‘In sickness and in health’: the development of alternative discourses in work with families with parental illness

This paper outlines the development of clinical understanding and a clinical model for working with families with parental physical illness. The lens of gender to explore clinical process reveals blind spots and can uncover alternative perspectives on parental illness. The authors look at the very different needs of children and parents for coherent explanations. The impact of this way of working on therapists and the importance of reflecting teams, as part of the process of working collaboratively with families, are addressed.