scholarly journals Therapeutic mountain hiking in psychiatric rehabilitation

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-70
Author(s):  
Magdalena Gawrych ◽  
◽  
Robert Słonka ◽  

In recent years, there has been a major shift towards bringing nature-based interventions (green therapy) into the mainstream of activities improving the psychological well-being of the population. Various interventions generally based on practising mindfulness in nature and training in psychosocial skills are also increasingly integrated into psychiatric rehabilitation. In Poland, the most commonly used therapeutic intervention involving contact with nature has traditionally been horticultural therapy (also known as social and therapeutic horticulture). A variety of therapeutic methods with an established status in other European countries, for example mountain hiking, forest bathing/shinrin-yoku, wilderness therapy, outdoor therapy or adventure therapy, are not sufficiently well-known in Poland. A specific type of therapeutic intervention based on contact with nature is therapy in the mountain setting, which taps into the potential of interventions based on mindfulness, climate therapy, and occupational therapy. The paper outlines the principles of organisation, therapeutic factors, and conditions determining the effectiveness of therapeutic mountain hiking, also known as mountain therapy or psychosocial mountain therapy. In addition, the paper aims to provide an overview of the tasks facing the therapist/guide. Mountain therapy has a strictly defined therapeutic goal which is pursued in a specific mountain environment. It is important to highlight that the effectiveness of therapeutic methods and the plan of the mountain hike are supported by sufficiently strong empirical evidence. The authors propose their own therapy programme in a mountain environment, complete with the preconditions and consecutive stages of the therapeutic process. Multiple research-documented benefits of the mountain setting in psychiatric rehabilitation may convince specialists to incorporate this therapeutic modality more widely into their practice, especially in the context of restrictions related to the current epidemiological situation.

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Prehn ◽  
Douglas Ezzy

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander men have the worst health of any group in Australia. Despite this, relevant policies do not specifically explain how the issue will be improved. Existing research demonstrates the complexity of the problems facing Australian Indigenous men. The intersection of masculinity and Indigeneity, compounded by colonisation, historical policies, stigma, marginalisation, trauma, grief and loss of identity are key factors that shape these poor health outcomes. These outcomes are acknowledged in federal and some state government policies but not implemented. The article argues for a holistic and decolonised approach to Australian Aboriginal men’s health. Effective models of intervention to improve men’s health outcomes include men’s health clinics, men’s groups, Men’s Sheds, men’s health camps/bush adventure therapy, fathering groups and mentoring programs. Further research needs to be undertaken, with a greater emphasis on preventative health measures, adequate specific funding, culturally and gender appropriate responses to health, and government policy development and implementation covering Aboriginal male health.


Author(s):  
Eunice Barbosa ◽  
Maria Amendoeira ◽  
Tiago Ferreira ◽  
Ana Sofia Teixeira ◽  
José Pinto-Gouveia ◽  
...  

This study aims to clarify the roles of immersion and distancing (that is, reflection on an experience from an egocentric point of view or as an observer, respectively) on therapeutic change analyzing i) the evolution of these two perspectives across the resolution of a clinical problem, and ii) the relationship between immersion/distancing with symptoms and emotional arousal. We extracted all the passages of speech pertaining to the most relevant clinical problem of a good outcome case of depression undergoing cognitive-behavioral therapy. We assessed the distancing/immersion of these extracts using the Measure of Immersed and Distanced Speech, and emotional arousal with the Client Emotional Arousal Scale-III. The symptoms were assessed from the Beck Depression Inventory-II and Outcome Questionnaire-10.2. Immersion was associated with symptoms and negative emotions, while distancing was associated with clinical well being and positive emotions. Immersion was still dominant when depressive symptoms were below the clinical threshold. Clinical change was associated with a decrease in immersion and an increase in distancing. The dominance of immersion does not necessarily indicate a bad outcome.


Author(s):  
Diana-Lea Baranovich ◽  
Cheng Chue Han

In Malaysia, some parents leave the duties of child rearing to their domestic helpers. This can cause much trauma to a preschool child who has been raised by his domestic helper if the domestic helper leaves the family. The domestic helper was the primary caregiver of the child; hence, when the domestic helper leaves, the child feels that his “mother” has abandoned him. This in turn cause the child to respond via very negative acting out behaviors. This chapter presents a case study using filial play therapy as a therapeutic intervention for a pre-school child and his mother after the domestic helper left the family. This therapeutic process enhanced the bonding between the child and his mother. As a result of better bonding, the child's negative behaviors subsided.


Author(s):  
William Breitbart ◽  
Wendy G. Lichtenthal ◽  
Allison J. Applebaum ◽  
Melissa Masterson

Among the advanced cancer population, existential concerns are major issues that promote significant distress. For patients who are facing death, meaning and the preservation of meaning are not only clinically and existentially important but also central concepts to a therapeutic intervention. Based on Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy and the principles of existential psychology and philosophy, “meaning-centered psychotherapy” was developed to help patients with advanced cancer sustain or enhance a sense of meaning, peace, and purpose in their lives. This chapter provides an overview of work developing and testing individual meaning-centered psychotherapy (IMCP). It provides an overview of the session content in the IMCP intervention. It also presents findings from clinical trials, which support the efficacy of IMCP as an intervention to increase a sense of meaning, spiritual well-being, and hope while decreasing end-of-life despair. Furthermore, it presents difficult scenarios that may arise when delivering IMCP for clinicians interested in this work.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1504-1516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meir Lotan

Rett syndrome (RS) is a neurological disorder affecting mainly females. RS is considered the second most frequent cause for severe and complex neurological dysfunction in females after Down syndrome. Patients with RS are characterized by an array of neurological and orthopedic difficulties that mandate an intensive therapeutic intervention program for the duration of the individual's life. Many aspects of the client’s well-being and functional status depend on the therapeutic intervention she receives and on her compliance to it. This article will briefly review common intervention approaches for individuals with RS and their present day's application. Due to the notion that individual intervention is the foundation on which progress and development of the functional gains rests, the present article will place basic guidelines for individual intervention with clients with RS. The article is mainly based on the clinical experience of the author and others working with individuals with RS.


