scholarly journals Letter from Australia: mental healthcare in Victoria

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Castle
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Psychiatric Hospitals ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
The Past

SummaryMental health services in the state of Victoria, Australia, have undergone enormous change over the past 15 years, with the closure of all stand-alone psychiatric hospitals and a shift of resources and services into the community. Although successful overall, various areas cause concern, including pressure on acute beds, a paucity of alternative residential options, and suboptimal integration of government and non-government agencies concerned with the care of people with mental illnesses. Certain groups, notably those with complex symptom sets such as substance use and mental illness, intellectual disability and forensic problems, remain poorly catered for by the system. Finally, community stigma and lack of work inclusion for mentally ill individuals are ongoing challenges.

scholarly journals Fractured minds to flourishing minds

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rebecca Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Psychiatric Hospitals ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Youth Suicide ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Self Harm

<p>Youth suicide and self-harm are major public health concerns worldwide. The high rate of youth suicide and intentional self-harm in New Zealand, illustrates that there is a large amount of youth experiencing severe mental illness, as mental illness corresponds to suicidal/harmful behavior. Although more youth are seeking and receiving help, a large portion who are suffering are unwilling to engage in services, due to stigma surrounding mental health. Characteristics of the built environment can effect wellbeing and therefore architecture holds significant implications for the mental health of individuals.  Inpatient environments are an effective intervention for the treatment of a range of severe mental illnesses, however there is a definitive lack of acute inpatient facilities for youth in New Zealand. A shift in the way mental healthcare services are provided has meant that large psychiatric hospitals have been closed or downsized and compulsory inpatient treatment has given way to voluntary engagement with community mental health services. This has not eliminated the need for inpatient care and there still remains a need for these highly specialized environments. These current specialized environments are generally not designed to benefit the mental health and wellbeing of patients, but are just regarded as settings in which recovery takes place.  This thesis aims to explore how architecture can act therapeutically to support the wellbeing of individuals suffering mental illness. It looks at how architecture can retain the dignity of these patients, and challenge conventional norms of prior mental healthcare environments. This thesis aims to integrate Maori and Pacific models of health and wellbeing in order to allow improved care and treatment for Maori and Pacific groups. It responds to the lack and unsuccessful architectural responses for youth in New Zealand and in particular, the central region and aims to design a new mental health inpatient and outpatient facility specifically for youth suffering mental illness.</p>

scholarly journals Fractured minds to flourishing minds

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rebecca Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Psychiatric Hospitals ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Youth Suicide ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Self Harm

<p>Youth suicide and self-harm are major public health concerns worldwide. The high rate of youth suicide and intentional self-harm in New Zealand, illustrates that there is a large amount of youth experiencing severe mental illness, as mental illness corresponds to suicidal/harmful behavior. Although more youth are seeking and receiving help, a large portion who are suffering are unwilling to engage in services, due to stigma surrounding mental health. Characteristics of the built environment can effect wellbeing and therefore architecture holds significant implications for the mental health of individuals.  Inpatient environments are an effective intervention for the treatment of a range of severe mental illnesses, however there is a definitive lack of acute inpatient facilities for youth in New Zealand. A shift in the way mental healthcare services are provided has meant that large psychiatric hospitals have been closed or downsized and compulsory inpatient treatment has given way to voluntary engagement with community mental health services. This has not eliminated the need for inpatient care and there still remains a need for these highly specialized environments. These current specialized environments are generally not designed to benefit the mental health and wellbeing of patients, but are just regarded as settings in which recovery takes place.  This thesis aims to explore how architecture can act therapeutically to support the wellbeing of individuals suffering mental illness. It looks at how architecture can retain the dignity of these patients, and challenge conventional norms of prior mental healthcare environments. This thesis aims to integrate Maori and Pacific models of health and wellbeing in order to allow improved care and treatment for Maori and Pacific groups. It responds to the lack and unsuccessful architectural responses for youth in New Zealand and in particular, the central region and aims to design a new mental health inpatient and outpatient facility specifically for youth suffering mental illness.</p>

scholarly journals Tensions and Paradoxes of Stigma: Discussing Stigma in Mental Health Rehabilitation

