Addresses differences among competence, commitment, and mental illness; the right to privacy; and the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Reviews professional motivations in relation to both sides of controversy over rights of psychiatric patients to refuse medication. Presents position for social work profession that stands for…

Notes that overriding a mentally ill person's refusal to take medications may pose a dilemma around the issue of patients' rights, despite opinion of many authorities that refusal is often illness related. Presents information to help promote understanding of reasons why those who work with mentally ill people should be ready to override their…

Conducted interviews with 27 clinical social workers who worked in psychiatric inpatient units. Found that inpatient social workers were struggling to create ways to meet increased workload demands and were questioning effectiveness of short-term hospital treatment. Respondents reported personal and professional losses as well as challenges caused…

Determined item difficulties for 10 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised subtests for psychiatric inpatients (n=150). Spearman correlation coefficients between psychiatric inpatient and standardized group rank orders were large and significant across all subtests except Object Assembly, which demonstrated expected trend of increasing item…

Describes the use of the collaborative poem in poetry therapy groups with low functioning patients in a psychiatric unit. Shows the collaborative poem to be an effective technique in fostering group cohesion and instilling contact with reality. (SR)

Discusses what a poet can offer severely disturbed psychiatric patients and how that is distinct from what a clinician offers. (SR)

THE DESCRIPTION OF THE NUMBER AND KIND OF MENTAL HEALTH CLINIC SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS WAS BASED ON REPORTS RECEIVED FROM 1,537 OUTPATIENT PSYCHIATRIC CLINICS IN THE UNITED STATES AS OF APRIL 1961. ASPECTS OF CLINIC SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXAMINED WERE GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION, CLINIC CHARACTERISTICS, PROFESSIONAL MAN-HOURS AVAILABLE PER WEEK,…

Describes the forces that influenced the geographic unitization of state hospitals in the 1960s and 1970s. Discusses the extent to which this change met its original goals and analyzes the factors that prevented it from fully doing so. (Author)

Examines whether conflicting preferences of mental health professionals are a function of one's disciplinary training or are due to other variables. Surveys treatment teams from various professional backgrounds working at a hospital. Results showed that tenure, unit groupings, or hierarchical rank may influence staff preferences more than…

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)

Presents a followup of 61 physicians hospitalized for emotional impairment. Results showed recovery rates varied from 57 percent to 71 percent depending on calculation criteria. Interviews suggested rest, spirituality, workload modification, and colleague support were important factors in recovery. (JAC)

The objectives of a mental health program in Illinois are: (1) to have the patient wish to choose a field of work, and (2) to get him to obtain a job in his chosen field. (CK)

Describes clinical, individual, and family characteristics of initial admissions to secure adolescent psychiatric unit. One-third constituted risk to themselves. Two-thirds had committed a recent serious offense. Reveals high levels of disruption and disadvantage in family and personal histories. Emphasizes need for appropriate after-care…

Examined interrater reliability of diagnoses made on basis of structured interview for psychiatric patients with and without psychoactive substance use disorders (PSUDs). Results from 47 pairs of ratings by 9 clinical interviewers revealed that interrater reliability for non-PSUD psychiatric diagnoses was quite high when patient had no diagnosable…