Implementing Family Supportive Interventions for Schizophrenia in Public Mental Health Centres

Studies aimed at implementing supportive treatments for families in clinical practice report that after a training course 7 to 27 percent of professionals apply these treatments in clinical work and a mean of 1.4 to 1.7 families per trainee receive these interventions.We carried out a study in 23 Italian mental health centres in order to explore the feasibility of providing psychoeducational interventions for persons with schizophrenia and their families in routine conditions.Two professionals from each center attended three monthly training sessions for psychoeducational interventions. After the training, each professional provided informative sessions on schizophrenia to five families of service users with schizophrenia, which consisted of three meetings with each family on clinical aspects of schizophrenia, drug treatments, and detection of early signs of relapse. Each professional then provided the intervention to families for six months.Thirty-eight of the 46 participants completed the training course, and 34 provided the intervention to 71 families. Twenty-nine of the 34 provided the entire intervention to the families and five of the 34 held only informative sessions on schizophrenia. Ninety-one percent of the participants who completed the study reported difficulties in integrating the intervention with their work responsibilities, and 96 percent acknowledged the positive effect that the intervention had on the center's relationship with patients with schizophrenia and their families.These results support the idea that it is possible to introduce psychoeducational interventions in mental health centres after a relatively brief period of training and supervision.

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Benefits and difficulties in implementing family psychoeducational interventions for schizophrenia in mental health services: results from a multicentre Italian study

Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences ◽

10.1017/s1121189x00007983 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 235-242 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Lorenza Magliano ◽

Andrea Fiorillo ◽

Claudio Malangone ◽

Corrado De Rosa ◽

Grazia Favata ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Large Scale ◽

Family Intervention ◽

Scientific Work ◽

Educational Interventions ◽

Training Course ◽

Drug Companies ◽

Training And Supervision ◽

Trained Staff ◽

Psychoeducational Interventions

SUMMARYAims – This study aims to explore: a) the feasibility of psycho-educational interventions for families of users with schizophrenia in clinical practice by trained staff; b) the benefits and problems encountered by professionals in the use of these interventions. Methods – 46 professionals from 23 Italian Mental Health Sen'ices (MHS) attended at a three-module training course in psycho-educational interventions and four supervisions in the subsequent year. Following the course, participants provided the intervention to families of users with schizophrenia. The difficulties and benefits encountered by trainees to use the intervention were registered on the Family Intervention Schedule.Results – 83% of the participants completed the training course. Following the course, the intervention started in 71 families from 17 MHS. 76% of trainees provided the intervention to 2-5 families, while 13% of them only held informative sessions on schizophrenia. During the supervision period, the organisational difficulties experienced by the professionals were stable, while the benefits increased. Differences in benefits and difficulties were detected in relation to the trainees’ experience and professional roles. Conclusions – It is possible to introduce psycho-educational interventions in MHS after a relatively brief period of training and supervision of the staff. Organisational difficulties need to be addressed to increase the dissemination of these interventions on a large scale.Declaration of Interest: None of the authors has had any interest or he/she has received any form of support, including that from drug companies and honoraria for lectures and consultancies, potentially in conflict with this scientific work. None of the authors has received any form of fee for his/her participation in this study. This study was supported by grants received from the “M. Lugli” Foundation (grant n. 2/18/8) and from the National Institute of Health, Italy (grant no. 1AL/F3).

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Self-Esteem and Stigma Among Persons With Schizophrenia: Implications for Mental Health

Care Management Journals ◽

10.1891/cmaj.6.3.139 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 139-144 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Melinda Berge ◽

Molly Ranney

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Selection Criteria ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Management Model ◽

Perceived Stigma ◽

Mental Health Clinics ◽

Health Clinics ◽

Persons With Schizophrenia ◽

The Relationship

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between perceived stigma and self-esteem among adults with schizophrenia. The sample was drawn from three outpatient public mental health clinics in Southern California in September to November 2002. The following selection criteria were used to identify 31 respondents: (1) a diagnosis of schizophrenia and (2) stable symptoms. Self-esteem was measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Stigma was measured using the Devaluation-Discrimination Measure. The strongest areas of stigma reported by those surveyed were related to hospitalization. The self-esteem of the respondents was moderately high. A Pearson’s r correlation indicated that there was a significant, moderately strong correlation, with a higher level of perceived stigma associated with a lower level of self-esteem. Findings suggest that using a strengths-based approach and a recovery case management model is recommended to decrease stigma and promote self-esteem among persons with schizophrenia.

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A Community-Based Clinic Survey of Antidepressant Use in Persons with Schizophrenia

The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/070674379804300511 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 43 (5) ◽

pp. 513-516 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Raymond W Lam ◽

Ron Peters ◽

Nicholas Sladen-Dew ◽

Siemion Altman

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Survey Questionnaire ◽

Gender Ratio ◽

Community Based ◽

Antipsychotic Medications ◽

Combination Treatment Group ◽

Health Centres ◽

Canadian City ◽

Antidepressant Use ◽

Persons With Schizophrenia

Objective: To determine the rates of antidepressant and antipsychotic use in the treatment of schizophrenia. Method: The primary therapists at 8 community mental health centres in a metropolitan Canadian city completed a survey questionnaire for all of their active clients. Information was collected about diagnoses, medication treatments, and clinical variables. Results: There were 3555 clients, 1552 (43.7%) of which had a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Of clients with schizophrenia, 94% were prescribed antipsychotic medications, and 11.6% of these were also prescribed antidepressant medications. There were differences between the combination-treatment group and the antipsychotic-alone group in gender ratio, rates of concurrent diagnoses of mood disorder, level of current functioning, and total number of hospitalizations. Conclusion: In this community-based sample of clients with schizophrenia, antidepressants and antipsychotics are commonly prescribed in combination, even though the rate of concurrent mood disorders diagnoses is low. Further studies should clarify the efficacy and indications for antidepressant use in this population.

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The Mental Health Interpreter

Research Anthology on Mental Health Stigma, Education, and Treatment ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-8544-3.ch029 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 489-502

Author(s):

Sarah Parenzo ◽

Michal Schuster

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Third Space ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Health Clinic ◽

Mental Health Clinic ◽

Practical Recommendation ◽

Reflective Journal ◽

The Third ◽

Training And Supervision

This chapter aims to provide an interpretation of the role of the mental health interpreter, using the concept of “third space” taken from the field of cultural translation and the psychoanalytical concept of transference/counter-transference. Such interpretation provides a unique and novel analysis of the work of the mental health interpreter through the perspective of the “third space”, thus enabling a broader view of the interpreter's role in the therapeutic session. The authors' insights are based on a reflective journal written by the first author while working as an interpreter during a parental training in a public mental health clinic in Israel. By reviewing the different roles, powerplays, and challenges in this third space, the authors will suggest some practical recommendation regarding the training and supervision of mental health interpreters, allowing them to serve as competent and ethical mediators between the patient and the therapist.

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