Community-engaged approaches to addressing mental health concerns have reduced health inequities experienced by refugee communities. Problem Management Plus (PM+)--a brief psychological intervention developed by the World Health Organization--has shown effectiveness in improving mental health and well-being of adults experiencing distress. This…

There is growing concern internationally about the prevalence of mental health problems among school-aged children and their access to specialist services. School psychologists (SPs) may be one group of professionals well-positioned to support the well-being of children and young people, due to their position as applied psychologists working…

An alternate approach in delivering mental health service to school systems is introduced. Rooted in preventive and community based principles, it switches the emphasis to primary preventive interventions as well as examining environmental and social system influences on children's development and adjustment. (Author/PN)

The present study investigated the effects of paraprofessionals used as therapeutic agents with moderately disturbed elementary-school children. The impact of this program on individual children and the aides was evaluated in several ways. (Author)

This background paper on children's mental health indicates that less than one-third of the children who have mental health problems receive treatment. Types of mental health problems are discussed, including intellectual, developmental, behavior, emotional, psychophysiological, and adjustment disorders. Enviromental risk factors of poverty and…

This paper reports results of a survey of elderly persons in a predominantly blue collar, New England town. Data about psychological distress and its relationship to demographic and social interaction characteristics are explored. Mental health services were not reaching elderly in need; there was minimal utilization of other helping services.…

Worker and caller behaviors are studied and compared in sample of 100 suicide calls to three crisis intervention centers. Verbal behaviors of workers and callers are substantially different, leading to the conclusion that crisis intervention is dissimilarly practiced between centers but similar within them. (Author)

This paper speaks to the need for a methodology for planning indirect services of a mental health nature in schools. For indirect services to be relevant, plans for intervention need to be based on: (1) comprehensive information about the school; (2) systematic procedures for estimating the relative salience of various problems identified in the…

Primary prevention interventions used to reduce the incidence of new cases of a disorder occurring in the general population are discussed, as are the means by which such services can be provided in schools. Examples of the types of programs that can be implemented are provided. (SLD)

A Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) clinic on Chicago's Near North Side is currently offering physical and mental health care to Public Aid recipients. Psychological services are provided by a mental health co-ordinator (Ph.D. level) who supervises one or two counselors of M.A. status. The co-ordinator's other responsibilities include…

Universities have responded to increasingly imperative societal demands by expanding their public service activities, often in the form of social action programs. This development has not extended to the field of psychology, in which the university psychological center could effectively serve to collaborate on university-community efforts. Such a…

An analysis of patient views toward very brief interventions (counseling consisting of three or fewer sessions) indicates that counseling termination should not be viewed as a failure or a patient drop-out, but rather that the original expectations of the patient are met in a relatively brief contact. (MB)

Traditional mental health service systems are examined in terms of factors limiting their effectiveness, theoretical biases that have shaped them, and their assumptions. Alternative community-oriented approaches are then presented and analyzed. Finally, a new mental health role, the Liaison Specialist, is described. The Liaison Specialist attempts…

This document presents papers prepared for the 1978 Special National Workshop on Mental Health Services in Local Jails. The articles provide information on several topics: (1) the nature and extent of mental health needs in local jails; (2) assessment and intervention approaches for addressing these needs; (3) mental health service delivery…

A major finding from interviews with 25 New York City (New York) poverty-area urban elementary school principals is that they cannot adequately educate children without services to deal with the emotional distress experienced by many students. Teachers need the help and support of trained professionals. (SLD)