The Spirit of Vaslav Nijinsky

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-145
Author(s):  
Kathryn Martin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Ballet Dancer ◽  
Health History ◽  
Historical Figure ◽  
Mental Health History ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Live Art ◽  
Vaslav Nijinsky

The Spirit of Vaslav Nijinsky is a short comic created in 2016, telling the story of the famed ballet star who, in 1919, suffered a mental breakdown that resulted in a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Before his breakdown, Vaslav Nijinsky was known as ‘The God of Dance’, and regarded as the greatest male ballet star of his generation. His success as a ballet dancer paired with the details of his later life often associates him with the stereotype of a genius artist succumbing to madness. The nature of live art means the majority of Nijinsky’s work no longer survives intact, with only snippets of static documentation and ephemera left in the wake of performances hinting at his genius. However, in the lead up to his diagnosis, Nijinsky left two concrete bodies of work that are now regarded as important in the field of mental health history. First are a series of abstract drawings, and second are a collection of notebooks now known as The Diary of Vaslav Nijinsky. Both are fascinating documents on the subject of mental illness and served as the main inspiration for the narrative of the comic. The story of Nijinsky’s life and career has become the stuff of legend because of his enigmatic quality as a historical figure. This article explores the ephemera and historical documentation associated with this fascinating yet intangible artist, and how they inspired the content, process and aesthetic of The Spirit of Vaslav Nijinsky.

scholarly journals THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MENTAL HEALTH HISTORY AND SYMPTOMS, SEX, AND RECOVERY TIME IN A CONCUSSED PEDIATRIC POPULATION

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4_suppl3) ◽  
pp. 2325967120S0023
Author(s):  
Richard Cameron Allred ◽  
Sara Stremlau ◽  
Richard Gerkin ◽  
Steven Erickson ◽  
Jamie Pardini
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Recovery Time ◽  
Pediatric Population ◽  
Return To Play ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Health History ◽  
Mental Health History ◽  
Recovery Times ◽  
History Of

Background: The Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) are mental health screening instruments that assess symptoms of depression and anxiety. Studies of patients with concussion suggest that history of mental illness is associated with prolonged recovery; however, little research has examined the value of these tools in a concussed pediatric population (Iverson et al., 2017). Hypothesis/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the relation between anxiety and depression symptoms, mental illness history, sex, and time to recover in a concussed pediatric population. We hypothesized that mental health symptoms and history, and female sex would predict longer recoveries in the pediatric population. Methods: IRB-approved retrospective chart review was used for data collection. Demographics, self-reported mental health history, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 scores were acquired for 250 adolescents ages 12-18 (45.2% female) who presented to an outpatient concussion clinic for their initial visit. Days to recover was imputed for all patients who had been discharged by clinic physicians based on international return to play standards. Results: Mann-Whitney U tests were used for analysis of this nonnormally distributed data. Males were found to recover more quickly than females (female median = 15 days, IQR 7-27; male median = 12 days, IQR 6-23; p=.013). No significant differences were observed in days to clearance based on reported history of mental health disorder (p=.066). Individuals who scored above cutoff (see Kroenke et al., 2001; Spitzer et al., 2006) on the GAD-7 (below cutoff median = 12.00 days; above cutoff median = 21.00 days) and PHQ-9 (below cutoff median = 23.5 days; above cutoff median = 57.00 days) required longer recovery times (p <.001). Conclusion: We found longer recovery times in females versus males, and in those whose scores fell above cutoff for the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 at their initial clinic visit. Although a trend existed, there were no significant differences in recovery time for those who reported a mental health history compared to those who did not. Results suggest that the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 may be useful screening measures in a concussion clinic and may provide additional insight into potential recovery times for pediatric patients.

