Treatment Of Chronic Mental Illness Research Articles

Welche digitalen Angebote nutzen psychisch vorerkrankte Menschen während der Corona-Pandemie und gibt es Zusammenhänge mit Angst und depressiven Symptomen?

The COVID-19 pandemic requires numerous measures to protect against infection, such as contact reduction and adherence to hygiene and social distancing rules. The former leads to mental disorders (possibly requiring treatment) due to social isolation, the latter require adaptation in the implementation of medical therapies. With overall limited therapy capacities, the use of digital (health) applications can be of particular importance in the therapy of chronic and psychological diseases in particular. The present study investigates which health apps are being used by people with mental health problems. 1,060 insured persons in preparation for psychosomatic rehabilitation measures were surveyed by means of an online questionnaire. Descriptive analyses, frequency analyses, and analyses of variance with post-hoc tests and correlation analyses were used for evaluation. Participants used on average three apps; the most common topics were "nutrition" (n=313), "self-diagnosis" (n=244) and "relaxation" (n=234). Female participants were more likely to use apps than male participants, and younger participants were more likely to use apps than older participants. Symptoms of anxiety were correlated to the use of digital applications, especially concerning heart rate and blood pressure monitoring, while depressive symptoms were not associated with a more frequent use of apps. Digital apps are being frequently used by people with mental health problems. Increasing acceptance of digital (health) apps has significant potential in the treatment of chronic mental illness in particular. The focus should be on individual applications with integration into the regular care process. Increasing digitalization, also in the healthcare sector, can be used to ensure care, especially in times of contact restrictions and limited human resources.

Teaching an Interdisciplinary Approach to the Treatment of Chronic Mental Illness: Challenges and Rewards

National policy makers and psychiatric educators have established the goals of teaching and promoting interdisciplinary care as high priorities. This article describes the implementation of an interprofessional seminar for which the dual aims were to provide a knowledge base for treating individuals with serious mental illness and to teach how to work collaboratively with other disciplines. A seminar, the "Treatment of chronic or recurrent mental illness: recovery, rehabilitation and interdisciplinary collaboration," was developed in an academic community mental health center. Pre- and postseminar surveys were administered in order to test the hypothesis that the seminar would have a positive impact on trainees' attitudes about working with the seriously mentally ill and within an interdisciplinary team. A combination of 5-point Likert scales and open-ended questions were used to gather the data. Paired samples t tests were conducted to test for significant differences between the pre- and postmeasures. The seminar participants included 24 students from psychiatry, nursing, social work, and psychology with a wide range of experience. Complete pre- and postseminar data were obtained from 14 participants. Although participants valued the seminar experience, they reported that the actual interdisciplinary work with the seriously mentally ill was less gratifying than expected. They described several advantages and challenges of care-oriented collaboration and shared learning. Bringing together a diverse group of graduate and postgraduate trainees to learn together and to learn about each other's disciplines appeared to be a successful venture, but the authors were not able to detect a positive impact on their actual work life during the course of the year. Further development of strategies to inspire professionals to engage in and promote interdisciplinary care of the seriously mentally ill is needed.

Functional Anatomy of Humor: Positive Affect and Chronic Mental Illness

Functional Anatomy of Humor: Positive Affect and Chronic Mental Illness

Treatment of Chronic Mental Illness

Treatment of ch ro nic m ental illn ess is ofte n inadeq ua tely address ed in resid ency training programs. The Committ ee on Psychi atry a nd th e Co m mun ity, a group with long-st anding involvement in the treatm ent of the chro nically men ta lly ill, s ta te that the purpose of this book is to he lp resid ents gain a basic u nd erst a nd ing of the clinica l principl es a nd techniques involved in the t reat m en t of t his population. Prelimina ry work on this guide began in 1987 afte r com plet ion of a previou s rep ort A Family Affair: H elping Fami lies Co pe Wi th Mental IllnessA Guide for t he Professions , (GAP Report 119, 1986) A Family Affa ir grew out of a review of letters writt en to Dear Abby by read ers who had a fam ily me m ber with chro nic m ent al illness. The letters deta iled th e frustration exper ienced by fa mi lie s att empting to find a doct or who co uld effec tive ly work with th e patient th e fam ily, and the sys te m . The au thors correctly point ou t that th e lack of ade q uate cl in ical training in the treatment of this population, es pecia lly for the begin ning clinician, may con t r ibu te to a n expe r ie nce th at is both discouraging a nd fru stra ting for the patient a nd th e clinician T o gain a better underst anding of resid ents' concerns as well, t he a u thors surveyed a gro up of psychi atric resid ents a nd wr ot e this book in an att empt to a nswe r clinica l questions ra ised by resid ents. The guide more th an lives up to it s goa l of presenting pr act ical clinicall y us eful information focus ing on interpersonal intervent ions with em phasis on the ben efit s and rewards to be gained by both patients as well as th eir treating ph ysicians. The guide is very readable, clearly written, and conveys a se nse of optimism regarding treatment of this population The a ut hors se nd a n ex t re me ly important often overlooked m essage that, in th eir view, successful ou tcome is defin ed by acceptance, relative peace of mind, a nd progress to th e next step. They deft ly guide the reader through th e in evitable ups and downs in the treatment of patients with chronic m ent a l illn ess, pointing ou t how a clin ician a rme d with se ns it ivity pati en ce a nd hope ca n bring abou t a m eaningful a nd reward ing treatm en t experience.

