Since de-institutionalization, numerous community based treatment modalities have been implemented to provide treatment for individuals diagnosed as seriously and persistently mentally ill. CTOs are a recent addition to the community mental health care system designed to provide outpatient mental health services to seriously mentally ill clients and using legal mechanisms to enforce a contractual obligation to participate in those services. Although there is a growing body of literature on CTOs and other mandated outpatient treatment programs for people diagnosed with mental illnesses, the research predominantly focuses on the perspectives of service providers and family members. Little attention has been given to how clients view the experience of receiving the treatment and no attention has been given to the experience of clients who are of ethno-racial minority background. As Ontario is a racially and ethnically diverse environment in which many people of minority backgrounds are placed on CTOs. This study, utilizing a phenomenological methodology, interviewed twenty-four participants of ethno-racial minority background who are either on CTOs or have been on a CTO in the past. The focus of the study was to explore the views and lived experience of the participants regarding the treatment. The outcome of the study showed that the participants did not experience the treatment as racially motivated but felt it was necessary and beneficial. The participants discussed the impact of power in the treatment process. Implications of the study were that it would enhance the mental health literature by providing an understanding of serious mental illness among individuals of ethno-racial minority background. The study would provide insight for policy makers and practitioners on providing effective support for the marginalized.

Since de-institutionalization, numerous community based treatment modalities have been implemented to provide treatment for individuals diagnosed as seriously and persistently mentally ill. CTOs are a recent addition to the community mental health care system designed to provide outpatient mental health services to seriously mentally ill clients and using legal mechanisms to enforce a contractual obligation to participate in those services. Although there is a growing body of literature on CTOs and other mandated outpatient treatment programs for people diagnosed with mental illnesses, the research predominantly focuses on the perspectives of service providers and family members. Little attention has been given to how clients view the experience of receiving the treatment and no attention has been given to the experience of clients who are of ethno-racial minority background. As Ontario is a racially and ethnically diverse environment in which many people of minority backgrounds are placed on CTOs. This study, utilizing a phenomenological methodology, interviewed twenty-four participants of ethno-racial minority background who are either on CTOs or have been on a CTO in the past. The focus of the study was to explore the views and lived experience of the participants regarding the treatment. The outcome of the study showed that the participants did not experience the treatment as racially motivated but felt it was necessary and beneficial. The participants discussed the impact of power in the treatment process. Implications of the study were that it would enhance the mental health literature by providing an understanding of serious mental illness among individuals of ethno-racial minority background. The study would provide insight for policy makers and practitioners on providing effective support for the marginalized.

Children of parents with mental illness (COPMI) are often referred to in the literature as invisible given the lack of services dedicated to this large population at increased risk for a multitude of psychosocial difficulties. Of the services available, few have been empirically validated. This study undertook a qualitative evaluation of Kids in Control, a psycho-education and support program intended to enhance the resilience of children of mentally ill parents. The goals of this study were to: determine whether the program was beneficial to the participants, identify the critical program elements deemed helpful/unhelpful by the participants, determine whether program objectives were being met, and to provide insight on how to improve the program to better meet the needs of this population. It is ultimately hoped that this research will give children of parents with mental illness a voice, thereby boosting their visibility and contributing to their psychosocial well being. Flanagan’s (1954) critical incident technique (CIT) was employed to determine the participants’ perceptions of helpful and unhelpful aspects of the program. Twelve participants (10 boys, 2 girls) ranging in age from 8-12 were recruited from 4 groups held in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, followed by telephone interviews to discuss and verify the information shared. Participants reported a total of 121 critical incidents, which were classified into 8 helpful categories (105 incidents) and 2 unhelpful categories (16 incidents). The eight helpful categories were: identifying, communicating and managing feelings; learning about mental illness; helpful messages about responsibility, control, and empowerment; effective facilitator group management skills; having fun; connecting with other children experiencing parental mental illness; learning about stigma; and identifying supports. The unhelpful categories were: ineffective facilitation skills, and disruptive behaviour exhibited by other group members. Participants recommended improvements related to the areas of group instruction, time management, and group management. In addition, a 10-point rating scale was administered to determine the participants’ overall perception of program helpfulness. A mean rating of 7.63 was obtained which corresponds to very helpful on the scale. A comparison of incident categories with program objectives indicated a high degree of consistency, with a few exceptions. Implications for program improvements, wider program dissemination, and counselling practice are discussed. In addition, methodological issues related to using the critical incident technique with children are outlined.

No description available.

No description available.

