Optimization strategies for the organization of mental healthcare.

AIM: The aim of this paper is to analyse the main issues and obstacles to optimizing the organization of mental healthcare and the strategies that should be applied by presenting the examples from practice. RESULTS: Outcomes of mental healthcare are in relation with 'improved legislation' and the introduction of up-to-date management and economic concepts including continuous treatment model, in addition to the advantages and disadvantages in the provision of mental healthcare within primary and secondary inpatient and outpatient healthcare. Some of these lessons are learned from reforms implemented in Serbia.

Perception of family members regarding the support group conducted in a psychiatric intervention ward. / Percepção dos familiares acerca do grupo de apoio realizado em uma unidade de internação psiquiátrica.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the perception of relatives of patients with mental disorders about the support group in a psychiatric hospitalization ward. METHOD: This is a research with a qualitative, exploratory an descriptive approach, performed at a General Hospital in Rio Grande do Sul with ten relatives of patients who had been participating in a weekly support group. Data collection took place in October 2016, through semi-structured interviews. A thematic content analysis was used for the treatment of data, whence emerged the category: Perception of family members about the support group. RESULTS: The relatives perceive the group as a space that gives them strength and support, allowing for listening and experience exchange among its members, giving information on the disease and treatment, safety, and inserting the family in the treatment. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: The support group can be understood as a strategic action of caring for the family, affecting their lives and the treatment of those who are hospitalized.

Drafting a dual diagnosis program: a tailored intervention for patients with complex clinical needs

Background: Clinical practice of mental health services changed in 1978 after the Basaglia Law was passed, and it is now characterized by usually voluntary treatments offered by community-based services. That broadened the interventions' focus from the single subject to their environment. Dual diagnosis is defined by WHO as «the co-occurrence in the same individual of a psychoactive substance use disorder and another psychiatric disorder¼. It is considered to be a "border territory" since entails networking between different medical services. Materials and methods: A literature search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar. Search terms were: "guidelines", "treatment", "comorbidity", "substance abuse", "alcohol", "dual-diagnosis", "psychiatric illness", "outpatient", "inpatient", "health care service", "clinical practice". National and regional regulations about health and addiction were screened too. Out of 598 titles, 31 studies were included in this article for their relevance on treatments and networking between services for dual diagnosis cases. Results: There are not any guidelines for clinical practice in the literature, neither there are any shared treatment strategies on a national level. Considering the autonomy that every regional health service has, several different courses of action are possible. Here there are reported the ones available. Conclusions: After discussing the weak points of the treatment options, we suggest the "Multidisciplinary Healthcare" model to best address the difficulties represented by dual diagnosis cases.

The Patient-to-Prisoner Pipeline: The IMD Exclusion's Adverse Impact on Mass Incarceration in United States.

A component of the 1965 Medicaid Act, the Institutions for Mental Diseases ("IMD") Exclusion was supposed to be a remedy for the brutal, dysfunctional mental healthcare system run through state hospitals. In the years since Medicaid was created, the IMD Exclusion has instead barred thousands of those in need of intensive, inpatient treatment from receiving it. As a result, many severely mentally ill individuals are left without adequate care and without a home. They struggle in the street where they are otherized by those in their community and are susceptible to confrontational episodes with law enforcement. Many are ultimately incarcerated, where they are thrust into an abusive environment known to exacerbate mental health issues. This Note's central contention is that the IMD Exclusion creates an access gap for the poorest Americans who suffer from mental illness. Subsequently, prisons and jails fill that gap to the detriment of those individuals. The Note will proceed first by explaining the IMD Exclusion and how it applies to state-run medical care services and facilities. This Note will discuss the nationwide movement, in the 1950s through the 1960s and '70s, to deinstitutionalize notoriously abusive state psychiatric hospitals, a movement that culminated in the passage of the Medicaid Act in 1965, along with the IMD Exclusion. This Note will then shift focus to criticize the practical effects of the IMD Exclusion and its extensive role in the mass incarceration issue today. In doing so, this Note will identify the major weaknesses of the IMD Exclusion and explain how these weaknesses create an access gap for mentally ill persons, while simultaneously making them more vulnerable to contact with the police and the criminal justice system.