Prescriptive Power: Biologism, Biopsychiatry and Drug-centred Psychopharmacology

Somatechnics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 291-309
Author(s):  
Francis Russell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Cultural Theory ◽  
Human Experience ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
False Consciousness ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Biological Ontology ◽  
Health Discourse

This paper looks to make a contribution to the critical project of psychiatrist Joanna Moncrieff, by elucidating her account of ‘drug-centred’ psychiatry, and its relation to critical and cultural theory. Moncrieff's ‘drug-centred’ approach to psychiatry challenges the dominant view of mental illness, and psychopharmacology, as necessitating a strictly biological ontology. Against the mainstream view that mental illnesses have biological causes, and that medications like ‘anti-depressants’ target specific biological abnormalities, Moncrieff looks to connect pharmacotherapy for mental illness to human experience, and to issues of social justice and emancipation. However, Moncrieff's project is complicated by her framing of psychopharmacological politics in classical Marxist notions of ideology and false consciousness. Accordingly, she articulates a political project that would open up psychiatry to the subjugated knowledge of mental health sufferers, whilst also characterising those sufferers as beholden to ideology, and as being effectively without knowledge. Accordingly, in order to contribute to Moncrieff's project, and to help introduce her work to a broader humanities readership, this paper elucidates her account of ‘drug-centred psychiatry’, whilst also connecting her critique of biopsychiatry to notions of biologism, biopolitics, and bio-citizenship. This is done in order to re-describe the subject of mental health discourse, so as to better reveal their capacities and agency. As a result, this paper contends that, once reframed, Moncrieff's work helps us to see value in attending to human experience when considering pharmacotherapy for mental illness.

scholarly journals Mental health history—a contributing factor for poorer outcomes in burn survivors

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Li ◽  
Danielle Coombs
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Length Of Stay ◽  
Average Length ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Total Body Surface Area ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Health History ◽  
Health Group ◽  
Burn Survivors ◽  
Mental Health History

Abstract Background A pre-morbid mental health history is common in patients with severe burn injuries. This creates challenges in providing rehabilitation. The aim of this study is to cross examine the possible impact of psychological co-morbidities on outcomes. Methods A notes audit was carried out examining patients that were admitted to Concord Hospital Burns Unit in a 3-year period (2010–2012). Patients with total body surface area (TBSA) of 20% or greater and aged between 16 and 50 years were included. Subjects were divided into a mental health group and a control group. SPSS version 21 statistic program was used for analysis the data. Results Data collected included length of stay, time to achieve independence, %TBSA, types of burns and surgery required. Results of 69 files showed that the average length of stay per %TBSA was nearly double in the patients with a mental health problem (1.47 vs 0.88). They also had a higher rate of re-graft (52% vs 22%) due to infection and poor nutrition. The average time for patients to achieve independence in daily living activity was significantly higher (p = 0.046) in the mental health group (36.2 days) versus the control group (24.1 days). Conclusion Patients with a mental health history may have poorer general health. This may result in a higher failure rate of grafting, leading to a requirement of re-graft. Hence, it took a longer time to achieve independence, as well as a longer hospital stay. A mental health history in burn survivors can be a contributing factor for poorer outcomes in the adult population.

scholarly journals STAGE PERSONA, STAND-UP COMEDY AND MENTAL HEALTH: ‘PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE’

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-82
Author(s):  
MATT HARGRAVE
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Stand Up Comedy ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Relationship

This article addresses the subject of stand-up and mental health through the prism of comic persona, generating new, non-diagnostic discourses around mental illness. The article focuses on British and Australian comedians whose material addresses conditions such as bipolar disorder (John Scott), depression and anxiety (Seymour Mace; Lauren Pattison; Felicity Ward), or feigns the staging of mental collapse (Stewart Lee). Based on the analysis of live events and one-on-one interviews, the essay considers the role that persona plays in mediating the relationship between the comedian and their material, arguing that shaping persona is key to developing practices framed within a poetics of vulnerability.

