scholarly journals Mental health aspects of incapacity benefit

1996 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 434-436
Author(s):  
Laurence G. Measey

In February 1994 the Royal College of Psychiatrists contacted the Benefits Agency Medical Services (BAMS) to take part in their consultation exercise before bringing in the new Incapacity Benefit (IB) in April 1995. This new benefit was to replace the then existing Invalidity Benefit which was being paid to over 250 000 people with a primary diagnosis of mental illness. The main changes were that a patient's own general practitioner (GP) would certify incapacity for work for the first 29 weeks of sickness and after this the continuation of benefit (IB) would require assessment by a BAMS doctor, with some illness categories being exempt from medical examination. The aim was to create standardised criteria across the UK and to do so in an objective fashion, based on function rather than diagnosis. The test is designed to look at ability to work in any capacity rather than the claimant's own work which is the criterion for the first 29 weeks.

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Jennifer Yontz-Orlando

The United States is facing an epidemic of mental illness, affecting nearly 60 million Americans annually (http://www.nami.org/ ). The World Health Organization describes mental health as “a long neglected problem” and has established an action plan for 2013-2020 (http://www.who.int/mental_health/action_plan_2013/en/). One way to combat mental illness is through bibliotherapy, which is the use of written materials including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry to support emotional and psychiatric healing.Bibliotherapy has been in existence since ancient times, but began in earnest in the United States in the 1850’s during the “Great Awakening.” At that time, mental illness began to be seen as a medical condition rather than a supernatural phenomenon. Since then, due to the changing nature of our institutions, interest in bibliotherapy waned until the 1950’s when there was a slight resurgence in its practice. However, in the last 20 years, bibliotherapy has gained a stronghold in the United Kingdom. To relieve the stress of an overcrowded mental health system, public policy in the UK has supported the use of bibliotherapy in a variety of its institutions. There are many ways to conduct bibliotherapy, but studies show that when the process is interactive, such as in a support group setting, the results are better. Also, bibliotherapy can be conducted by many sorts of professionals, including doctors, therapists, social workers, teachers, and librarians. Studies also show that when the bibliotherapists are trained in the best practices of bibliotherapy, results improve. Bibliotherapy is an effective, low-cost alternative for people in need of therapeutic assistance. The UK model should be studied and implemented in the United States and in other nations to help solve the mental health crisis.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuwan Galappathie ◽  
Sobia Tamim Khan ◽  
Amina Hussain

Aims and methodTo evaluate differences between male patients in secure psychiatric settings in the UK based on whether they are detained under civil or forensic sections of the Mental Health Act 1983. A cohort of patients discharged from a secure psychiatric hospital were evaluated for length of stay and frequency of risk-related incidents.ResultsOverall, 84 patients were included in the study: 52 in the forensic group and 32 in the civil group. Civil patients had more frequent incidents of aggression, sex offending, fire-setting and vulnerability, whereas forensic patients had more frequent episodes of self-harm.Clinical implicationsSecure hospitals should ensure treatment programmes are tailored to each patient's needs. Civil patients require greater emphasis on treatment of their mental illness, whereas forensic patients have additional offence-related treatment needs. Regular liaison between forensic and general adult services is essential to help ensure patients can return to appropriate settings at the earliest opportunity in their recovery.


Author(s):  
Colin Palfrey

This chapter examines health promotion campaigns and policies designed to raise the profile of mental health, and more specifically to help those suffering from mental illness. It begins with an overview of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, and personality disorders. It then considers the NHS policy on mental health; the mental health promotion strategies in the UK, including the Scottish Health Survey of 2016, the All Wales Mental Health Promotion Network, and the Mental Health Foundation report in Northern Ireland; the implications of the coexistence of physical and mental illness for policy makers and practitioners; and mental health charities such as Anxiety UK, Centre for Mental Health, Rethink Mental Illness, SANE and Time to Change. The chapter also discusses various mental health promotion strategies throughout the UK, locations for mental health promotion, and economic evaluations of mental health promotion.


