The companion program: Implementing the manpower recommendations of the joint commission on mental illness and health.

There are many barriers to successful recruitment of professional and subprofessional personnel in the mental health professions. The companion program "recruits students from… universities to serve as volunteer companions to mentally ill patients for a full academic year. Students are invited to either select or be assigned to a chronic patient who has minimal or no contact with individuals outside the hospital, and to meet with this patient for one hour on a weekly basis throughout the school year… . The goal that is stressed throughout is that the student must build a feeling of companionship between himself and the patient." The program appears to be "a very significant method for altering the attitudes of people." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Research definitions of mental health and mental illness.

The conceptual and methodological difficulties involved in each of the various categories of definitions of mental health outlined in this review are discussed. Suggestions for further research are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental illness and mental retardation: Message from the President of the United States relative to mental illness and mental retardation.

2 health problems of critical size and tragic impact are mental illness and mental retardation. "There are now about 800,000 such patients in this Nation's institutions—600,000 for mental illness and over 200,000 for mental retardation." A 3-fold attack is proposed: (a) Ascertain causes and eradicate them. (b) Strengthen underlying resources of knowledge and of skilled manpower. (c) Strengthen and improve facilities serving the mentally ill and mentally retarded. A national program for mental health is proposed which emphasizes comprehensive community mental health centers, improved care in state mental institutions, and expansion of research activities and increase in professional manpower. A national program to combat mental retardation emphasizing prevention, community services, and research is also proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Statement on mental illness and mental retardation.

The statement made on behalf of the American Psychological Association is in support of Senate Bills 755 and 756 developed by Congress in response to President Kennedy's message on mental illness and mental retardation. "The psychologist is vitually concerned with the problems of mental disorders and of mental retardation. He is especially interested in research, and in the provision of services to people through the organized agencies of society, such as the public schools, community mental health centers, hospitals, institutions for the retarded, and rehabilitation agencies of many kinds." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developing an inpatient practicum program for patients with serious and persistent mental illness.

Training psychology students to treat patients with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) can provide an excellent opportunity for psychologists to help an historically disenfranchised and ignored population. With proper training, psychologists can play an important role in the development, provision, and administration of services to people with SPMI. We outline some of the issues to be considered in developing such a training program for practicum students, discuss the clinical skills and systemic issues that need to be mastered at the graduate level, and delineate the process by which this can be achieved in an inpatient, acute-care setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to special section: Mental retardation and mental illness.

Historically, the perceived relation between mental illness and mental retardation has undergone substantial changes. During the past 2 centuries, clinical observations and systematic research addressing these 2 constructs have developed along separate lines. Consequently, the pathogenesis and treatment of psychopathology, emotional disorders, and behavior problems experienced by individuals with mental retardation have not been the purview of mainstream clinical psychology. This article initiates a special section on mental retardation and mental illness to provide up-to-date summaries of various key clinical and research issues regarding this population (i.e., individuals with "dual diagnoses"). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Southern regional mental health program focuses on development of training and research.

"The American psychological profession is taking a leading role in the nation's first regional program to improve mental health and combat mental disease which the Southern Regional Education Board is conducting." The program reached its operational stage with the organization of the Southern Regional Council on Mental Health Training and Research in Atlanta on July 11-12, 1955, following 18 months of surveys and planning. The organization, problems, and activities of the Southern program are discussed. State committees have "… agreed that the need for new knowledge is as acute as the personnel shortage." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coercion and empowerment in the treatment of individuals with serious mental illness: A preliminary investigation.

Recently, treatment approaches for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) have sought to increase autonomy to prevent frequent hospitalizations. Two of these strategies are coercive treatment and empowerment. Both coercive treatment and empowerment attempt to increase an individual's freedom from illness as well as rehospitalization. In the literature coercion is viewed as a barrier to empowerment, yet the long-term goals of both approaches are similar. Thus, coercive treatment may not serve as a barrier to empowerment. This study is a preliminary investigation of the empirical relationship between and among coercion, functioning, and empowerment. Participants were recruited from treatment centers in Mississippi and were at varying stages of treatment including inpatient and outpatient (N = 64). Variables of interest were measured with the MacArthur Admissions Experience Survey, Brief Symptom Inventory, Multnomah Community Ability Scale, MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Treatment, and Empowerment Scale. In this sample, only functioning was predictive of empowerment, suggesting that empowerment is dependent on an individual's level of functioning. In addition, coercion may not necessarily disempower individuals with SMI. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The science of infanticide and mental illness.

