This article looks at the case of a women with psychiatric illness who forms a strong relationship with a man who has alcohol-related behaviour problems. Her health deteriorates when he is imprisoned. Her social worker explains why he wants them to live together.
This article looks at the case of a women with psychiatric illness who forms a strong relationship with a man who has alcohol-related behaviour problems. Her health deteriorates when he is imprisoned. Her social worker explains why he wants them to live together.
Subject terms:
interpersonal relationships, mental health problems, risk, supported housing, adult abuse, alcohol misuse, case studies;
This book describes the first therapeutic community of Synanon, an innovative drug rehabilitation centre near Santa Monica beach which began in 1958. Synanon centred around Charles E. Chuck Dederick, who began the community/family/home for individuals voluntarily assisting one another through the experience of drug withdrawal and rehabilitation. Many had extensive histories of crime, imprisonment, and failure to cease drug use via the route of traditional mental health services. Synanon was a highly controversial therapeutic community and counselling style, and remained such throughout it's history. Its confrontive counselling style, called attack therapy, had its believers and its critics both in and out of the traditional mental health community. The concept of former addicts treating recently-arrived addicts did not fit some of society's view of the professional hospital environment. Individuals wanting to have a chance to change their lives at Synanon were invited to join the organisation if they were willing to live by the house agreements which were basically no drugs and no socially embarrassing or inappropriate behaviour. Synanon did not consider its residents to be sick. Synanon's emphasis on self-help and self reliance is one of the major areas of contrast between it and Alcoholics Anonymous. AA is built upon a person's reliance upon a higher power. Synanon was established upon the basis of self-help and actualisation.
This book describes the first therapeutic community of Synanon, an innovative drug rehabilitation centre near Santa Monica beach which began in 1958. Synanon centred around Charles E. Chuck Dederick, who began the community/family/home for individuals voluntarily assisting one another through the experience of drug withdrawal and rehabilitation. Many had extensive histories of crime, imprisonment, and failure to cease drug use via the route of traditional mental health services. Synanon was a highly controversial therapeutic community and counselling style, and remained such throughout it's history. Its confrontive counselling style, called attack therapy, had its believers and its critics both in and out of the traditional mental health community. The concept of former addicts treating recently-arrived addicts did not fit some of society's view of the professional hospital environment. Individuals wanting to have a chance to change their lives at Synanon were invited to join the organisation if they were willing to live by the house agreements which were basically no drugs and no socially embarrassing or inappropriate behaviour. Synanon did not consider its residents to be sick. Synanon's emphasis on self-help and self reliance is one of the major areas of contrast between it and Alcoholics Anonymous. AA is built upon a person's reliance upon a higher power. Synanon was established upon the basis of self-help and actualisation.
Subject terms:
holistic care, interpersonal relationships, mental health problems, reality therapy, self-advocacy, self-determination, self-help, social work history, therapeutic communities, alcohol misuse, communities, drug misuse, empowerment, group therapy, groups;
Journal of Social Issues, 58(3), Autumn 2002, pp.597-615.
Publisher:
Wiley
This American article examines the costs of the pursuit of self-esteem for the self, in terms of competence, relatedness, and mental health, and for others. The author hypothesizes that external contingencies of self-worth require validation from others and are unreliable as a basis of self-esteem, and hence are associated with greater costs. Data from a study of an ethnically diverse sample of 642 students support the view that contingencies of self-worth shape how students spend their time, and the prediction that external contingencies of self-worth, especially appearance, have high costs for stress, aggression, drug and alcohol use, and symptoms of disordered eating.
This American article examines the costs of the pursuit of self-esteem for the self, in terms of competence, relatedness, and mental health, and for others. The author hypothesizes that external contingencies of self-worth require validation from others and are unreliable as a basis of self-esteem, and hence are associated with greater costs. Data from a study of an ethnically diverse sample of 642 students support the view that contingencies of self-worth shape how students spend their time, and the prediction that external contingencies of self-worth, especially appearance, have high costs for stress, aggression, drug and alcohol use, and symptoms of disordered eating.
Subject terms:
interpersonal relationships, mental health problems, self-concept, self-esteem, stereotyped attitudes, stress, students, aggression, alcohol misuse, costs, drug misuse;
The Multiple Needs Assessment and Care Management Package is a 27 page document which is designed as tool for the assessment of homeless people with mental health problems. It is accompanied by assessment forms contained on a 3.5” computer disc. The pack looks holistically at the presenting needs of an individual. It also enables assessors to: prioritise client needs; action those needs appropriately; and, to develop an effective evaluation process, i.e. working with clients on achievable, realistic goals, with scope for re-negotiation as required. The pack is designed on the assumption that the Assessor is competent in assessment practice and has a good understanding of the parameters that are involved.
The Multiple Needs Assessment and Care Management Package is a 27 page document which is designed as tool for the assessment of homeless people with mental health problems. It is accompanied by assessment forms contained on a 3.5” computer disc. The pack looks holistically at the presenting needs of an individual. It also enables assessors to: prioritise client needs; action those needs appropriately; and, to develop an effective evaluation process, i.e. working with clients on achievable, realistic goals, with scope for re-negotiation as required. The pack is designed on the assumption that the Assessor is competent in assessment practice and has a good understanding of the parameters that are involved.
Subject terms:
homelessness, interpersonal relationships, learning disabilities, mental health, mental health problems, needs, needs assessment, service users, substance misuse, assessment, alcohol misuse, care management, drug misuse, health, complex needs;
Community Mental Health Journal, 36(6), December 2000, pp.557-569.
Publisher:
Springer
This two-year ethnography conducted among 16 dually diagnosed clients in the US yielded two longitudinal findings. Four 'positive quality of life' factors were strongly correlated with client's efforts to stop using addictive substances: regular engagement with an enjoyable activity; decent, stable housing; a loving relationship with a person accepting of mental health problems; a positive relationship with a mental health professional. The study also revealed that five predictive 'negative background factors' were present in participants' childhood homes: substance misuse; extreme poverty; 'non-functional' household members; abuse by care-givers; severe mental illness in household. The implications of these findings for treatment are discussed.
This two-year ethnography conducted among 16 dually diagnosed clients in the US yielded two longitudinal findings. Four 'positive quality of life' factors were strongly correlated with client's efforts to stop using addictive substances: regular engagement with an enjoyable activity; decent, stable housing; a loving relationship with a person accepting of mental health problems; a positive relationship with a mental health professional. The study also revealed that five predictive 'negative background factors' were present in participants' childhood homes: substance misuse; extreme poverty; 'non-functional' household members; abuse by care-givers; severe mental illness in household. The implications of these findings for treatment are discussed.
Subject terms:
interpersonal relationships, mental health problems, poverty, schizophrenia, severe mental health problems, substance misuse, alcohol misuse, child abuse, drug misuse, dual diagnosis, family relations, environmental factors;