1993 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-83
Author(s):  
John Barnes ◽  
Greg Wilkinson

Much of the medical care of the long-term mentally ill falls to the general practitioner (Wilkinson et al, 1985) and, for example, a survey in Buckinghamshire showed that these patients consult their general practitioner (GP) twice as often as mental health services. Lodging house dwellers are known to show an increased prevalence of major mental illness and to suffer much secondary social handicap, presenting a challenge to helping services of all disciplines. For this reason we chose a lodging house in which to explore further the relationships between mental illness and residents' present contact with their GP, mental health services and other local sources of help.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Philip Timms ◽  
Jenny Drife

SUMMARY Homelessness has long been associated with high rates of psychosis, alcohol and substance misuse, and personality disorder. However, psychiatric services in the UK have only recently engaged actively with homeless people. This article provides some background information about homelessness and mental illness and describes the elements of inclusion health and some of the models of service for homeless people that have been established over the past 30 years.


Author(s):  
Derek Bolton

The question "What is mental illness?" raises many issues in many contexts, personal, social, legal, and scientific. This chapter reviews mental health problems as they appear to the person with the problems, and to family and friends-before the person attends the clinic and is given a diagnosis-a time in which whether there really is a problem, as opposed to life's normal troubles and variations, is undecided, as also the nature of the problem, if such it be, and the related matter what kind of expert advice should be sought. Once at the clinic, a diagnosis may be given-using criteria well-worked-out in the diagnostic manuals. The chapter discusses the conceptualizations of mental disorder in the diagnostic manuals, their rationale, and what can and cannot be reasonably expected of them. There are more position statements than definitions, and while they signal many dilemmas, they do not resolve them. Attempts to do so in the surrounding literature on the concept of mental illness are reviewed in the chapter, with conclusions favoring the features emphasized in the diagnostic manuals: distress and impairment. Finally the chapter considers how far the science may help draw boundaries around mental illness.


2004 ◽  
Vol 184 (4) ◽  
pp. 291-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Bouras ◽  
Geraldine Holt

Services for people with learning disabilities have been transformed since the late 1960s by the move from institutional to community care. (Learning disabilities is the term currently used in the UK in preference to mental retardation, developmental disabilities and mental handicap.) Important changes include the progress towards integration, participation, inclusion and choice for people with learning disabilities, which have occurred in the context of the broader civil and human rights movements. It is time to examine the services delivered to people with learning disabilities and comorbid psychiatric disorders (mental illness, personality disorders, behavioural problems with aggression) and the evidence for their effectiveness.


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 502-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajit Shah

Almost all elderly suicide victims have mental illness, and up to 90% have depression (Shah and De, 1998). A significant number of elderly suicide victims in Western countries consult their general practitioner or psychiatrist or contact mental health services between one week and six months prior to the suicide (Catell, 1988; Conwell et al., 1990; 1991; Catell and Jolley, 1995; Vassilas and Morgan, 1993; 1994). This offers an opportunity for identification and treatment of the mental illness. Thus, the availability of appropriate healthcare services may be an important factor associated with elderly suicide rates.


2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 241-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Davies ◽  
Claire Dimond

SummaryThe UK Mental Health Act 1983 does not apply in prison. The legal framework for the care and treatment of people with mental illness in prison is provided by the Mental Capacity Act 2005. We raise dilemmas about its use. We highlight how assessing best interests and defining harm involves making challenging judgements. How best interests and harm are interpreted has a potentially significant impact on clinical practice within a prison context.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shao Chen ◽  
Yunshu Zhang ◽  
Jinghua Cao ◽  
Keqing Li

Basicneeds Foundation as an international charitable organization,after years of efforts,it explores a suitable for the development of mental health services and the development model and developed countries.It makes the majority of mental health patients recover their health, social function and the ability to work has been restored.Since 2012, carried out in China, also made a lot of results.This article starts from Basicneeds’s five modules, which were summarized in China Baoding Shunping rural areas, for mental illness research progress.At the same time, the Basicneeds group also hopes to improve its model, making it more suitable for the situation in China, and in more places be promoted.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document