Management of psychiatric patients before deinstitutionalization: an inquiry into the years 1907-1913 in Pisa

Aim: Asylums comprises the main focus of historical research on early 20th century psychiatry. To assess the characteristic of asylum transfers in a clinical population, we analyzed newly found clinical records from University of Pisa Clinic for Mental and Nervous Illness. We focused on the early years of this structure's activities considering all admissions from 24th April 1907 to 31st January 1913. Methods: We collected demographic and clinical data from 1,068 patients performing Chi-Square Tests to study correlation between asylum transfer and diagnosis and gender difference; independent sample Student's t-tests were also performed to compare mean Age, mean number of Days of Hospitalization and mean number of Subsequent Admissions to the Clinic observed in patients transferred to an asylum versus those who had been discharged. Multiple logistic regression model was employed to identify the best predictors of asylum transfers. Results: Most patient were discharged, and only a third of the hospitalization led to asylum confinement. Our data outlines a peculiar discharge rationale, suggesting that the Clinic acted like a "sieve-institution" to prevent asylum overcrowding from treatable, non-chronic conditions. Discussion: These data suggest that our historical view of psychiatric care is probably not complete, and that a different approach to source materials could provide new research paradigms.

40th birthday of the Italian Mental Health Law 180 - perception and reputation abroad, and a personal suggestion.

How things are perceived from a distance may help better understand their nature. Perceptions at home are likely to shape perceptions abroad. The mutual cross-references between local and distant perspectives on the Italian Mental Health Law 180 may help understand the process which preceded and resulted in the reform. This editorial argues that Law 180 came about at a unique - enabling - time in history. It argues that the run-up to and passing of Law 180 constituted a great accomplishment by professionals, the wider public and politicians/administrators. This editorial goes on to argue that the profession managed to cope with (many) adverse effects of the reform. The attention that Law 180 has received internationally should be devoted to other national (or regional) mental health reform processes as this may help us to understand how mental health care systems evolve and what defines 'windows of (operative) opportunity' or 'moments for (public) action'.

Percepção dos familiares acerca do grupo de apoio realizado em uma unidade de internação psiquiátrica / Percepción de los familiares acerca del grupo de apoyo realizado en una unidad de internación psiquiátrica / Perception of family members regarding the support group conducted in a psychiatric intervention ward

Resumo OBJETIVO Objetiva analisar a percepção de familiares de pacientes com sofrimento psíquico acerca do grupo de apoio em uma internação psiquiátrica. MÉTODO Pesquisa com abordagem qualitativa, exploratória, descritiva, realizada em hospital geral do Rio Grande do Sul com dez familiares que participavam de grupo de apoio semanal. A coleta de dados ocorreu no mês de outubro de 2016 através de entrevistas semiestruturadas. Empregou-se a análise de conteúdo temática para tratamento dos dados, na qual emergiu a categoria: Percepção dos familiares sobre o grupo de apoio. RESULTADOS Os familiares percebiam o grupo como um espaço de apoio e fortalecimento, de escuta e trocas entre os integrantes, de informação sobre a doença e tratamento e de segurança e inserção da família no tratamento. CONSIDERAÇÕES FINAIS Portanto, o grupo de apoio pode ser entendido como uma ação estratégica de cuidado ao familiar, repercutindo na sua vida e no tratamento de quem está internado.

