Forward psychiatry – early intervention for mental health problems among UK armed forces in Afghanistan

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 66-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Jones ◽  
N.T. Fear ◽  
S. Wessely ◽  
G. Thandi ◽  
N. Greenberg
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Operational Environment ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Aeromedical Evacuation ◽  
Health Practitioners

AbstractBackgroundThis observational study examined return to duty (RTD) rates following receipt of early mental health interventions delivered by deployed mental health practitioners.MethodIn-depth clinical interviews were conducted among 975 UK military personnel referred for mental health assessment whilst deployed in Afghanistan. Socio-demographic, military, operational, clinical and therapy outcomes were recorded in an electronic health record database. Rates and predictors of EVAC were the main outcomes examined using adjusted binary logistic regression analyses.ResultsOverall 74.8% (n = 729) of personnel RTD on completion of care. Of those that underwent evacuation home (n = 246), 69.1% (n = 170) returned by aeromedical evacuation; the remainder returned home using routine air transport. Predictors of evacuation included; inability to adjust to the operational environment, family psychiatric history, previously experiencing trauma and thinking about or carrying out acts of deliberate self-harm.ConclusionDeployed mental health practitioners helped to facilitate RTD for three quarters of mental health casualties who consulted with them during deployment; psychological rather than combat-related factors predicted evacuation home.

scholarly journals Grieving experiences amongst adolescents orphaned by AIDS: Analysis from event history calendars

Curationis ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria Thupayagale-Tshweneagae
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Mental Health Status ◽  
Event History ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Event History Calendar ◽  
Coping Patterns

Mental health is an essential component of adolescent health and wellbeing. Mental health practitioners assess adolescents’ mental health status to identify possible issues that may lead to mental health problems. However, very few of the tools used to assess the mental health status of adolescents include assessment for grieving and coping patterns. The current tools used for assessing an individual’s mental health are lengthy and not comprehensive. The purpose of this study was to assess grieving patterns of adolescents orphaned by AIDS and to appraise the sefulness of an event history calendar as an assessment tool for identifying grieving experiences, in order to guide and support these adolescents through the grieving process. One hundred and two adolescents aged 14–18 years, who had been orphaned by AIDS, completed an event history calendar, reviewed it with the researcher and reported their perceptions of it. Thematic analysis of the event history calendar content revealed that it is an effective, time-efficient, adolescent-friendly tool that facilitated identification and discussion of the orphaned adolescents’ grieving patterns. Crying, isolation, silence and violent outbursts were the main grieving patterns reported by adolescents orphaned by AIDS. The researcher recommends use of the event history calendar for identification of orphaned adolescents’ grieving experiences. Early identification would enable mental health practitioners to support them in order to prevent the occurrence of mental illness due to maladaptive grieving.

Evaluation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianni Pirelli
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Forensic Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Assessment ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Inpatient Settings ◽  
Forensic Mental Health Assessment

In this chapter, the authors address evaluations across settings and contexts, such as mental health screenings conducted in community, outpatient, and inpatient settings, with particular attention to the considerations necessary for evaluators, including the need to develop and maintain firearm-specific and cultural competence. They present considerations associated with seven firearm-related subcultures that medical and mental health practitioners are likely to encounter with some regularity. They also speak to the importance of researchers, academics, and students developing such competence. They outline the concept of forensic mental health assessment and demonstrate how certain firearm-specific evaluations are a type of this. They provide considerations related to evaluating civilians applying for firearm permits and those seeking reinstatement of gun rights in forfeiture matters. They review the various models of risk assessment and a firearm-specific framework for conducting these evaluations: the Pirelli Firearm-10. Considerations for law enforcement and related professions are also presented.

Psychopharmacology and Mental Health Practice: An Important Alliance

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Kaut
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Psychiatric Treatment ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Contextual Analysis ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Mental Health Assessment ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Drug Treatments

Many mental health professionals are concerned about an increasingly "medicalized" society, driven in part by significant growth in biomedical research and biological perspectives on psychological disorders. The modern medical era, which has endorsed reductionism as the principal way of viewing many health conditions, offers many options for treating psychiatric diagnoses. Pharmacology is a major influence in psychiatric treatment decisions, and despite questions by mental health practitioners about reliance on drugs (Murray, 2009), psychopharmacology provides helpful alternatives. However, pharmacological options for mental health concerns should not be considered in isolation, and the use of drug treatments for cognitive, emotional, and behavioral disorders warrants careful contextual analysis. Mental health practitioners are encouraged to view pharmacology within a comprehensive sociohistorical framework that recognizes the value of a reductionist perspective as part of psychology's rich cognitive and behavioral contributions to contemporary mental health assessment and intervention.

scholarly journals “Smartphone Apps Are Cool, but Do They Help Me?”: A Qualitative Interview Study of Adolescents’ Perspectives on Using Smartphone Interventions to Manage Nonsuicidal Self-Injury

