Research Special Issue 2025: Parents with Mental and/or Substance Use Disorders and their Children, Volume III

In June 2025, Frontiers in Psychiatry released a new Research Topic entitled “Parents with Mental and/or Substance Use Disorders and their Children, Volume III.” The special issue was led by four members of the Prato group, and includes papers authored by several Prato collaborators, highlighting the active and sustained contribution of our network to advancing research on parental mental illness and family well-being.

Across the volume, contributions address themes that strongly resonate with Prato’s shared priorities: the lived experiences and needs of parents and children, psychosocial and relational mechanisms linked to risk and resilience, and the ways adult mental health services engage with families. Several articles also advance the field methodologically, offering new measures, innovative designs, and participatory approaches.

A central focus of this volume is the development, adaptation, and implementation of family-focused and preventive interventions, alongside critical reflections on access to services, workforce challenges, and system-level barriers. These discussions echo ongoing conversations within the Prato collaborative about how to strengthen family-oriented practice across contexts.

For members of the Prato International Research Collaborative, this special issue represents both a shared achievement and a valuable resource — one that invites continued dialogue, knowledge exchange, and collaboration as we work together to improve outcomes for families affected by parental mental illness.