The frequency of psychiatric hospitalizations for school-age children has increased substantially over the past 2 decades. The prevalence of inpatient psychiatric admissions carries meaningful implications for educators, as schools are regularly in a position where they are supporting a student who has recently been hospitalized. Accordingly, this…

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, a number of Italian psychiatrists were convinced that medicine and education should work together to treat children with mental disabilities, then commonly defined as "feeble-minded". To this end they promoted the establishment of "Medico-Pedagogical Institutes", institutes,…

Youth returning to schools following psychiatric hospitalization are at high risk for mental health crises and rehospitalization. Yet, little is known about the current practices schools use to support student reintegration. This study administered a self-report questionnaire to 133 school psychologists across the nation to identify the prevalence…

People with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) live in many different types of settings including homes of their own, with a family member, with a host or foster family, or in a provider owned or operated setting. Most live with a family member and receive informal supports from family members and friends. Some also receive supports…

Recent studies of sustainability draw attention to the impact art and culture have on communities. The Earth Charter, which originated in 1968, fostered the idea of "a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace." This article supports the idea that art can…

Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at risk for emotional dysregulation and behavior problems that can escalate to levels requiring psychiatric hospitalization. Evaluating the etiology of such behaviors can be challenging for health care providers, as individuals with ASD can have difficulty self-reporting concerns.…

Psychopathologisation, broadly understood as processes that lead to the effects of being psychopathologised, can have considerable consequences for isolating students from education. This can be especially the case for children and young people affected by the racialisation of behaviour and/or socio-economic disadvantage. Drawing on Foucault's…

While there are a number of instruments that assess historical factors related to sexual aggression for the purposes of risk assessment, there is a notable absence of measures that assess change in ongoing, sexually aggressive behaviours engaged in by people who reside in psychiatric hospitals. The purpose of this report is to describe the…

Inpatient assault of forensic and psychiatric staff is a complex and multifaceted issue. Hence, the consequences reported in the literature regarding prosecuting assaultive inpatients are quite variable. In this article, issues pertaining to the prosecution of violent inpatients are reviewed. Illustrative cases, challenges of prosecution,…

In this brief report, two examples are presented of self-portraits spontaneously produced by chemically dependent patients who participated in art therapy while in an acute inpatient psychiatric hospital. The author concludes that self-portraits provide true-to-life representations of the diseased aspects of the self and enable patients to…

Studies indicate that the impact of family involvement may be the most important predictor of successful psychiatric hospitalization of adolescents. Yet the ability to engage both an adolescent and his or her family in family therapy in the context of what is often an involuntary hospitalization is a major challenge. A number of promising…

Presents a social work model for building a family-institution alliance as distinguished from a therapeutic alliance. The model is based on a conceptualization of the family's needs at four successive stages in the early period of its relationship with the institution. (JAC)

Presents the development of concrete and explicit goals, models, and procedures for group psychotherapy by the staff of a 22-bed, adult, general psychiatric unit. (BH)

Suicide of hospitalized patients is the most common sentinel event reviewed by The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Shorter lengths of stay, sicker patients, and higher patient to staff ratios challenge the ability of the hospital to maintain safety. Risk factors associated with the physical environment of the…

Describes an abrupt shift from a therapeutic community emphasizing group meetings to a hierarchical medical model on a mental hospital floor. Analyzes the contrast between the two models, compared with the subsequent restoration of the therapeutic community. Clarifies some mechanisms by which groups positively affect disturbed patients. (BP)