Coping with the crisis: people with severe mental disorders acting for social change through sustainable energy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to examine the efficacy of a vocational training program on renewable energy sources in reducing disabilities of people with chronic psychosis (CP). The innovative element was that the project could produce major advantages regarding the economic needs of the whole area involved. METHODS: Experimental Cohort, 26 subjects with CP (EC); Control Cohort1, 130 subjects with CP following pharmacotherapy plus other rehabilitation activities (CIC); Control Cohort2, 101 subjects with CP following the usual treatment (pharmacotherapy) (CUC). Study tool: Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS). Assessment made at the start of the study (T0) and after three months (T1). Statistical analysis made by MANOVA. RESULTS: Improvement in HoNOS total score in both groups (F=7.574, p=0.000) with non-significant differences between groups over time (F=1.336, p=0.252) was found comparing EC vs. CIC. Greater improvement in EC vs. CIC was shown in the HoNOS "impairment" scale (F=4.910, p=0.028). EC vs. CUC: both groups improved in HoNOS total score (F=9.440, p=0.000) but the improvement was greater in EC (F = 2.273, P=0.048). CONCLUSIONS: Work inclusion, as well as other rehabilitation treatments, reduces the social needs of people with chronic psychosis. Work inclusion in a project with real relevance for the area where these people live, produces more improvement of cognitive, physical and somatic disabilities, probably related to a better outcome in self-efficacy.

Counseling in primary care improves depression and quality of life.

INTRODUCTION: To measure the effectiveness on Quality of Life of adjunctive cognitive behavioral counseling in the setting of General Practitioners (GPs) along with the treatment as usual (TAU;) for the treatment of depression. METHODS: Six month-controlled trial of patients who were referred to randomly assigned GPs (four for experimental group of patients and ten for the control) was done. Experimental sample had 34 patients with DSM-IV diagnosis of Depression (Depressed Episode, Dysthymia, or Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood) receiving the TAU supplemented with counseling. Control group had 30 patients with diagnosis of Depression receiving only the TAU. RESULTS: The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score improved in both groups. Patients in the experimental group showed greater improvement compared to the control group at T2. The World Health Organization Quality OF Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL) score also improved in the experimental group but not in the control group. The improvement in the experimental group was statistically significant in terms of both BDI and WHOQOL scores. CONCLUSIONS: Adding counseling to TAU in general medical practice settings is more effective in controlling the symptoms of depression and improving the quality of life as measured over a period of six months, than TAU alone. These results while encouraging, also calls for a larger study involving a largersample size and a longer period of time.