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (16) ◽  
pp. 5943
Author(s):  
Jenny Paananen ◽  
Camilla Lindholm ◽  
Melisa Stevanovic ◽  
Elina Weiste
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Rehabilitation Centers ◽  
Health Rehabilitation ◽  
Mental Health Rehabilitation

Mental illness remains as one of the most stigmatizing conditions in contemporary western societies. This study sheds light on how mental health professionals and rehabilitants perceive stigmatization. The qualitative study is based on stimulated focus group interviews conducted in five Finnish mental health rehabilitation centers that follow the Clubhouse model. The findings were analyzed through inductive content analysis. Both the mental health rehabilitants and the professionals perceived stigmatization as a phenomenon that concerns the majority of rehabilitants. However, whereas the professionals viewed stigma as something that is inflicted upon the mentally ill from the outside, the rehabilitants perceived stigma as something that the mentally ill themselves can influence by advancing their own confidence, shame management, and recovery. Improvements in treatment, along with media coverage, were seen as the factors that reduce stigmatization, but the same conceptualization did not hold for serious mental illnesses. As the average Clubhouse client was thought to be a person with serious mental illness, the rehabilitation context designed to normalize attitudes toward mental health problems was paradoxically perceived to enforce the concept of inevitable stigma. Therefore, it is important for professionals in rehabilitation communities to be reflexively aware of these tensions when supporting the rehabilitants.

scholarly journals Integrating Mental Health Perspectives into the Legal Discourse on Reproductive Justice in India

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-38
Author(s):  
Malavika Parthasarathy
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Legal Discourse ◽  
Reproductive Justice ◽  
Bodily Integrity ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Mentally Ill Persons ◽  
The Right

The reproductive justice framework envisions a world where all women, including those situated at the intersection of multiple structures of oppression such as class, caste, sexual orientation, disability and mental health, are able to exercise their right to decisional and reproductive autonomy. S. 3(4)(a) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, provides that an abortion cannot be performed on a mentally ill woman without the consent of her guardian. I analyse the Indian Supreme Court’s decision in Suchita Srivastava v. Chandigarh Administration [(2009) 9 SCC 1] in light of contemporary legal developments in the field of disability law and mental health law. The first argument that I make in this paper is that the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, covers persons with mental illness, with the rights in the Act applicable to those with mental illness as well. The second argument rests on the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, which recognizes the right to privacy and dignity of mentally ill persons, including their capacity to make decisions affecting healthcare. I argue that the judgment, while path-breaking in its recognition of the reproductive rights of disabled women, is inimical to the rights of mentally ill women, perpetuating dangerous stereotypes about their ability to exercise choices, and dehumanizing them. It is imperative for the reproductive justice framework to inform legal discourse and judicial decision-making, to fully acknowledge the right to self-determination and bodily integrity of mentally ill persons.

scholarly journals Substance Use, Homelessness, Mental Illness and Medicaid Coverage: A Set-up for High Emergency Department Utilization

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 902-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimee Moulin ◽  
Ethan Evans ◽  
Guido Xing ◽  
Joy Melnikow
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Health Planning ◽  
Private Insurance ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Emergency Department Utilization ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Frequent Users ◽  
Ed Visits