The role of psychologists in the treatment, management, and prevention of chronic mental illness.

In addition to suffering from the severe psychiatric symptoms of chronic mental illness (CMI), people with this type of disorder suffer from a variety of secondary disabilities and face societal obstacles that interfere with their ability to maximize their personal, social, and vocational potentials. Following the deinstitutionalization of long-term psychiatric patients in recent decades, many different understandings of the etiology, treatment, and management of CMI have evolved, including those derived from the biological, vulnerability, cognitive, case management, rehabilitation, and psychoeducational models. Because psychologists are trained in a wide range of psychological theories and a broad repertoire of applications, they have unique contributions to make within each model, particularly, as discussed here, to prevent, treat, and manage CMI through research, assessment, and intervention.

A comprehensive treatment program for schizophrenia and chronic mental illness.

The failure of deinstitutionalization and the community mental health movement to improve the treatment of chronic psychiatric patients, particularly schizophrenics, is described. Problems with the current treatment paradigm include unrealistic expectations concerning the rehabilitative effects of antipsychotic medications, inadequate funding of the community mental health system, and the predominance of the "infectious disease model," rather than the more appropriate "chronic disease model" of mental illness. A model for the comprehensive treatment of chronic mental illness is proposed that includes: treatment, rehabilitation, social services, and continuity of care. The need for an integrated community approach to rehabilitating chronic psychiatric patients is stressed, and some of the specific ingredients essential to such a program are identified.

Recent developments in the care, treatment, and rehabilitation of the chronic mentally ill in Nigeria.

Nigeria, with a population estimated at 80 million, has fewer than 100 psychiatrists and psychologists and only 20 psychiatric facilities. Most chronic mental patients are cared for by their relatives, by traditional healers, or by religious healers affiliated with the new Christian churches, which have proliferated in recent years. Lack of organized social welfare services makes the family the only consistent source of social support for the mentally ill; patients who lose contact with their families often become homeless wanderers. Although the majority of the mentally ill in Nigeria are cared for outside the mental health system, recent developments, such as the establishment of mobile clinics and village-based psychiatric units, show great potential for advancing the treatment of chronic mental illness in Nigeria.

The Combined Use of Chlorpromazine and Reserpine in the Treatment of Chronic Mental Illness: A Preliminary

The Combined Use of Chlorpromazine and Reserpine in the Treatment of Chronic Mental Illness: A Preliminary

Survey of nine years of lobotomy investigations.

The evidence is strong that bimedial lobotomy is superior in treatment of chronic mental illness to either conventional bilateral lobotomy or unilateral lobotomy. The reduction in anxiety, tension, hostility, and impulsivity is dramatic; the improvement in initiative and ability to form object relationships, the increased capacity to work and to get along, the recession of psychotic symptoms—all were most significant and important. In group situations, patients who received bimedial operation were more interested in interaction, more alive to group needs, more productive and organized in their activities than patients receiving the other operations. Psychological tests suggest that they made definite gains in abstraction capacity. There was no mortality in the total series of cases. The immediate postoperative morbidity of bimedial surgery was no greater than other operations and the incidence of untoward complications no greater than for conventional bilateral lobotomy. For the present, at the Boston Psychopathic Hospital, bimedial lobotomy has replaced standard full bilateral operation in surgical treatment of chronic mental illness.

PREFRONTAL LOBOTOMY

A PREFRONTAL lobotomy program was initiated at Binghamton State Hospital in the spring of 1946. We report the results obtained in 122 cases of lobotomy performed by the Freeman-Watts standard method up to the end of 1950. The patients reported have been observed from five years to six months since operation. The accompanying chart shows the rapid yearly increase in the number of lobotomies performed in this institution, which operation has now become our most important tool in the treatment of chronic mental illness. MATERIAL The 122 patients reported all had chronic mental disorders. With a few exceptions, all had been unsuccessfully treated with one or several of the accepted shock methods, and prior to the introduction of lobotomy their prognoses were considered hopeless. As in every state hospital series, the major portion of the patients represented the schizophrenic group, 106 of the 122 being in that group. The remaining

Present status and future needs of psychiatric facilities in general hospitals in the United States and Canada.

Present psychiatric facilities in general hospitals are extremely inadequate. Only 279 of 4,761 United States general hospitals offer any kind of adequate inpatient psychiatric service. Although half of all hospital beds are now used for treatment of chronic mental illness, yet general hospitals provide only 4% of beds for acute psychiatric disorders. Psychiatric personnel is below minimum numbers. Training programs are insufficient to meet the demands, as witness 14 completed units unable to operate for lack of personnel. Only 309 of the total 4,761 general hospitals train psychiatric personnel. Medical schools do not place enough emphasis on psychiatric teaching, training, treatment, and research in general hospitals. Only 52 of the 73 medical schools use them, and only 9 use all clinical departments for the integration of psychiatry. Voluntary health insurance coverage of psychiatric disorders is disgracefully lacking. Only 10% of Blue Cross and 4% of Blue Shield plans studied provide the same benefits for psychiatric as for other medical disorders. The rest discriminate as to days, benefits, or dollar maximums. Half completely exclude psychiatric problems. In view of these urgent deficiencies the following recommendation has been made: that psychiatrists give attention to general hospital problems in order to help integrate psychiatry into medicine, thereby reducing chronic mental illness and providing beds for private-practicing psychiatrists.

A program of group psychotherapy in the treatment of chronic mental illness

A program of group psychotherapy in the treatment of chronic mental illness