Bakgrund: En psykossjukdom är en sjukdom som inte bara drabbar personen själv utan hela dennes familj. Hela familjens livsvärld påverkas och familjelivet ansträngs hårt. Den psykossjuka familjemedlemmen erfar världen på ett annorlunda sätt. Vanliga symtom vid en psykos är bland annat hallucinationer och vanföreställningar. En bra vårdrelation mellan vårdgivare, den sjuka psykossjuka familjemedlemmen och anhöriga är en förutsättning för återhämtning. Syfte: Få ökad kunskap om och förståelse för anhörigas upplevelse av att leva med en familjemedlem med psykossjukdom. Metod: Metoden som valdes för studien var en systematisk litteraturstudie i vilken elva vetenskapliga artiklar analyserades med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Tre kategorier framträdde ur data. Dessa visar att anhöriga bär på både känslomässiga och praktiska bördor samt att de har negativa erfarenheter av stöd och information av vårdpersonal. Slutsats: Resultatet i studien visar att psykossjukdom är en belastande sjukdom för anhöriga. Deras känslomässiga bördor är komplexa beroende på deras höga belastning av att vårda sin sjuka familjemedlem samt brister i bemötande av vårdpersonal.

The main objective of this study has been to explore how art therapists experience the visual art´s that can be used in the promotion of health among people with depression - and anxiety disorders. The concept of SOC- sense of coherence has been a central term and a link between imaging and SOC were identified in the study. The underlying method in the study was a qualitative form, where semi-structured interviews were used. Through a strategic- sample five female art therapist were contacted, who all came to participate in the study. The study is essentially based on hermeneutical method and the analysis of interview material has been analyst by using thematic analysis. The results indicate that the therapists experiences shows that  visual art can be a support for people with depression- and anxiety disorders. The SOC- concept made its mark in the result and it came to show that the visual art´s may be a support for people with depression- and anxiety disorders. Visual art can help people with depression- and anxiety disorders to get more understanding and tools to manage their state according to the therapists.

Perinatal  psykisk  ohälsa  (psykisk  ohälsa  under  graviditet  eller  efter  förlossning)  drabbar kvinnor under en känslig period i livet. Forskning har tidigare fokuserat mer på psykisk ohälsa efter förlossning, men det är nu känt att psykisk ohälsa är vanligt även under graviditeten. För att kunna hjälpa kvinnor med perinatal psykisk ohälsa och stödja dem i föräldrarollen behöver barnmorskor  kunskap  om  hur  kvinnor  upplever  fenomenet.  Syftet  med  denna  studie  var  att belysa  kvinnors  upplevelse  av  perinatal  psykisk  ohälsa.  En  systematisk  litteraturstudie inspirerad av meta-syntes utfördes. Elva kvalitativa studier analyserades. Två huvudkategorier framkom, Att leva med perinatal psykisk ohälsa samt Att ta sig ur perinatal psykisk ohälsa. Varje huvudkategori innehöll i sin tur fyra underkategorier. Kvinnors upplevelser av perinatal psykisk ohälsa innebar att verkligheten inte motsvarade förväntningarna, livet och identiteten förändrades,  de  förlorade  kontrollen  över  känslor  och  tankar  och  tvivlade  på  sig  själva.  De hade svårt att berätta om sina känslor och önskade stöd och information från professionella. Processen  av  tillfrisknande  ledde  tillslut  till  att  kvinnorna  upplevde  ökad  självkännedom. Upplevelsen  av  perinatal  psykisk  ohälsa  genomsyrades  av  känslan  av  att  förlora  kontrollen över  sitt  liv.  Barnmorskor  kan  använda  studiens  resultat  kliniskt,  bland  annat  genom  att uppmuntra kvinnor till reflektion kring perinatal psykisk ohälsa.

Older adults have historically utilized mental health services at substantially low rates. Unfortunately, though professional, policy, and other recent developments portend an increase in service use, there has been scant empirical attention devoted to the current or recent utilization of mental health treatment by the elderly, and almost nothing is known about the correlates of mental health need and service use among older adults. Accordingly, the present study examined patterns of serious mental illness (SMI), specific mental health syndromes, and service use among older (65+) and younger (18- 64) adults throughout the United States, and the extent to which various factors predict mental health need and the use and magnitude of mental health treatment. In addition, the study examined factors related to unmet need, as well as age group differences in perceived benefit from treatment. The findings reveal that older adults were three times less likely than their younger counterparts to receive any outpatient mental health treatment. Only 2.5% of older individuals utilized any outpatient mental health service in the past year, versus 7.0% of younger adults. The results indicate that the low rate of utilization by older adults may be partly a function of limited subjective mental health need. Prevalence estimates for SMI and all specific mental health syndromes, with the exception of agoraphobia, were markedly lower in the older than the younger cohort. Importantly, though mental health problems appear to be significantly undertreated in older and younger age groups, the study also reveals that those older and younger adults that make it into services typically benefit considerably from treatment. It is hoped that the knowledge yielded by the current study will promote efforts to enhance mental health care access and reduce the long neglected mental health needs of the nation’s elderly population. Several factors related to mental health need and service use were identified in the study that may assist policy, planning, and outreach efforts aimed at increasing service access.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Notre Dame, 2009. / Thesis directed by Donald B. Pope-Davis for the Department of Psychology. "December 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-77).