General Mental Health (general + mental_health)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Community forensic psychiatry: restoring some sanity to forensic psychiatric rehabilitation

ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2002
J. Skipworth
Objective:, To review clinical and legal paradigms of community forensic mental health care, with specific focus on New Zealand, and to develop a clinically based set of guiding principles for service development in this area. Method:, The general principles of rehabilitating mentally disordered offenders, and assertive community care programmes were reviewed and applied to the law and policy in a New Zealand forensic mental health setting. Results: There is a need to develop comprehensive community treatment programmes for mentally disordered offenders. The limited available research supports assertive community treatment models, with specialist forensic input. Ten clinically based principles of care provision important to forensic mental health assertive community treatment were developed. Conclusion:, Deinstitutionalization in forensic psychiatry lags behind the rest of psychiatry, but can only occur with well-supported systems in place to assess and manage risk in the community setting. The development of community-based forensic rehabilitation services in conjunction with general mental health is indicated. [source]


Long-term perspectives on posttraumatic growth in disaster survivors,

JOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 3 2010
Katrine Høyer Holgersen
Findings on posttraumatic growth (PTG) and distress have not been consistent. This study examines the relationship in a very long-term perspective. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory was completed by 46 survivors from a single disaster 27 years posttrauma. Posttraumatic stress was measured by the Impact of Event Scale (IES) immediately after the event, and after 1, 5, and 27 years. In the final follow-up, general mental health was also assessed. Strong positive associations were found between PTG and concurrent posttraumatic stress. Although weaker associations were found for the past, concurrent problems in general mental health clearly coexisted with PTG decades after a disaster, yet mediated by IES. [source]


The effect of traumatic bereavement on tsunami-exposed survivors,

JOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 6 2009
Kerstin Bergh Johannesson
Fourteen months after the 2004 tsunami, mental health outcome was assessed in 187 bereaved relatives, 308 bereaved friends, and in 3,020 nonbereaved Swedish survivors. Of the bereaved relatives, 41% reported posttraumatic stress reactions and 62% reported impaired general mental health. Having been caught or chased by the tsunami in combination with bereavement was associated with increased posttraumatic stress reactions. Complicated grief reactions among relatives were almost as frequent as posttraumatic stress reactions. The highest levels of psychological distress were found among those who had lost children. Traumatic bereavement, in combination with exposure to life danger, is probably a risk factor for mental health sequelae after a natural disaster. [source]


Recent Developments in Anorexia Nervosa

CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2006
Rachel Bryant-Waugh
Background:, This review summarises recent clinical developments, topics of debate, and research findings in relation to anorexia nervosa in children and adolescents. Following an update of diagnostic and prevalence issues, recent developments in treatment approaches are discussed. These cover recommendations for the medical management of anorexia nervosa in young people, as well as psychological interventions for children, adolescents and their families. The question of which type of service setting is most appropriate for the treatment of young people with anorexia nervosa remains a subject of discussion, and recent guidance and work in this area is presented. Finally, the ongoing relatively poor prognosis in terms of general mental health associated with anorexia nervosa is highlighted and the implications for CAMHS practitioners discussed. [source]