Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Self-harm: treating people differently, intervening early
- Author:
- JOHN Ann
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Today, March 2012, pp.18-19.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
Self-harm, usually defined as intentional self-poisoning or self-injury, is an important public health problem. The method, nature of motivation, or degree of suicidal intent is complex and may change for any individual over time. Long-term outcome studies in adults consistently highlight the association between self-harm and completed suicide. Those who repeat self-harm are at significantly greater risk of committing suicide than those how have a single episode. There are many factors associated with self-harm: mental health problems, particularly depression; alcohol and substance misuse; personality disorders; and a range of social, economic and cultural issues. All people who self-harm who present at hospital should have a psychosocial assessment and any associated disorders should be managed according to NICE guidelines. All frontline staff should receive suicide and self-harm awareness training and be enabled to manage people in a caring, compassionate manner.
Assessment of behavioral and psychiatric problems in people with Prader–Willi syndrome: a review of the literature
- Author:
- SPENDELOW Jason S.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 8(2), June 2011, pp.104-112.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Prader–Willi syndrome (PSW) is a rare genetic disorder that has a prevalence of 1 in 50,000 to 70,000 people and equal gender distribution. The clinical presentation of people with PWS involves a wide range of behavioural, psychiatric, neurocognitive, and medical problems. The aim of this review is to help clinicians make a comprehensive assessment of mental health problems with this population. People with PWS are particularly susceptible to the development of problems in the areas of hyperphagia, compulsions and repetitive behaviour, self-injury (especially skin-picking), and aggressive behaviours. The most common psychiatric features in people with PWS are psychosis, affective disorders, and obsessive–compulsive disorders. Assessment should involve consideration of how behavioural and psychiatric problems can be influenced by neurocognitive functioning and medical issues. The heterogeneous and progressive nature of many behavioural and psychiatric problems in this population presents significant challenges to psychological assessment and management. Comprehensive assessment requires an understanding of the phenotype of Prader–Willi syndrome, and associated issues that can impact upon clinical presentation.
Compliance with NICE guidelines in the management of self-harm
- Authors:
- MULLINS Diane, MACHALE Siobhan, COTTER David
- Journal article citation:
- Psychiatrist (The), 34(9), September 2010, pp.385-389.
- Publisher:
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
Five percent of people attending accident and emergency services show signs of psychiatric problems, and another 20-30% have psychiatric symptoms as well as physical disorders. The most common problem presented is self-harm. This study aimed to identify the provision of psychosocial assessments for all people attending an accident and emergency department in Ireland with a presentation indicative of self-harm over a 12 month period, and examined whether the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines for self-harm were met. A total of 834 attendances for self-harm were recorded. Findings showed that a psychosocial assessment was undertaken by a member of the liaison psychiatry team in 59% of attendances, but single male patients under 45 years of age represented 39% of those who did not receive a psychosocial assessment. In order to meet the NICE guidelines for standards of care it is suggested that levels of psychosocial assessment need to be improved for single men under the age of 45 years.
Group-based problem-solving therapy in self-poisoning females: a pilot study
- Author:
- BANNAN Noreen
- Journal article citation:
- Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 10(3), September 2010, pp.201-213.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
In this pilot study 18 females (aged 18 to 53 years) who had presented to an accident and emergency department of an inner city hospital in Ireland following an episode of deliberate non-fatal self-poisoning were equally randomised to a time-limited, group-based problem-solving intervention or to a treatment as usual control group. The intervention group underwent 8 sessions of group therapy each lasting 150 minutes, with the initial 4 sessions held twice weekly, the next two sessions held weekly, and the final two sessions held at two week intervals. The control group received standard individual therapy in the outpatients or day hospital. All clients were assessed using standardised questionnaires for depression, hopelessness, suicidal ideation and social problem-solving skills. Adherence with therapy was good with only one client in each group failing to adhere to the treatment schedule. The treatment group experienced significant reductions in levels of depression, hopelessness, suicidal ideation and improvements in self-assessed social problem-solving skills. Improvements in mental health and aspects of self-assessed problem-solving skills continued to be evident at two months follow-up in this group. The control group did not change significantly over time on mental health measures or social problem solving abilities. The authors conclude that these preliminary findings suggest that group-based problem-solving therapy is effective in the management of deliberate self-poisoning.
Relating to self-harm and suicide prevention: psychoanalytic perspectives on practice, theory and prevention
- Editors:
- BRIGGS Stephen, LEMMA Alessandra, CROUCH William, (eds.)
