Scientists consistently find that women possess higher levels of emotional intelligence than men, characterized by a sense of empathy and understanding of the emotions of others . In 1995, Scandinavian researchers discovered that women were better equipped not only to detect, but also to reflect the emotions of others [Simon-Thomas]. A similar study in 2003 found that women genuinely identified and felt the emotions of others, demonstrating higher levels of empathy than men. There appear to be a number of important intervention strategies when working with children who have a parent with mental illness. First, children whose parents suffer from mental illness need, like all children, appropriate physical and emotional care. Specifically, because attachment bonds may be problematic for the parent with mental illness, children need opportunities to develop and strengthen meaningful social and emotional bonds within and outside of the family. the family. (Maybery, Reupert and Goodyear, 2006; Orel, Groves and Shannon, 2003; Pitman and Matthey,