Resumen OBJETIVO Analizar la percepción de familiares de pacientes con trastorno mental acerca del grupo de apoyo en una internación psiquiátrica. MÉTODO Investigación con abordaje cualitativo, exploratorio y descriptivo, realizada en el hospital General de Rio Grande do Sul, con diez familiares que participaban en un grupo de apoyo semanal. La recolección de datos ocurrió en el mes de octubre de 2016 por medio de entrevistas semiestructuradas. Se empleó al análisis temático de contenido para tratar a los datos, y emergió la categoría: Percepción de los familiares sobre el grupo de apoyo. RESULTADOS Los familiares perciben al grupo como un espacio de apoyo y fortalecimiento, de escucha e intercambios entre los integrantes, de información sobre la enfermedad y tratamiento, y de seguridad e inserción de la familia en el tratamiento. CONSIDERACIONES Finales El grupo de apoyo puede ser entendido como una acción estratégica de cuidado al familiar, repercutiendo en su vida y en el tratamiento de quien está internado.

Abstract OBJECTIVE To analyze the perception of relatives of patients with mental disorders about the support group in a psychiatric hospitalization ward. METHOD This is a research with a qualitative, exploratory an descriptive approach, performed at a General Hospital in Rio Grande do Sul with ten relatives of patients who had been participating in a weekly support group. Data collection took place in October 2016, through semi-structured interviews. A thematic content analysis was used for the treatment of data, whence emerged the category: Perception of family members about the support group. RESULTS The relatives perceive the group as a space that gives them strength and support, allowing for listening and experience exchange among its members, giving information on the disease and treatment, safety, and inserting the family in the treatment. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS The support group can be understood as a strategic action of caring for the family, affecting their lives and the treatment of those who are hospitalized.

An analysis of the federal funding for mental health care in Brazil.

This article analyzes spending on mental health by the Brazilian Ministry of Health between 2001 and 2014. It is documental research of the Brazilian Ministry of Health's databases. It analyzes the data using descriptive statistical analysis. Total spending on mental health for the period 2001 to 2014 shows a percentage increase in resources destined for outpatient care, but this increase is a reallocation from hospital services to community-based services and total resources for the mental health program remain at an average of 2.54% of the total health budget. Within outpatient expenditure, spending on medications remains high. Professionals committed to psychiatric reform fight to guarantee that a small fraction of the surplus appropriated by the state is directed towards social policies.

Right to mental health in prison system: reflections on the process of deinstitutionalization of the HCTP. / Direito à saúde mental no sistema prisional: reflexões sobre o processo de desinstitucionalização dos HCTP.

This study aimed to discuss the close relationship between mental health, the criminal justice system and the prison system, whose specific interfaces are the HCTP (Hospital de Custódia e Tratamento Psiquiátrico, or Judicial Psychiatric Hospital) conflict and the person with mental disorder in conflict with the law. There will be presented extensive discussions on the Penal Execution Law and the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform Law, as well as cross-sector actions taken by the judiciary and the federal government (Brazilian National Health System - SUS and National Social Assistance System - SUAS) to bring the criminal justice system and the prison system to the anti-asylum combat. Two successful experiences in the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás will also be presented for they reflect the emergence of a new strategy on public health policy: The Evaluation Service and Monitoring Therapeutic Measures for the Person with Mental Disorder in Conflict with the Law, device connector between systems, willing to operate in the process of deinstitutionalization of people with mental disorders of HCPT.

Direito à saúde mental no sistema prisional: reflexões sobre o processo de desinstitucionalização dos HCTP / Right to mental health in prison system: reflections on the process of deinstitutionalization of the HCTP

Resumo O presente estudo tem por objetivo discutir a estreita relação entre a saúde mental, o sistema de justiça criminal e o sistema prisional, cujas interfaces concretas são o hospital de custódia e tratamento psiquiátrico (HCTP) e a pessoa com transtorno mental em conflito com a lei. Serão apresentadas amplas discussões sobre a Lei de Execução Penal e a Lei da Reforma Psiquiátrica brasileira, bem como das ações intersetoriais adotadas pelo Judiciário e pelo Governo Federal (Sistema Único de Saúde - SUS e Sistema Único de Assistência Social - SUAS) para adequar o sistema de justiça criminal e o sistema prisional à luta antimanicomial. Serão também apresentadas duas experiências exitosas nos estados de Minas Gerais e de Goiás, que lastraram o surgimento de uma nova estratégia na política pública de saúde: o Serviço de Avaliação e Acompanhamento de Medidas Terapêuticas Aplicáveis à Pessoa com Transtorno Mental em Conflito com a Lei, dispositivo conector entre os Sistemas, disposto a atuar no processo de desinstitucionalização das pessoas com transtornos mentais dos HCTP.

