Counseling severely dysfunctional families of mentally and physically disabled persons

Some families of mentally and physically disabled persons behave in an extremely self-destructive or resistant manner. These severely dysfunctional families pose a formidable obstacle to their disabled relatives' habilitation. Because such families are particularly frustrating to work with, little professional assistance has been provided to them. This article examines probable causes of severely dysfunctional family behavior, details several maladaptive family patterns and suggests practical treatment strategies for helping these families.