Introduction: Frequent users of emergency departments (ED) account for 21–28% of all ED visits nationwide. The objective of our study was to identify characteristics unique to patients with psychiatric illness who are frequent ED users for mental health care. Understanding unique features of this population could lead to better care and lower healthcare costs. Methods: This retrospective analysis of adult ED visits for mental healthcare from all acute care hospitals in California from 2009–2014 used patient-level data from California’s Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. We calculated patient demographic and visit characteristics for patients with a primary diagnosis of a mental health disorder as a percentage of total adult ED visits. Frequent ED users were defined as patients with more than four visits in a 12-month period. We calculated adjusted rate ratios (aRR) to assess the association between classification as an ED frequent user and patient age, sex, payer, homelessness, and substance use disorder. Results: In the study period, 846,867 ED visits for mental healthcare occurred including 238,892 (28.2%) visits by frequent users. Patients with a primary mental health diagnosis and a co-occurring substance use diagnosis in the prior 12 months (77% vs. 37%, aRR [4.02], 95% confidence interval [CI] [3.92-4.12]), homelessness (2.9% vs 1.1%, odds ratio [1.35], 95% [CI] [1.27-1.43]) were more likely to be frequent users. Those covered by Medicare (aRR [3.37], 95% CI [3.20-3.55]) or the state’s Medicaid program Medi-Cal (aRR [3.10], 95% CI [2.94-3.25]) were also more likely to be frequent users compared with those with private insurance coverage. Conclusion: Patients with substance use disorders, homelessness and public healthcare coverage are more likely to be frequent users of EDs for mental illness. Substance use and housing needs are important factors to address in this population.

scholarly journals Insanity in a Sea of Islands: Mobility and Mental Health in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Pacific Sphere

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Leckie
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
The Pacific

This article builds upon the fragmentary historical evidence of mental illness and mental health within South Pacific societies to explore the nexus with migration and mobility. The focus is on the Pacific territories that were under Aotearoa New Zealand’s jurisdiction. The article explores concepts of mental health and mobility within Pacific societies that became entangled with European concepts to designate insanity. The paper then discusses how mental illnesses were exacerbated or induced through migration and travel across the Pacific. The last section explores the transfer of mentally ill patients from some Pacific islands to Aotearoa. This article is based upon the 2018 J. D. Stout Lecture at Victoria University of Wellington.

POLICE OFFICERS' KNOWLEDGE OF, AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS, MENTAL ILLNESS AND THE MENTALLY ILL INDIVIDUALS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nahal Salimi ◽  
◽  
Bryan Gere ◽  
Sharo Shafaie ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Community Attitudes ◽  
Mental Health Awareness

"Police officers are some of the first professionals that might have direct interaction with individuals with mental illnesses. Statistics show that from 2017 to 2020 about 3986 individuals in the United States were fatally shot by police officers (Statista, 2021). These reports indicate that at least 25% and as many as 50% of all fatal shootings involved individuals with untreated severe mental illness. The purpose of this pilot study was to test the effectiveness of a five-day psycho-educational mental health awareness training in enhancing law enforcement officers’ knowledge about mental illness, and their perceptions towards mentally ill individuals using a pretest-posttest design. The Community Attitudes Towards the Mentally Ill (CAMI) scale was used to measure participants’four mental health attitudinal domains - authoritarianism, benevolence, social restrictiveness, and community mental health ideology. The results indicate that at the completion of the training there was an increase in participants’ confidence about their knowledge of the mentally ill individuals and mental illness conditions. However, the results also indicate a slight decrease in participants' mental illness social restrictiveness sentiment after the completion of the training. Additionally, the results also show a correlation between demographic variables and some of the domains. Implications for practice are discussed."

A Tendency in Therapeutics

2016 ◽  
pp. 255-260
Author(s):  
Donald W. Winnicott
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Emotional Development ◽  
Mental Hospital ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Hospital Treatment ◽  
Sharp Line ◽  
Modern Psychiatry

In this essay, Winnicott deals with the theory that mental illnesses are disorders of emotional development and that there is no sharp line between mental health and mental illness. He stresses the importance of medical students being informed correctly about the relation of mental illness—both neurosis and psychosis—to normal emotional development. Winnicott states his belief that the best trend in modern psychiatry is inviting mentally ill people to ask for mental hospital treatment early in their illness.

scholarly journals Stigma among Singaporean youth: a cross-sectional study on adolescent attitudes towards serious mental illness and social tolerance in a multiethnic population