Abstract This study aimed to discuss the close relationship between mental health, the criminal justice system and the prison system, whose specific interfaces are the HCTP (Hospital de Custódia e Tratamento Psiquiátrico, or Judicial Psychiatric Hospital) conflict and the person with mental disorder in conflict with the law. There will be presented extensive discussions on the Penal Execution Law and the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform Law, as well as cross-sector actions taken by the judiciary and the federal government (Brazilian National Health System - SUS and National Social Assistance System - SUAS) to bring the criminal justice system and the prison system to the anti-asylum combat. Two successful experiences in the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás will also be presented for they reflect the emergence of a new strategy on public health policy: The Evaluation Service and Monitoring Therapeutic Measures for the Person with Mental Disorder in Conflict with the Law, device connector between systems, willing to operate in the process of deinstitutionalization of people with mental disorders of HCPT.

Saúde mental e os novos paradigmas de cidadania e inclusão social na sociedade contemporânea / Mental health and the new paradigms of citizenship and social inclusion in contemporary society

Este estudo tem por objetivo analisar as categorias de cidadania e inclusão social na política de desinstitucionalização nos sujeitos em sofrimento psíquico diante do processo de individualização na teoria social contemporânea. Assume como hipótese que a saída do hospital psiquiátrico por si só não garante a inclusão social e nem o livre exercício da cidadania. Considerado o objetivo desta pesquisa, optou-se por fazer uma pesquisa bibliográfica como procedimento metodológico. O material de estudo foi dividido em três conjuntos: (1) 56 artigos científicos, visando a compreender a visão da academia; (2) um conjunto de legislação, composto de 10 leis que implementaram a política de desinstitucionalização no Brasil e a reforma dos serviços de saúde psiquiátrica, visando a compreender as ações do Estado; (3) quatro Relatórios Finais das quatro Conferências Nacionais de Saúde Mental, para também compreender a participação da sociedade civil. Para a análise do material, utilizou-se uma combinação de duas técnicas complementares: leitura bibliográfica com a análise de conteúdo. Dentre os vários processos que caracterizam a sociedade contemporânea, optou-se por analisar a individualização que impacta nas formas de exercício da cidadania e na inclusão social. Na análise dos resultados da categoria de cidadania foram identificadas associações em relação à interdição civil, liberdade, moradia, saúde, trabalho, educação e participação política

This study aims to analyze the categories of citizenship and social inclusion related to the deinstitutionalization policy of individuals in psychological distress, considering the individualization process in the contemporary social theory. The hypothesis is that leaving the psychiatric hospital does not guarantee the social inclusion and the exercise of citizenship. Considered the objective of this research, it was decided to do a literature review as a methodological procedure. The object of this study has been divided into three groups: (1) 56 scientific papers reviewed in order to identify how the academy deals with this issue; (2) a set of legislation, made up of 10 laws that have implemented deinstitutionalization policy in Brazil and the reform of psychiatric health services analyzed in order to understand the State/'s actions; (3) Reading of the four Final Reports of the Fourth National Conference of Mental Health, to understand how the civil society has been participating in this process. As a research tool to analyze the material mentioned above, we used a technique of reading literature focusing on content analysis. Among the various processes that characterize contemporary society, we chose to examine the individualization that affects the forms of citizenship and social inclusion

Psychiatry and human rights: a difficult relationship, but with a growing potential.

