Mental Health Experts Work to Help Youth Recover From War’s Psychic Toll

Abstract

Primary care physicians can help patients and families understand that bizarre and sometimes threatening behavior may be a symptom of a mental disorder, Appelbaum said, and can encourage family members to help their loved ones seek appropriate evaluation and treatment. Patients whom physicians suspect may be at risk of violence should be referred to a psychiatrist or other clinician with expertise in assessing that risk, he said. Only a minority of patients need a formal assessment of their risk of violence, Appelbaum said: specifically, those individuals who have hurt another person or report thoughts of hurting someone. For such patients, he asserted, the structured risk assessment is becoming the standard of care. “It ensures that clinicians gather relevant data about the most important risk factors for violent behavior,” he said. “In the absence of a structured way to think about risk, clinicians tend to be highly inaccurate in their assessment.” The APA is considering the appointment of a task force to develop guidelines for violence risk assessment, Appelbaum said.