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. e016432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirlene Pang ◽  
Jianlin Liu ◽  
Mithila Mahesh ◽  
Boon Yiang Chua ◽  
Shazana Shahwan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Social Tolerance ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
Multiethnic Population

ObjectivesStigma against mental illnesses is one of the significant obstacles faced by mental health service users and providers. It can develop at a young age and is also influenced by culture. Youths in Southeast Asian countries are under-represented in mental health research, thus this study aims to explore the dimensions of stigma and social tolerance and examine its correlates in the younger, multiethnic population of Singapore.DesignAn online survey collected data with sociodemographic questions, the Attitudes Towards Serious Mental Illness (Adolescent version) Scale, Social Tolerance Scale and an open-text question on words or phrases participants associated with the term ‘mental illness’. Principal component analysis and multiple regression models were conducted to investigate the factor structure of the attitudes and social tolerance scales and their sociodemographic correlates.ParticipantsParticipants included 940 youths aged 14–18 years old who were residing in Singapore at the time of the survey and were recruited through local schools.ResultsAbout a quarter of the students (22.6%) reported participating in mental health awareness campaigns while nearly half (44.5%) associated pejorative words and phrases with the term mental illness. The Attitudes Towards Serious Mental Illness (Adolescent version) Scale yielded five factors while the Social Tolerance Scale yielded two. Ethnicity, gender and nationality were significantly correlated with factors of both scales. Chinese youths showed higher sense of ’physical threat' and lower ’social tolerance' than those of other ethnicities. Females showed more ’wishful thinking', ’social concern' and ’social responsibility' towards the mentally ill than males.ConclusionsThe dimensions of stigma and social tolerance are different in Asian cultures compared with Western cultures. Sociodemographic differences in attitudes towards the mentally ill were found among youths living in Singapore. Misconceptions and negative attitudes towards mental illness are common, demonstrating a clear need for effective stigma reduction campaigns.

scholarly journals Innovation in Community Psychiatry for the Delivery of Mental Health Services: The Sawangi Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (04) ◽  
pp. 593-596
Author(s):  
Prakash B. Behere ◽  
Amit B. Nagdive ◽  
Aniruddh P. Behere ◽  
Richa Yadav ◽  
Rouchelle Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
False Positive ◽  
False Positives ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
True Positive ◽  
Predictive Values ◽  
Mentally Ill Persons ◽  
Number Of Patients

Abstract Objectives Can undergraduate medical students (UGs) adopt a village model to identify mentally ill persons in an adopted village successfully? Materials and Methods UGs during their first year adopt a village, and each student adopts seven families in the villages. During the visit, they look after immunization, tobacco and alcohol abuse, nutrition, hygiene, and sanitation. They help in identifying the health needs (including mental health) of the adopted family. The Indian Psychiatric Survey Schedule containing 15 questions covering most of the psychiatric illnesses were used by UGs to identify mental illness in the community. Persons identified as suffering from mental illness were referred to a consultant psychiatrist for confirmation of diagnosis and further management. Statistical Analysis  Calculated by percentage of expected mentally ill persons based on prevalence of mental illness in the rural community and is compared with actual number of patients with mental illness identified by the UGs. True-positive, false-positive, and true predictive values were derived. Results In Umri village, UGs were able to identify 269 persons as true positives and 25 as false positives, whereas in Kurzadi village, UGs were able to identify 221 persons as true positives and 35 as false positives. It suggests UGs were able to identify mental illnesses with a good positive predictive value. In Umri village, out of 294 mentally ill patients, it gave a true positive value of 91.49% and a false positive value of 8.5%, whereas in Kurzadi village, out of the 256 mentally ill patients, it gave a true positive value of 86.3% and a false positive value of 13.67%. Conclusion The ratio of psychiatrists in India is approximately 0.30 per 100,000 population due to which psychiatrists alone cannot cover the mental health problems of India. Therefore, we need a different model to cover mental illness in India, which is discussed in this article.

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