Persons with psychosocial disabilities (mental health problems) are under the protection of the new United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD brings a human rights-based approach to disability: it challenges paternalistic views by emphasizing the person as a rights-holder, an active subject, and not just a passive object of care. It also represents a challenge to mainstream human rights movements and mechanisms who have long paid insufficient attention to human rights of persons with (psychosocial) disabilities. It is increasingly understood that human rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities (mental health problems) should not be seen in the narrow perspective, as if the only issue was the most controversial one, that is, deprivation of liberty. In many areas, reform-minded psychiatrists have themselves initiated human rights-friendly reforms. For instance, efforts to implement article 19 of the CRPD­independent living and inclusion in the community­are increasingly becoming part of the mainstream in mental health care. There is potential for further synergy between mental health professionals and human rights activists in looking at the whole range of civil, political, economic, and social rights listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights­realizing that all these rights apply also to persons with psychosocial disabilities, and working together towards removing real-life obstacles to their enjoyment.The building of bridges between the two different types of expertise should be encouraged. In this regard, psychiatry would benefit from more cooperation across borders as well as with international human rights bodies, non-governmental organizations and persons with psychosocial disabilities themselves

[How do we treat the broad spectrum of patients with serious mental illness who have committed crimes? The Law 81/2014: limits and problems]. / Come cureremo l'ampio spettro di pazienti con gravi malattie mentali autori di reato? La Legge n. 81/2014: limiti e problematiche.

In Italy an ongoing process of deinstitutionalization unprecedented in the world is been enacted. The Judicial Psychiatric Hospitals, that were never reformed in the past 80 years, are now on the edge of their closure. This process is being implemented through a layering of rules that had no purpose other than the rapid closure of these structures. The Mental Health Departments have now the responsibility of a multiplicity of new and highly specialized tasks, and an extension of their power to control. There is no previous organization for these tasks in the Mental Health System. Some of the recently enacted laws, such as the Law 81 of 2014, are intented to solve some problems, althought issues of deinstitutionalization are getting worse. In our opinion several management aspects of this population of severe psychiatric patients are unfit with the present organization of the Mental Health Services. There is need for legislative action coordinated and based on a long-term perspective.

Creating a science of homelessness during the Reagan era.

UNLABELLED: POLICY POINTS: A retrospective analysis of federally funded homeless research in the 1980s serves as a case study of how politics can influence social and behavioral science research agendas today in the United States. These studies of homeless populations, the first funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, demonstrated that only about a third of the homeless population was mentally ill and that a diverse group of people experienced homelessness. This groundbreaking research program set the mold for a generation of research and policy characterizing homelessness as primarily an individual-level problem rather than a problem with the social safety net. CONTEXT: A decade after the nation's Skid Rows were razed, homelessness reemerged in the early 1980s as a health policy issue in the United States. While activists advocated for government-funded programs to address homelessness, officials of the Reagan administration questioned the need for a federal response to the problem. In this climate, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) launched a seminal program to investigate mental illness and substance abuse among homeless individuals. This program serves as a key case study of the social and behavioral sciences' role in the policy response to homelessness and how politics has shaped the federal research agenda. METHODS: Drawing on interviews with former government officials, researchers, social activists, and others, along with archival material, news reports, scientific literature, and government publications, this article examines the emergence and impact of social and behavioral science research on homelessness. FINDINGS: Research sponsored by the NIMH and other federal research bodies during the 1980s produced a rough picture of mental illness and substance abuse prevalence among the US homeless population, and private foundations supported projects that looked at this group's health care needs. The Reagan administration's opposition to funding "social research," together with the lack of private-sector support for such research, meant that few studies examined the relationship between homelessness and structural factors such as housing, employment, and social services. CONCLUSIONS: The NIMH's homelessness research program led to improved understanding of substance abuse and mental illness in homeless populations. Its primary research focus on behavioral disorders nevertheless unwittingly reinforced the erroneous notion that homelessness was rooted solely in individual pathology. These distortions, shaped by the Reagan administration's policies and reflecting social and behavioral scientists' long-standing tendencies to emphasize individual and cultural rather than structural aspects of poverty, fragmented homelessness research and policy in enduring ways.

Public support of community corrections in China.