Women who murder their children have been the subject of intensive media and public scrutiny. Reactions have varied from horror at the cruelty of the act to sympathy for the perpetrator, based on the belief that the mother must have been severely mentally disordered or at least suffering from a diminished mental capacity at the time of the offense. As a result, the English and American legal systems have adopted very different legal responses to this crime. Underlying these legal positions are assumptions about the effect of childbirth on mental status and the relation of mental status to the legal criteria necessary to meet a legal defense (e.g., insanity) or necessary to justify charging the offender with a lesser crime. This article critically considers the scientific knowledge on infanticide and mental illness to determine the appropriateness of these assumptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The mental hospital. A study of institutional participation in psychiatric illness and treatment.

Reviews the book, The mental hospital. A study of institutional participation in psychiatric illness and treatment by Alfred H. Stanton and Morris S. Schwartz (see record 2005-02933-000). This is a rich and rewarding book. It is a report of research, conducted in collaboration by a psychiatrist and a sociologist, into the social organization of a psychiatric hospital and into the effects of this social organization on the behavior of patients. Although it is primarily intended as a contribution to administrative psychiatry, it is also a major contribution to the general literature of social science and, in particular, to the broad area of personality and social structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Creativity, mental illness and crime.

Reviews the book, Creativity, mental illness and crime by R. Eisenman (see record 2007-11163-000). By combining published research findings, data from official sources such as the United States Department of Justice National Crime Victimization Study, a certain amount of data from his own research, and the knowledge of many years experience, the author reflects upon issues such as drug and sex education in schools, school-sanctioned violence against children, the desirability of the death penalty, and mistreatment of the mentally ill in a prison treatment program, to give a few examples. Unfortunately, however, such topics are not linked by a genuine unified theme or a systematic attack on the issues mentioned in the title, and the book is really a set of loosely linked statements on issues broadly connected with socially disapproved behavior, and treatment of criminals and those who, more generally, do not "fit in". The secret to profiting from reading it is not to treat it as another standard academic book. The author draws attention to often neglected issues in a very direct way, getting straight to the heart of the matter, and adopting a clear position. In doing so, he risks censure for adopting politically incorrect positions such as emphasizing the viciousness and lack of remorse of many young offenders, pointing out that those students who report greatest availability of drugs in their school receive the least drug education, or even concluding that the death penalty is something that society needs. What the author has to say is short and to the point, unequivocal, clearly stated in highly readable English, and often thought provoking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The state mental hospital in mid-nineteenth century America: A social analysis.

To determine the identity of a mental hospital, a case study of the development of a state hospital during its 1st 25 yr. is presented. The initial success of the hospital was due largely to the efforts of its leader who rejected supernatural interpretations of mental illness, and, while holding to a somatic pathology, accepted modifications that permitted a psychologically oriented therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of sound films on opinions about mental illness in community discussion groups.

One or more sound films on mental illness were shown to adult community groups with or without group discussion, and before-and-after attitude tests were administered to evaluate opinion changes. "… a single mental health film did not produce significant changes in opinions toward mental illness in groups," with or without group discussion. "A series of three films, however, induced significant shifts of opinion in the directions intended by the film content. Degree of… change was no greater in groups which had discussed the films than in groups which had not held discussions." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The uses of naming and the origin of the myth of mental illness.

"When we say that someone has or suffers from a mental illness, we assert a logically highly dubious proposition. It is virtually impossible to ascertain whether this proposition is true or false, because of the wide range of meaning that may be assigned to the term 'mental illness.' " Certain psychologists have used "the expression 'mental illness' to depreciate and injure others (particularly fellow professionals), but they also used its converse, 'mental health,' to promote the good fortune of those whom they liked and respected." It is desirable "to examine carefully the precise nature of the present status of our scientific (as well as everyday) attitudes toward problems of so-called mental illness." From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2JA59S. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental illness, predictability, and affective consequences as stimulus factors in person perception.