- Publisher:
- Routledge
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 272p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Based on the papers and dialogue that took place at the 2nd International Suicidality and Psychoanalysis Congress in 2006, this book presents studies and research from psychoanalysts, therapists and academics. It focuses on the psychoanalytic understanding of suicide and self-harm and how this can be applied to clinical work and policy. Its three sections cover: a theoretical overview, examples of psychoanalytic practice with self-harming and suicidal patients, and applications of psychoanalytic thinking to suicide and self-harm prevention.
Child mental health differences amongst ethnic groups in Britain: a systematic review
- Authors:
- GOODMAN Anna, PATEL Vikram, LEON David A.
- Journal article citation:
- BMC Public Health, 8(258), July 2008, Online only
- Publisher:
- BioMed Central Ltd
This review compared the population-based prevalence of child mental disorders between ethnic groups in Britain, and related these findings to ethnic differences in mental health service use. Bibliographic databases were searched for population-based and clinic-based studies of children aged 0–19, including all ethnic groups and the main child mental disorders. 31 population-based and 18 clinic-based studies met the inclusion criteria. It was found that children in the main minority groups have similar or better mental health than White British children for common disorders, but may have higher rates for some less common conditions. The causes of these differences are unclear.
Risks and opportunities in adolescence: understanding adolescent mental health difficulties
- Author:
- BRIGGS Stephen
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work Practice, 23(1), March 2009, pp.49-64.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
In order to explore the current state of knowledge regarding adolescent mental health, and relate this knowledge to practice, this paper explores three key questions: are adolescent mental health problems increasing, are adolescents dislocated by new and different contexts, and what are the levels of mental health difficulties in adolescence? The paper suggests that evidence that adolescents are 'getting worse' is not convincing, but it is clear that the contexts for adolescence have changed radically and this affects adolescent developmental processes. Adolescent mental health difficulties require a current, developmentally relevant and oriented approach to enhance effective understanding and intervention. Adults in general and professionals in particular need to be able to engage with and not take flight from the impact of adolescent emotionality.
Cues and knowledge structures used by mental-health professionals when making risk assessments
- Authors:
- BUCKINGHAM Christopher D., ADAMS Ann, MACE Chris
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Mental Health, 17(3), June 2008, pp.299-314.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- London
Research into mental-health risks has tended to focus on epidemiological approaches and to consider pieces of evidence in isolation. Less is known about the particular factors and their patterns of occurrence that influence clinicians' risk judgements in practice. This research aims to identify the cues used by clinicians to make risk judgements and to explore how these combine within clinicians' psychological representations of suicide, self-harm, self-neglect, and harm to others. Content analysis was applied to semi-structured interviews conducted with 46 practitioners from various mental-health disciplines, using mind maps to represent the hierarchical relationships of data and concepts. Most of the participants were from psychiatric nursing (21)and psychiatry (14), but social workers (3), general practitioners (3), and psychologists (3) were also represented. Strong consensus between experts meant their knowledge could be integrated into a single hierarchical structure for each risk. This revealed contrasting emphases between data and concepts underpinning risks, including: reflection and forethought for suicide; motivation for self-harm; situation and context for harm to others; and current presentation for self-neglect. Analysis of experts' risk-assessment knowledge identified influential cues and their relationships to risks. It can inform development of valid risk-screening decision support systems that combine actuarial evidence with clinical expertise.
A place of safety? Self-harming behaviour in police custody
- Author:
- CUMMINS Ian
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Adult Protection, 10(1), February 2008, pp.36-47.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This article reports the findings of analysis of the recorded incidents of self-harm that occurred in the custody of one English police force during an eight-month period in 2006. There were 168 such incidents in this period. The ratio of male/female detained persons, how harmed themselves was 3:1. The most common method used was a ligature either from the detained person's own clothes or the paper suits that are used in custody. Alcohol and substance misuse was identified as a clear risk factor. The police response is analysed and recommendations made for improved access to health care for those in custody.
Working in partnership to deliver training
- Authors:
- JONES Em, HAHN Sue
- Journal article citation:
- A Life in the Day, 11(4), November 2007, pp.6-9.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Service users are playing an increasingly important role in training professionals and can be effective in challenging beliefs and prejudices held about mental illness. The authors, a service user and lecturer in mental health at the Centre for Mental Health Recovery at the University of Hertfordshire, describe how they have been working together, delivering training on sexuality and mental health and self harm.