Mental illnesses are incredibly common — and incredibly complex. It’s an unfortunate reality that parents sometimes have to struggle with their own mental health even while they try to navigate the intricacies of divorce and co-parenting. If you’re in this position, your issues with coparenting may be different from those other co-parents share, but there is still a way forward.
Learn more tips about co-parenting with mental illness below.
Not all mental illnesses are equal
A patient who is actively psychotic is a threat to themselves and others and obviously has no business supervising children. But that is far different from someone with an anxiety disorder who is in therapy and taking their medicine as directed.
The first step to better parenting is getting an accurate diagnosis and the second is implementation of a viable treatment plan that encourages parental involvement in the children’s lives.
Don’t weaponize the mental illness
This can occur on both sides of the coin, with the other co-parent attempting to use the mentally ill co-parent’s diagnosis against them regarding custody rights. Mentally ill parents may also try to blame serious parenting failures on their mental illness rather than taking ownership of their actions.
Can a mentally ill parent handle custody?
Many co-parents with mental illness diagnoses can and do successfully parent their children to adulthood (and beyond). It takes dedication to their treatment plan and therapy to achieve this, but it is very doable with the right motivation.
When the kids are unsafe
Despite the best intentions of parents and courts, mental illness can become too overpowering for the parent to continue supervising them reliably. If you believe that your children are unsafe with their mentally ill co-parent, you can use the law and the courts to protect them and keep them safe.