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 3289
Author(s):  
Anja Čuš ◽  
Julian Edbrooke-Childs ◽  
Susanne Ohmann ◽  
Paul L. Plener ◽  
Türkan Akkaya-Kalayci
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Self Injury ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study ◽  
Mental Health Interventions ◽  
Nonsuicidal Self Injury

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a major mental health problem associated with negative psychosocial outcomes and it most often starts in early adolescence. Despite this, adolescents are rarely involved in informing the development of interventions designed to address their mental health problems. This study aimed to (1) assess adolescents’ needs and preferences about future interventions that are delivered through smartphones and (2) develop a framework with implications for designing engaging digital mental health interventions. Fifteen adolescent girls, aged 12–18 years, who met diagnostic criteria for a current NSSI disorder and were in contact with mental health services, participated in semi-structured interviews. Following a reflexive thematic analysis approach, this study identified two main themes: (1) Experiences of NSSI (depicts the needs of young people related to their everyday experiences of managing NSSI) and (2) App in Context (portrays preferences of young people about smartphone interventions and reflects adolescents’ views on how technology itself can improve or hinder engaging with these interventions). Adolescent patients expressed interest in using smartphone mental health interventions if they recognize them as helpful, relevant for their life situation and easy to use. The developed framework suggests that digital mental health interventions are embedded in three contexts (i.e., person using the intervention, mental health condition, and technology-related factors) which together need to inform the development of engaging digital resources. To achieve this, the cooperation among people with lived experience, mental health experts, and human computer interaction professionals is vital.

scholarly journals Depressive Symptoms in Swiss University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Correlates

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Volken ◽  
Annina Zysset ◽  
Simone Amendola ◽  
Anthony Klein Swormink ◽  
Marion Huber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
University Students ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
National Population ◽  
Student Cohorts ◽  
Containment Measures

Background: COVID-19 containment measures and the uncertainties associated with the pandemic may have contributed to changes in mental health risks and mental health problems in university students. Due to the high burden of the disease, depression is of particular concern. However, knowledge about the prevalence of depressive symptoms in Swiss university students during the pandemic is limited. We therefore assessed the prevalence of depressive symptoms and their change during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large sample of Swiss university students. Methods: We assessed depressive symptoms in two cross-sectional cohorts of university students (n = 3571) in spring and autumn 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and compared them with a matched sample of the Swiss national population (n = 2328). Binary logistic regression models estimated prevalence with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results: Adjusted prevalence of depressive symptoms in female (30.8% (95% CI: 28.6–33.0)) and male students (24.8% (95% CI: 21.7–28.1)) was substantially higher than in the matching female (10.9% (95% CI: 8.9–13.2)) and male (8.5% (6.6–11.0)) pre-pandemic national population. Depressive symptoms in the two consecutive student cohorts did not significantly differ. Conclusions: More than a quarter of Swiss university students reported depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was substantially higher as compared to the matched general population. Universities should introduce measures to support students in such times of crisis and gain an understanding of the factors impacting mental health positively or negatively and related to university structures and procedures.

Gendered experiences of unemployment, suicide and self-harm: a population-level record linkage study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
R. Cunningham ◽  
A. Milner ◽  
S. Gibb ◽  
V. Rijnberg ◽  
G. Disney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Employment Status ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Antidepressant Medication ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Data Infrastructure ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Self Harm

Abstract Background Unemployment and being not in the labour force (NILF) are risk factors for suicide, but their association with self-harm is unclear, and there is continuing debate about the role of confounding by prior mental health conditions. We examine associations between employment status and self-harm and suicide in a prospective cohort, taking into account prior mental-health-related factors. Methods We used linked data from the New Zealand Integrated Data Infrastructure. The outcomes were chosen to be hospital presentation for self-harm and death by suicide. The exposure was employment status, defined as employed, unemployed, or NILF, measured at the 2013 Census. Confounders included demographic factors and mental health history (use of antidepressant medication, use of mental health services, and prior self-harm). Logistic regression was used to model effects. Analyses were stratified by gender. Results For males, unemployment was associated with an increased risk of suicide [odds ratio (OR): 1.48, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20–1.84] and self-harm (OR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.45–1.68) after full adjustment for confounders. NILF was associated with an increased risk of self-harm (OR: 1.43, 95% CI: 1.32–1.55), but less of an association was seen with suicide (OR: 1.19, 95% CI: 0.94–1.49). For females, unemployment was associated with an increased risk of suicide (OR: 1.30, 95% CI: 0.93–1.80) and of self-harm (OR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.43–1.62), and NILF was associated with a similar increase in risk for suicide (OR: 1.31, 95% CI: 0.98–1.75) and self-harm (OR: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.26–1.40). Discussion Exclusion from employment is associated with a considerably heightened risk of suicide and self-harm for both men and women, even among those without prior mental health problems.

scholarly journals Promotoras as Mental Health Practitioners in Primary Care: A Multi-Method Study of an Intervention to Address Contextual Sources of Depression

2010 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 316-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard Waitzkin ◽  
Christina Getrich ◽  
Shirley Heying ◽  
Laura Rodríguez ◽  
Anita Parmar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Health Practitioners
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