Families of schizophrenics: a movement in jeopardy.

The family self-help movement in schizophrenia is in danger of losing its effectiveness, the authors believe. Many in the movement seem overly concerned with being accepted by professionals and others, which means that they become less single-minded in their advocacy for their relatives and for their own needs. Family groups are having difficulty maintaining their separate and unique identity and are including others who tend to undermine their efforts. The family movement in schizophrenia would do well to follow the example of the parents of the developmentally disabled in their unswerving devotion to their cause, which appears to be the key to their success in achieving greatly increased services and funding.