<p> Police strategies have transformed over the years. The prior approach of criminalizing mental illness by incarcerating those in mental health crisis in jails was exposed to be ineffective. The development of partnerships between police officers and mental health professionals was the next evolution in the law enforcement response to mental illness. This collaboration works in partnership to provide positive outcomes for those struggling with a mental health crisis. This quantitative study evaluated the effectiveness of the co-response model by completing a secondary data analysis of pre-existing 2014-2015 data extracted from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Mental Evaluation Unit database documenting law enforcement encounters with consumers of mental health services. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted on 15,454 records. Significant findings indicate that this new partnership has provided a positive impact in deterring the criminalization of persons with mental illness by directly connecting those persons to more appropriate treatment facilities to help them manage their symptoms and conditions.</p>

<p> The purpose of this project is to write a grant proposal to seek funding for a support group for formerly incarcerated women with a severe mental illness as they enter the community. This group is meant to address the many needs of this population and help reduce recidivism. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) was selected as the potential funder. SAMHSA is committed to improving mental health care and increasing access to care in California. The host agency Telecare/TABS 109 is committed to mental health treatment for formerly incarcerated individuals under the AB 109 program. This support group would be in addition to the existing services at TABS 109. The actual submission and/or funding of this grant was not a requirement for the successful completion of this project.</p>

<p>The purpose of the grant was to fund a mental health awareness fair. The aim is to spread mental health awareness, by reaching out to communities where people are underserved. Educating people about mental health, would impact how people think of others dealing with mental health issues. The grant would bring a resource fair that would showcase all service providers in both mental and physical health agencies in Los Angeles County, hosted by Mental Health of America, Los Angeles. Hosting a resource fair in Los Angeles County will give the community an opportunity to identify services available to them and/or their families. Service providers will be offer services such as depression screenings, blood pressure checks, HIV testing, healthy coping skills lists, and/ or sleep hygiene tips. It would also show the communities that service providers work together to serve the health of the whole person.

Purpose: This study explored the lived experiences of inpatients in an adult acute psychiatric ward aiming to bring the voices, individual journeys and everyday worlds of psychiatric inpatients to the research arena. It tried to understand the meaning of psychiatric illness, acute hospitalization experience and the effects of these upon people‘s lives and identity. Lastly, it investigated the psychologists‘ role in acute wards. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten adult inpatients in one psychiatric acute ward in the south of England. Data was collected and analysed according to the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) method leading to case and group analyses of interview transcripts. Results: Themes of inpatient life were found to be: (1) admission and experiences of the early days; (2) every day life on the ward; (3) maintaining connections with the outside world; (4) relationships with other patients; (5) relationships with nursing staff; (6) relationships with psychiatrists; (7) experiences of being sectioned; (8) experiences of medical treatment and (9) reactions to inpatient care. Illness journey themes were determined to be: (1) Making sense of illness; (2) experiences of illness symptoms; (3) reactions to illness; (4) way to recovery; (5) impact on self / identity; (6) impact on life and (7) anticipation of life after illness / hospital care. Conclusions: The results show, in greater detail than in previous studies, that inpatient care and treatment can be dehumanizing and that issues of psychiatric inpatients need immediate attention from service providers. The study shows vividly that social inequalities and stigma are still problematic areas in mental health. A central theme of the research is the importance of supportive relationships to clients' recovery and wellbeing. The congruence of the recovery model with counselling psychology principles is clarified and the exciting possibility that counselling psychologists could implement the recovery model is explored.

<p> International nonprofit workers follow a sense of purpose or calling to serve humanity in the far corners of the world. This study is a phenomenology of thriving in this population. Parallel to the broader mental health field, there is a shift in focus from diagnosing pathology and reason for failure to promoting optimal functioning of this population. Positive psychology increased attention to optimal human function and the field of counseling has focused on wellness and development of people rather than treating pathology. This study has identified nine themes common to global workers who are thriving. Application is made to how workers and organizations can promote the well-being of global workers. Results are compared with established constructs of well-being.</p>

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Science in Nursing (Course work) March 2017 / Background: Work is both an important resource for mental health, yet it also presents psychosocial risks for mental health. The workplace has been identified as a potential setting for both mental health promotion and mental illness prevention. It is well documented in the literature that mental (emotional) health needs of employees should be addressed and a mental health promotion programme that addresses diverse mental health aspects should be included in comprehensive workplace health promotion programmes. The selected sugar mill company in Swaziland does not address mental health or mental illness issues through a dedicated programme as part of the comprehensive workplace health promotion programme. Employees/workers with mental health and personal problems are referred to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for assistance and help. Purpose and objectives of the study: The overall purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the mental health promotion needs and mental health concerns of factory workers at a Sugar Mill Company in Swaziland. Research design and method: This study used a qualitative approach, descriptive in nature. In-depth face to face interviews using an interview guide was used to determine the mental health promotion needs of sugar factory workers. Through purposive sampled 20 workers participated in the study. Data analysis: Audio-taped interviews were transcribed verbatim and data were then analysed by means of themes, categories, and sub-categories using Tesch’s method. Main findings: Factors that influenced mental health negatively (stressors) were related to workplace factors (money, workload and long hours) and family factors (family needs money). The mental health promotion needs identified in relation to the workplace consisted of more opportunities for employees’ development, salary increase and enhanced management and communication skills of supervisors and managers. In addition, health and life skills education, as well as more counseling services were identified as mental health needs. Conclusions: The identified mental health needs can be addressed through the Sugar Mill’s existing workplace health promotion programme. Key words: Mental health promotion, mental health, needs, factory workers. / MT2017

