the most challenging/rewarding aspect(s) of creating this book? 
Writing this book was tremendously rewarding. The book grew from the research I began as a graduate student many years ago. For decades, I’ve had the privilege of building relationships with families who struggle with mental health challenges. Through listening to their experiences, I’ve gained a greater understanding of the impact of mental health issues on individuals and the families who love them. I’ve been thinking about these issues over the course of my entire career, and I’ve talked to many brilliant people about them. My colleagues and I have worked for decades investigating and strategizing how families can support mental health, and sharing our findings is truly a joy.
 

3. If there was one thing, you’d like the readers to take away from this book, what would that be?

Families can be your strongest allies in treatment, so bring them in! Help them learn to better help and support their loved ones. Although this book focuses on children with depression, similar strategies can also help teens and adults. 

Often, clinicians feel uncomfortable working with families, and I hope to break down this discomfort. Families are such an important piece of the mental health puzzle. Bringing them into the therapy process is essential. 
 

4. What other topics are you looking to write about?

I would like to write directly for families who are experiencing mental health challenges. My work has focused on training clinicians for evidence-based mental health intervention. One of my goals is to write a book to be used by families seeking information, strategies, and support.

I’m also interested in discovering how mental health interventions change brain function. Can teaching and practicing new strategies and thought patterns affect neural function in a physiological way? At present, I am conducting research to explore this fascinating question.

Sometimes I think I would like to write a novel; I will consider that possibility!

5. How do you balance your writing and other responsibilities? 
My job is multifaced. I wear a lot of hats in my work! I’m the Director of Clinical Training at Boston University; I am an Associate Editor for an American Psychological Association journal; I teach both graduate and undergraduate courses; I see clinical patients; I conduct research; I work with graduate students. This is the life of an academic clinical psychologist! Balancing all these demands is probably the hardest thing I do, and I’m not about to say that I’m great at it. Writing a bit at a time has been helpful–an hour a day. However, sometimes that leads to very little. At other times, when the writing starts, I have that “wind in the sails” experience, and I intend to ride that wind!

6. How long have you been writing, and what made you start? 
I’ve always enjoyed writing. I discovered this interest as the editor for my high school literary magazine, focusing on poems and essays. When I began writing about my scientific findings in psychology, I found my niche. I love learning, reading, and research. In writing, I can share ideas and contribute to the body of knowledge on understanding and treating mental health problems.

7. Final thoughts for your readers? 
I think too often people think of “resilience” as something that individuals hold within themselves, but research suggests that it is often the context in which we are embedded–families, neighborhoods, communities. When we build these, we increase resilience for all of us. I’m hoping that my work, in a small way, will contribute to that essential resilience.

About the Author

Martha C. Tompson, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist in Massachusetts. She has been a faculty member in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University for more than 25 years and is the Director of Clinical Training for the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology. Dr. Tompson has spent her career developing and evaluating family-based treatment for mental health problems in children and adults. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and has two grown children.