Before and after attempting to predict the behavior of a stimulus person (SP) in a choice situation, 64 Ss were asked to record their impressions of him on a trait rating scale. By design (a) the SP was presented as normal or mentally ill, (b) his behavior was predictable or unpredictable, and (c) errors of prediction were or were not signaled by a noxious buzzer. As predicted, evaluative judgments of the mentally ill SP did not vary as a function of predictability unless predictive failures were accompanied by unpleasant consequences, and unless the SP himself had control over the delivery of these consequences. Judgments of the normal SP were solely a function of his predictability, regardless of the consequences of predictive failure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Opinions about mental illness: Hospital social atmosphere profiles and their relevance to effectiveness.

For a sample of 12 VA mental hospitals, OMI data were obtained on representative 50% samples of hospital employees, clustered into hospital social atmosphere types, and related to time in community, adjusted for prognosis of patients admitted to these hospitals. It was found that authoritarian-restrictiveness was negatively related to in-community days and that other atmosphere types were positively related. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transgender and gender variant populations with mental illness: Implications for clinical care.

There is a scarcity of literature on clinical care for transgender and gender variant populations with serious mental illness. At times, gender identity issues among individuals with serious mental illness have been labeled as delusions that should not be reinforced by providers. However, there are significant limitations to attributing gender variance among populations with mental illness solely to a psychotic process. The following case study research demonstrates the variation in gender identity issues among individuals with serious mental illness. These individuals may experience gender dysphoria exclusively in the context of acute psychosis or may have gender identity issues that are distinct from the mental illness. Denial of an individual's gender variant presentation by treatment staff may heighten distress, thus interfering with a collaborative treatment alliance while posing additional barriers to recovery from mental illness. Implications and applications for clinical training and further research will be presented in order to promote awareness and competent care of gender issues when co-occurring with mental illness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pilot study of a health-focused day program on improving health behaviors, clinical functioning, and perceived wellness in individuals with severe mental illness.

Persons with severe mental illness (SMI) have poor physical health and high rates of premature death. There is limited research on health interventions for this population. This pilot study compares the health behaviors and perceived improvement of 2 day programs and comments on conducting research in health intervention in community-based persons with SMI. Nineteen individuals with SMI from a health-focused day program (HFP) and treatment-as-usual day program (TAU) were assessed for clinical functioning, health behaviors, and perceived improvement by using a semistructured interview and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. The special features of the HFP included special dietary planning, a well-equipped gym, staff instruction, supervision of exercise programs, and limited time for smoking. HFP participants reported higher fruit and vegetable intake and greater perceived improvement in confidence than those at the TAU. There were no differences in the amount of exercise and rates of smoking between the programs. Methodological implications for further research in this area are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Blame, shame, and contamination: The impact of mental illness and drug dependence stigma on family members.

Family members of relatives with mental illness or drug dependence or both report that they are frequently harmed by public stigma. No population-based survey, however, has assessed how members of the general public actually view family members. Hence, the authors examined ways that family role and psychiatric disorder influence family stigma. A national sample (N = 968) was recruited for this study. A vignette design describing a person with a health condition and a family member was used. Family stigma related to mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, is not highly endorsed. Family stigma related to drug dependence, however, is worse than for other health conditions, with family members being blamed for both the onset and offset of a relative's disorder and likely to be socially shunned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressive symptoms erode self-esteem in severe mental illness: A three-wave, cross-lagged study.

Vulnerability, scar, and reciprocal-relations models of depressive symptoms and self-esteem were compared among people with severe mental illness (SMI; N=260) participating in a partnership-based intervention study. Assessments were conducted at baseline, midway through the intervention (after 4 months), and at termination (after 9 months). Cross-lagged, structural equation modeling analyses revealed that participants' baseline depressive symptoms predicted a decrease in self-esteem in the first 4 months but not in the subsequent 5 months of participation. Exploratory regression analyses indicated that improved social functioning buffered this deleterious effect of depressive symptoms. These findings, which are consistent with the scar model, highlight the fragile nature of the self and the importance of social functioning in recovery from SMI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)