Although the field of art therapy has made enormous headway in quantitative research within the last ten years, there are still significant gaps that need explored. Most quantitative research on art therapy and stress is organized in either pretest-posttest single sessions or multi-week, rigorous art therapy interventions. Researchers have failed to address an intervention strategy that meets in the middle, a strategy that emphasizes mental health as a habitual practice. Mindfulness and art therapy independently demonstrate efficacy in reducing stress and symptoms of anxiety with higher-education students, but again, these interventions require a substantial time commitment that many students will not make. To address the mental health crisis on college campuses, this study evaluated the feasibility of a minimal contact, technology-assisted Mindfulness-Based Art Therapy (MBAT) intervention for higher-level education students over the course of ten weeks. The experimental MBAT group was compared to a neutral clay task (NCT) comparison group. Participants of the MBAT condition were provided a variety of yoga videos and meditation clips, which have been uploaded as supplementary files associated with this manuscript. These supplementary files include: MBAT Week 2 Meditation, MBAT Week 3 Yoga Sequence, MBAT Week 4 Meditation, MBAT Week 5 Meditation, MBAT Week 6 Yoga Sequence, MBAT Week 7 Meditation, MBAT Week 8 Yoga Sequence, and MBAT Week 9 Meditation. All meditations are audio files adapted by Dr. Sean Sullivan from Limbix; the researcher, Megan Beerse, produced all yoga sequence videos. Self-report outcomes were collected on perceived stress and levels of generalized anxiety. Salivary cortisol sampling was conducted on the first and last weeks of the study to determine any presence of a physiological impact on participants. Fifteen participants were recruited and nine maintained participation through all 10 weeks. Reduced symptoms of generalized anxiety were observed in the MBAT condition but not the NCT condition. MBAT participants’ salivary cortisol concentrations significantly decreased pretest to posttest on Week 10 but not on the first week, while the NCT participants experienced the opposite. Further data is needed, but results suggest the possibility of a biofeedback response to art therapy as well as anxiety-reducing benefits from practicing mindfulness-based art therapy directives in the form of a minimal contact, technology-assisted approach. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester 2018. / June 29, 2018. / Anxiety, Art Therapy, College Students, Cortisol, Mindfulness, Stress / Includes bibliographical references. / Theresa Van Lith, Professor Directing Thesis; David E. Gussak, Committee Member; Gregg Stanwood, Committee Member; Barbara Parker-Bell, Committee Member.

This thesis traces the history of mental health over various populations, with a strong emphasis in the Asian and Asian American communities. This thesis explores how mental health services have changed over time. In most countries, mental health awareness has been increasing, which has been making a positive impact on its health care system. It is interesting to study how the quantity and quality of health services have also increased. By looking at studies on the differences of cultural impact, taboo, and generational disparities, a greater understanding can be made on the health needs of the Asian population. This thesis finds that amidst generational differences, Asian Americans are still strongly influenced by their native culture. By educating and understanding the cultural differences between patients and practitioners, a more efficient model for mental health care services can be created.

This dissertation used data from The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) to expand upon what is known about the relationship between perceived race-ethnic discrimination and mental health outcomes while uniquely comparing race-ethnic groups across both US-born and immigrant populations. Specifically, two DMS-IV disorders, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) were examined as outcomes. The dissertation sample (n = 13,914) was drawn from Wave II of the data and included Black, Hispanic, and Asian respondents. The first question addresses the associations between perceived race-ethnic discrimination and the mental health disorders. Question two examined the risk and protective roles of four cultural-social factors for both disorders as well as their moderating roles in the race-ethnic discrimination-mental health relationship. Prevalence analysis revealed that almost 20% of minorities experienced past-year race-ethnic discrimination. Results from logistic regressions found that minorities who experienced race-ethnic discrimination were about two times as likely to have MDD or AUD than minorities who did not experience race-ethnic discrimination (ORs = 2.0 and 1.8, respectively). Comparisons across sub-populations of US-born, immigrant, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and gender groups found a few differences in terms of the effects of discrimination and mental health disorders. While moderation analyses failed to yield significant results for race-ethnic discrimination, the four cultural and social factors appeared to moderate the relationship between MDD and AUD, respectively. Findings corroborate and expand upon previous work demonstrating a consistent, strong, and positive relationship between perceived race-ethnic discrimination and mental health outcomes across minority populations yielding practice and policy implications. Further research is needed to examine causal associations using longitudinal data as well as to elucidate upon the role of protective and risk factors given cultural and community-based factors.

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