There are a variety of factors that have been associated with support for the use of community corrections in the West. However, little research has been completed to examine if these same factors are also associated with support for the use of community corrections in China. This exploratory study examined the degree of agreement and support of 764 Chinese citizens on the use of community corrections methods. Results indicated that most respondents supported the use of community corrections methods rather than traditional incarceration methods. In addition, five attitudes (the punishment perspective, the rehabilitation perspective, the humanitarian perception, cost-effectiveness, and risk) toward the use of community corrections methods were examined and all were found to be significantly associated with the support of community corrections in present-day China.

Decarceration of U.S. jails and prisons: where will persons with serious mental illness go?

Decarceration (decreasing the number of persons incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons) has begun. It is estimated that more than 350,000 persons with serious mental illness (SMI) are among those incarcerated in the United States and that many thousands of them will probably be among those released. Currently, the prison population in general is being reduced as a consequence of concerns about overcrowding and of policies and programs such as reclassification of drug possession, which would affect many persons with mental illness. Court-ordered diversion and changes in sentencing guidelines are also serving to reduce prison populations. In recent years, the mental health system did not have to manage as large a number of persons with SMI, especially those who were among the most difficult and expensive to treat, because many of them were incarcerated in jails and prisons. Now, with decarceration and the release of many such persons, the mental health system may be expected to assume more responsibility for them and should be prepared and funded to meet their needs. This population of persons with SMI needs structure and treatment that, depending upon their individual needs, may include 24-hour supportive housing, ACT and FACT teams, assisted outpatient treatment, psychiatric medication, and psychiatric hospitalization.

Some perspectives on criminalization.

In recently published articles, there has been an underemphasis on the role serious mental illness (SMI) plays in causing persons to be in the criminal justice system. Increasing attention has been paid to other factors, including criminogenic needs. While these needs may be present and contribute to criminal behavior, persons with SMI who are at greatest risk of criminalization are those who are not receiving adequate treatment, structure, social control, and, when necessary, 24-hour care in the mental health system. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been used to reduce recidivism for prisoners, including those with SMI, but persons impaired by their untreated psychotic symptoms may not be able to profit from it. The importance of psychiatric treatment must not be underestimated. Moreover, given their current constraints, correctional systems may not be able to continue accepting large numbers of persons with SMI. Many offenders with serious mental illness pose difficult and expensive problems in treatment and management, such as nonadherence to medication, potential for violence, and substance abuse. The mental health system needs to be given more funding and to take more responsibility for these challenging individuals.

[Persons held in preventive detention (§ 66 Criminal Code): characteristics of offenders and the impact on prospects for successful completion of therapy]. / Sicherungsverwahrte (§ 66 StGB): Merkmale der Täter und ihre Bedeutung für die Erfolgsaussichten eines therapeutischen Vollzugs.

With its verdict in May 2011 the German Federal Constitutional Court declared the current law for preventive detention unconstitutional and obliged the legislative bodies to undertake a freedom- and treatment-oriented reform. Psychiatrists and psychotherapists are bound to provide therapeutic concepts. Currently there is a lack of information on the intended clientele. In our study we examined 26 persons serving preventive detention, 32 regular prisoners and 29 non-delinquent probands. The groups were matched according to age and intelligence. We gathered sociodemographic data, criminal records and conducted the tests SCID I, SCID II und PCL-R, K-FAF and BIS-11 to obtain diagnoses and characteristics. Based on this information, the HCR-20 and GAF were performed. In comparison to regular prisoners and non-delinquents, the group of those serving preventive detention is characterised by medium to advanced age, antisociality, psychopathy, substance abuse or addiction, aggressivity, a strong criminal record, years of imprisonment, insufficient educational and vocational training and a high risk of recidivism. In our examination of persons serving preventive detention, we demonstrate that this clientele is a group of recidivists difficult to treat. The current laws and a lack of early intervention programs have prevented and delayed their timely and possibly successful treatment. From a psychiatric point of view, there is a strong need for new therapeutic concepts to meet this challenge.