Psychosocial functional deficiency of persons with mental disorders covers the most important kinds of activity: work, education, independent living, and interactions with people, family interactions. Important aspect of rehabilitation practice is work with the family, relatives, and the nearest environment of patients due to decrease in the field of marriage or stable cohabitation.

To determine adaptive-preventive potential of the family in the area of mental health.

The analysis of multilevel characteristics of adaptation of 414 adult persons (patients with mental disorders and members of their families) with use of system approach and the methodical complex (“The Passport of Health of the Family”) has been carried out.

We define the adaptive-preventive potential of the family of mental patient as biological (genetic) and social-psychological opportunities of family system of the individual to compensate the limits of ontogenetic (life) cycle of the family of several generations caused by the illness of the family member. Novelty of the “Clinical-psychological model of anti-relapse behaviour based on interaction of mental patients, their families, persons from the general population and experts in the field of mental health” project consists of scientific justification of development of multilevel (individual, family, society) model of anti-relapse behavior.

This multidisciplinary project is aimed at the persons entering into risk groups for development of mental disorder (for example, persons with sub-syndrome symptoms or with biological, and psychological or social risk factors) and the persons entering into risk groups for relapse of the existing mental disorder.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.