Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Someone to talk to
- Author:
- SCOTT Paula
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Today, September/October 2014, pp.28-29.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
Solidarity in Crisis (SiaC) provides an out-of-hours mental health crisis support service, staffed entirely by people with lived experience. The London based service operates in Lambeth and is run by Certiftude. The peer supporters answering calls receive training in mental health first aid, crisis support and suicide prevention. The service is helping to people in crisis to avoid going to accident and emergency departments. (Original abstract)
Developing a self-help group for people with hoarding disorder and their carers
- Authors:
- HOLMES Sophie, WOLTER Patrick, HARRIS Clodagh
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Today, September/October 2014, pp.24-27.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
Hoarding disorder is now a recognised mental health conditions, but people can still struggle to access services for it. This article describes the setting up of a self-help group for people with hoarding disorder in Surrey. Two volunteers were recruited to work as co-facilitators. For the first 12 months between 13 and 22 people attended each session. The results of an evaluation found that the group was successful in engaging people and was also effective in making signification changes to their hoarding difficulties. Those involved in the group also felt more supported, less distressed, and less stigma about hoarding. (Original abstract)
A safer place to be: findings from our survey of health-based places of safety for people detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act
- Author:
- CARE QUALITY COMMISSION
- Publisher:
- Care Quality Commission
- Publication year:
- 2014
- Pagination:
- 60
- Place of publication:
- Newcastle upon Tyne
Examines the provision and use of health-based places of safety for people detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act, which gives police officers the power to detain people, believed to have a mental disorder, in a public place and to take them to a place of safety for assessment. The report, based on the findings from a survey of NHS mental health trusts and social enterprise providers of health-based places of safety in England, focuses on: the availability, in practice, of health-based places of safety; accessibility, including any exclusion criteria; staffing and training of those involved in operating places of safety; target times and delays in carrying out MHA assessments after people have been taken to places of safety; governance, reporting and multi-agency working; and the role of police and ambulance services. The report highlights four key findings that need to be urgently addressed: too many places of safety are turning people away or requiring people to wait for long periods with the police, because they are already full or because there are staffing problems; too many providers operate policies that exclude young people, people who are intoxicated, and people with disturbed behaviour from all of their places of safety; too many commissioners are not adequately fulfilling their responsibilities for maintaining an oversight of the section 136 pathway; and too many providers are not appropriately monitoring their own service provision. As a result and despite guidance from the MHA Code of Practice and elsewhere, the use of police stations across the country is far from uncommon. (Edited publisher abstract)
The physical functioning and mental health of informal carers: evidence of care-giving impacts from an Australian population-based cohort
- Authors:
- KENNY Patricia, KING Madeleine T., HALL Jane
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 22(6), 2014, pp.646-659.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Informal carers represent a substantial proportion of the population in many countries and health is an important factor in their capacity to continue care-giving. This study investigated the impact of care-giving on the mental and physical health of informal carers, taking account of contextual factors, including family and work. The authors examined health changes from before care-giving commenced to 2 and 4 years after, using longitudinal data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. The sample comprised 424 carers and 424 propensity score-matched non-carers. Health was self-assessed, measured with the SF-36 Health Survey Mental Health (MH) and Physical Functioning (PF) scales. Care-giving was classified as non-carer, low (<5 hours/week), moderate (5–19 hours/week) and high (20 or more hours/week). PF and MH change scores were regressed on baseline scores, care-giving, covariates (including work, family and socio-demographic characteristics) and interactions to identify impacts for subgroups. The physical and mental health impacts differed by gender, and care-giving hours and carer work hours were important contextual factors. Deterioration in both PF and MH was worse for females after 2 years and deterioration in MH was worse for males after 4 years. Among carers aged 40–64 years, there was a 17-point decline in PF (P = 0.009) and a 14-point decline in MH (P < 0.0001) after 2 years for female high caregivers working full-time and 9.3 point improvement (P = 0.02) for non-working male high caregivers. Change was not significant for non-carers. The study found that not all carers suffer adverse health impacts; however, the combination of high levels of care-giving with workforce participation can increase the risk of negative physical and mental health effects (particularly in female carers). Working carers providing high levels of care represent a vulnerable subgroup where supportive and preventive services might be focused. (Publisher abstract)
My evolving understanding of recovery
- Author:
- LEES Robyn Lorna
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health and Social Inclusion, 18(3), 2014, pp.125-132.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this viewpoint is to discuss a personal account of the author's personal journey of recovery and evolving understanding of recovery. Design/methodology/approach: A personal narrative describing the ways in which the author's understanding of recovery has been challenged and has evolved. Reference to theories of learning is made to understand this process. Findings: That reflection and re-evaluation of long held beliefs is a painful process. It involves not simply adding to existing knowledge but “supplantive learning” – learning as loss: changing how the author sees things having processed new “threshold concepts” (Atherton, 2013b). Originality/value: A personal account of the painful process of change that has relevance for both people rebuilding their lives with mental health conditions and those who are working with them. (Publisher abstract)
The spiritual developmental process for people in recovery from severe mental illness
- Authors:
- STARNINO Vincent R., CANDA Edward R.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work, 33(3-4), 2014, pp.274-299.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This article gives insights about the various ways that people with severe mental illnesses experience spiritual benefits and struggles in the context of their life journeys, and how these are navigated through time as part of a spiritual development process. Multiple in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 individuals with a range of diagnoses and spiritual affiliations receiving services at community mental health centres and consumer-run organisations in a Midwestern state. The study identified four patterns in the way people with severe mental illnesses utilised spirituality as part of their lives and recovery through time, which were named “basic impact” on recovery; “symptoms as a barrier” to using spirituality in recovery; learning to use spirituality for recovery “in progress”; and “high synergy” between spirituality and recovery. Implications for social workers and related mental health practitioners are discussed. (Edited publisher abstract)
Preventing suicide: a global imperative
- Author:
- WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
- Publisher:
- World Health Organization
- Publication year:
- 2014
- Pagination:
- 89
- Place of publication:
- Geneva
This report provides a global knowledge base on suicide and suicide attempts as well as actionable steps for countries. It aims to encourage and support countries to develop or strengthen comprehensive suicide prevention strategies in a multisectoral public health approach. It proposes practical guidance on strategic actions that governments can take on the basis of their resources and existing suicide prevention activities. Over 800,000 people die due to suicide every year and it is the second leading cause of death in 15-29-year-olds. There are indications that for each adult who died of suicide there may have been more than 20 others attempting suicide. The report argues that suicides are preventable and that an effective strategy for preventing suicides and suicide attempts is to restrict access to the most common means, including pesticides, firearms and certain medications. Health-care services need to incorporate suicide prevention as a core component while early identification and effective management are key to ensuring that people receive the care they need. The report recognises that communities play a critical role in suicide prevention and can provide social support to vulnerable individuals and engage in follow-up care, fight stigma and support those bereaved by suicide. (Edited publisher abstract)
Dual diagnosis discourse in Victoria Australia: the responsiveness of mental health services
- Authors:
- ROBERTS Bridget M., MAYBERY Darryl
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 10(3), 2014, pp.139-144.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
In recent decades, psychiatric services have been challenged to be more responsive to patients’ coexisting problems, in particular those concerning substance use. In Australia this has been referred to as a “No Wrong Door” approach. This qualitative study involved a review of the research literatures, analysis of policy documents, and interviews with 19 key informants in a case study of the State of Victoria, Australia. Informants were from a range of professional backgrounds, including medical, nursing, social work, and a variety of experience in the relevant service sectors. The analysis resulted in two broad themes surrounding the implications of dual diagnosis discourse for the mental health sector. The first involves progress regarding the concept of No Wrong Door with subthemes including interprofessional cultural conflicts, intersectoral professional status issues, terminology, problem definition, perspectives on serious mental illness, the role of the client, and pharmacological treatment. The second overarching theme focuses upon informants’ thoughts on future directions for the sector and highlights divided opinion on the implications of dual diagnosis discourse for the mental health service and social care systems. While the perspectives on system change and multiple issues such as resource concerns and cultural clashes are presented here, the informants in this study also gave clear guidance for the future of dual diagnosis work in the mental health sector (e.g., focusing on orienting services toward consumer strengths and recovery), along with recommendations for future research. This paper contributes to the small body of qualitative research on the history and course of efforts to develop appropriate practice in mental health services with regard to patients who have substance use problems and other mental health disorders. (Edited publisher abstract)
Mental health and associated risk factors of Dutch school aged foster children placed in long-term foster care
- Authors:
- MAASKANT Anne M., ROOIJ Floor B. van, HERMANNS Jo M.A.
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 44, 2014, pp.207-216.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
This study focused on the mental health of 239 foster children (aged 4–12) living in long-term placements in the Netherlands. Their behaviour was assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, which was completed by their foster parents. The results revealed a wide range of problem behaviour (ranging from none to very serious problem behaviour), and showed that a third of the children have total difficulty scores (TDS) in the clinical range. Higher TDS appear to have a positive univariate association with age of the foster child, age upon entering the current foster family, number of prior foster placements, non-kinship placement, and fostering experience of the foster parents. The more risk factors, the higher the TDS. These findings suggest the importance of the early detection of problems and potential risk factors in foster families, and the need to support a substantial number of foster children and foster families. (Edited publisher abstract)
A phenomenological study of the lived experiences of Koreans with mental illness
- Authors:
- KANG Sun Kyung, KIM Eun Hee
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Service Research, 40(4), 2014, pp.468-480.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This qualitative phenomenological study explores the meaning of lived experiences for individuals with mental illness in the context of a clubhouse in Korea. In-depth semistructured interviews with 9 clubhouse members were conducted to examine the interactive aspects of clubhouse members and the rehabilitative clubhouse environments. Three major themes from the lived experiences emerged: entering a haven, living in a haven, and having a haven-like hometown. The results of the study indicated that the participants had a broad range of perspectives on mental rehabilitation, including their recognition that rehabilitation meant something more than simply holding a regular job; acceptance of their illness, situations, and limitations; and their desire for a meaningful and fulfilling life within the clubhouse. The results contributed to a better understanding of the lived experiences of individuals with mental illness in the context of a clubhouse and their extended rehabilitation and provided important implications for social work professionals. This study expanded the availability of literature on members’ perceptions of the clubhouse experiences. Future research should be broadened to consider a wider range of people with mental illness, including those in mental hospitals and those secluded to their homes, to provide a better understanding of the overall situation. (Publisher abstract)