2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 27-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Silcox ◽  
Yuleinys A. Castillo ◽  
Bruce J. Reed

The human-animal bond is a poweiful tool that may be overlooked by rehabilitation professionals in providing services to their clients. While the primary focus of rehabilitation counselors is meeting the vocational goals of the client, secondary factors related to the disability often hinder the ability of consumers to meet those goals. Research has demonstrated that animals can have positive influences on the medical, social, behavioral and psychological well-being of individuals including those with disabilities. Animals can be used as a therapeutic modality or as an adaptive intervention to help facilitate positive rehabilitation outcomes. The use of animals may be a cost effective intervention that can lessen the impact of a disability.


2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesus Casida ◽  
Suzanne A. Lemanski

This article illustrates a comprehensive review, synthesis, and critical appraisal of the research evidence surrounding guided imagery utilization in cardiac surgery. By adding guided imagery in the “usual care” of adult cardiac surgery patients, pre- and postoperative anxiety and pain, as well as hospital length of stay may be reduced. However, in spite of fairly strong “level” of evidence, the limited number of studies and low research quality deter the full acceptance of guided imagery as a standard therapeutic modality in this population. Acute and critical care nurses can offer guided imagery to their patients based on the documented safety of its use and clinically significant findings that it may have a direct impact on patients’ recovery outcomes. Higher quality, methodologically rigorous, and larger-scale studies are warranted to establish the efficacy and standard utilization of guided imagery during perioperative and rehabilitative periods. Future studies should also address long-term outcomes, specifically on physical and psychological health, well-being, and overall quality of life after cardiac surgery.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralli, M. Asimina ◽  
Schiza Melpomeni ◽  
Tsiatsiou Alexandra

Background: Institutionalization is increasingly acknowledged as a poor policy for the children. Every country has important responsibilities concerning the protection and promotion of children’s rights who are already in alternative care. Even a relatively short institutional placement may have long term negative consequences on children’s well-being and adult life. Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the language and psychosocial skills of Greek institutionalized children in comparison to family raised children. Method: 60 preschool children (30 institutionalized children and 30 children brought up in families) participated in the study. The children ranged in age from 4 to 5 years of age. Children’s language and psychosocial skills were assessed. Result: The results demonstrated that the institutionalized children had significantly lower scores in the expressive, receptive vocabulary, narrative skills and psychosocial adjustment in comparison to the children raised in families. These results are discussed in relation to their implications for policy makers in order to move towards the development of new policies, where children are taken care of in more supportive surroundings than an institution.


Mastology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aline Fernanda Fontinele Murici ◽  
Ângela Ferreira Barros

Objective: To evaluate which stage of breast reconstruction promotes improved quality of life for women treated for breast cancer, and to verify the socioeconomic and clinical factors associated with better quality of life. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 70 women treated for breast cancer in the perioperative period of late breast reconstruction in the Federal District. To assess quality of life, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy — Breast (FACT-B) instrument was used. Results: Half of the women were under 50 years old. Tumor removal surgery had occurred on average 5.4 years ago. Women with axillary dissection had greater impairment in the physical well-being domain (p=0.001) and the breast cancer subscale (p=0.016). Among women who had undergone surgery more than one year previously, there were higher domains of emotional (p=0.006) and functional (p=0.003) well-being. Women who underwent breast reconstruction had higher values in the social/family well-being (p<0.001), emotional well-being (p=0.001), functional well-being (p=0.001), and breast cancer subscale (p=0.005) domains; and on the FACT-B score (p<0.001), right after the first stage. Conclusions: Breast reconstruction favored better quality of life from the first stage, suggesting that this therapeutic modality should be offered promptly, whenever possible, and guaranteed for all women treated for breast cancer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 265-277
Author(s):  
Michelle Tennant ◽  
Jane McGillivray ◽  
George J. Youssef ◽  
Maria C. McCarthy ◽  
Tara-Jane Clark

Objective: Virtual reality (VR), a novel and highly immersive technology, offers promise in addressing potential psychological impacts of cancer treatments and hospitalization. The primary aim of this study was to examine multiple key user perspectives on the acceptability and feasibility of an Immersive VR therapeutic intervention for use with hospitalized patients with cancer. Secondary aims were to identify issues and opportunities related to the adoption and clinical implementation of VR in pediatric oncology settings. Method: The study was conducted at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), Melbourne, Australia. Thirty multidisciplinary oncology health care professionals participated in an initial test of VR intervention usability (Stage 1). Ninety oncology inpatients (7-19 years) and their parent caregivers participated in a pilot randomized controlled study to examine the effectiveness of an Immersive VR therapeutic intervention (Stage 2). This mixed methods study reports Stages 1 and 2 quantitative and qualitative data related to VR feasibility and acceptability. Results: Results indicate favorable perceptions from health care professionals with respect to ease of use and usefulness of VR, and had positive intentions to use it in the future. Parent caregivers reported high acceptability of VR for their hospitalized child. Patients reported high satisfaction of the VR intervention within minimal adverse effects. Barriers and facilitators to VR use with seriously ill children and specific recommendations for content development were elicited. Conclusion: This study shows that there are several potential clinical uses for Immersive VR intervention, beyond medical procedural distraction, to support psychological adjustment to hospitalization and patient quality of life.


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