Access to, and delivery of, safe and culturally appropriate health services is increasingly important in New Zealand. This paper will focus on counting the costs of health advocacy through the experience of a small non government charitable organisation, the Health Advocates Trust, (HAT) which aimed to provide advocacy services for a wide range of…

This article describes a mental health evidence based practice, Assertive Community Treatment (ACT). While ACT has scientific support, it has not been rigorously tested for persons with a severe mental illness and repeated forensic involvement. This article provides preliminary evidence that ACT is best suited for reentry into the mental health…

In the wake of a U.S. Justice Department investigation that found widespread use of excessive force by staff at upstate psychiatric care facilities for mentally ill children, this new edition of Child Welfare Watch identifies shortcomings in mental health services and explores possible solutions, including the expansion of alternatives to…

Prisons are increasingly being filled with inmates who suffer from mental illness. This paper examines the prevalence of mental illness in American jails and prisons, the duty government and society has to provide appropriate mental health treatment, and the implications for inmate safety, costs, recidivism, and community reintegration if…

Describes the implementation of a collaborative discharge planning program for a chronic psychiatric population. Emphasizes the importance of good communication between patient and professionals. Presents a case example. Findings suggest more substantial involvement of patients in after-care programs is needed. (Author/JAC)

Over the past two decades, the chronic mentally ill elderly have begun to receive care in residential health care facilities (RHCF) such as domiciliary care, intermediate care, and skilled nursing facilities. While there is justification for this increase, as the mentally ill elderly also present with significant physical illnesses, there are…

Details a demonstration project which was developed to train older adult volunteers as mental health paraprofessionals for nursing homes. Discusses the effectiveness of the program for residents, as well as benefits to the staff. Includes details of recruitment, training and supervision of volunteers, services they provide, and problems…

The program was set up to involve, on a continuing basis, the significant other of frequently-readmitted hospitalized psychiatric VA patients. The couples identified their characteristic strengths, and their maladaptive ways of functioning, and were expected to make use of alternative ways of behaving which were recommended by the staff. A…

The chronic mentally ill experience substantially higher rates of HIV infection than the general population. This paper examines the problems which confront the chronic mentally ill and society at large. Discussed are the questions of whether or not psychiatric patients should be excepted, due to their cognitive and behavioral impairments, from…

This report describes Project OASIS (Older Adults Sharing Important Skills), a project designed to provide paraprofessional mental health services to nursing home residents by providing training for older adult volunteers in areas related to mental health and the elderly, supervision by OASIS staff, and consultation by staff. The background of the…

A humanistic ideology which emphasizes self-determination, self-reliance, and personal responsibility in decision making, is congruent with the goal of community psychiatry to integrate the ex-institutionalized psychiatric client in the community. The following applications of this ideology in a small community mental health center are described:…

Mentally ill offenders represent a substantial proportion of jail and prison inmates. Despite the fact that confining mentally ill offenders can and often will exacerbate their mental illness, the quality of mental health services available to them remains poor and insufficient. Up to date, only a few cities and counties have considered a more…

Juveniles with mental health and other specialized needs are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system, and while juvenile corrections have not historically provided standardized and evidence-based mental health services for its incarcerated youth, the demand is evident. The reality is that juveniles with serious mental illness are committed…