Exploring romantic need as part of mental health social care practice

The ability to form strong relationships is viewed as central to mental health recovery. Few studies have explored the experiences of people with mental health problems in forming or maintaining romantic relationships. Our study addressed this gap through conducting focus groups with ten people with mental health problems, six carers and six professionals. All three participant groups considered romantic relationships to be important aspects of wellbeing and lamented this gap in the lives of people with mental health problems. Service users and carers perceived the physicality and outward trappings of ‘being mentally ill,’ including treatment side effects and unemployment to impact negatively on romantic relationships. Service users reported self and societal stigma as a major barrier to relationships. Carers and professionals focused on vulnerability and risks. Professionals stated that they rarely supported people with mental health problems with their romantic relationships and were uneasy about discussing sexual intimacy.