Book excerpt: In this age of spiraling health care costs, it is imperative that the family's role in treating patients with chronic mental illness not be overlooked - by policy makers and clinicians alike. The families themselves insist that the government and care-providing agencies learn new ways to relate to them and patients. Helping Families Cope with Mental Illness is a comprehensive guide to the family's experience of chronic and serious mental illness for clinicians and educators in a wide range of mental health disciplines. It details all major areas of the clinician-family relationship - consumer perspectives, cultural diversity, social policy, ethical issues, practical coping strategies, research and training issues, major service issues, managed care, and cost-saving measures.