Mental Health Screening Results for Native American and Euro-American Youth in Oregon Juvenile Justice Settings

2003 ◽  
Vol 92 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1053-1060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Crofoot Graham ◽  
Kevin Corcoran
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Native American ◽  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Native American Youth ◽  
Mental Health Needs ◽  
Health History ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Mental Health History

Mental health needs of Native American youth in the Oregon juvenile justice system are compared to those of Euro-American youth. The comparison is between 109 Euro-American youth and 22 Native American youth drawn from two samples of youth adjudicated to community service and incarcerated. The youth completed a mental health history and indices of mental health and health status. Native American youth are disproportionately represented in the Oregon juvenile justice system. Mental health profiles of Native American youth reflect problems at least as severe as those of Euro-American youth, and both Native American and Euro-American youth in the juvenile justice system had profiles different from those of youth not referred for clinical services. More Native American youth .(42.5%) compared to Euro-American youth (27.5%) reported considering suicide in the past 12 months. Mental health screenings for both Native American and Euro-American youth are indicated.

Violence and Sexuality

1980 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hernan Vera ◽  
George W. Barnard ◽  
Charles W. Holtzer ◽  
Maria I. Vera
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health History ◽  
Mental Health History

This article is an empirical profile of defendants charged with acts of violence alone, such as assault; violence and sexuality, such as rape; and purely sexual, such as exposure. The three groups are compared along four types of variables: background, medical and mental health history, psychiatric, and some derived from the circumstance of the criminal event.

scholarly journals A-40 Predictors of Failed Effort Testing at Initial Clinic Visit for Concussion Rehabilitation and Outcomes

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 636-636
Author(s):  
N Sherry ◽  
N Ernst ◽  
J French ◽  
A P Kontos ◽  
M W Collins
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Symptom Burden ◽  
Clinic Visit ◽  
Performance Validity ◽  
Symptom Scale ◽  
Post Injury ◽  
Word Memory Test ◽  
Effort Testing ◽  
Health History ◽  
Mental Health History

Abstract Objective Neuropsychological evaluation of concussion typically includes performance validity testing to assess effort. The aim of this study was to explore the usefulness of effort testing as part of initial screening for concussion rehabilitation, including determining the factors that predict effort testing and evaluate outcomes between “good effort” and “failed effort” groups. Method Records of 76 patients aged 16–66 years old (M = 40.58 years, SD = 14.18) seen for rehabilitation of non-sport concussion from 2018–2019 were reviewed. Patients completed clinical interview, neurocognitive screening (ImPACT), effort testing (Word Memory Test), vestibular/oculomotor screening (VOMS), and the post-concussion symptom scale (PCSS). A logistic regression (LR) was conducted to predict effort, with predictors including mental health history, secondary gain, work injury, days post-injury, and PCSS. A series of one-way ANOVAs evaluated outcomes from concussion rehabilitation between the good and failed effort groups. Results Failed effort occurred in 42% of cases. The LR accurately classified 81.8% of individuals, with mental health history (p = .01) and PCSS (p = .02) as the only significant predictors of effort. There were no differences in recovery time (p = .56) between effort groups, but the failed effort group took longer to return to work (p = .03). Half of individuals who failed effort were seen until discharge, and 69% of them reported no symptoms/mild symptoms at discharge. Conclusions Failure of effort testing was predicted by a history of mental health and high symptom burden. Individuals who fail effort testing at initial visit for concussion rehabilitation take longer to return to functional activity but are capable of achieving recovery with compliance and appropriate rehabilitation.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Alisoun Milne
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Life Itself ◽  
Life Course Analysis

Despite much emphasis on mental illness in later life, limited work has focused on mental health. This book aims to address this deficit by exploring, and explaining, mental health outcomes in later life through the lens of critical social gerontology and via the conduit of life course analysis. It adopts an approach underpinned by a commitment to understanding, and making visible, the role of lifecourse, and age related inequalities in creating or amplifying risks to mental health, as well as exploring those issues that afford protection. It aims to offer a critical review of existing discourse and disrupt the ‘taken for granted’ paradigm, including in the dementia arena. This approach not only recognises that mental health in later life is a complex multi-dimensional issue that cuts across time, cohort, social categories and individual experiences but that it is affected by a wide range of lifecourse and age related issues. It also encourages the development of understanding that adopts a wide lens of analysis and of policy and service related responses that reduce risks to mental health during the lifecourse and in later life itself. Further, it engages with the potential to learn from older people’s perspectives and lives.

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