According to a small study, Outward Bound can enhance the treatment of hospitalized psychiatric patients. Researchers measured the effect of a therapeutic Outward Bound program of prescribed physical and social tasks on the contentment and self-esteem of seven patients undergoing short-term treatment at the Veterans Administration Hospital in…

This study attempted to examine the effects of short-term psychiatric hospitalization for black and white patients by comparing them when they entered a short-term public hospital, when they were released from the hospital, and in the community 18 months following hospital release. Few differences were found at discharge or at follow-up. (Author)

Two case descriptions illustrate the work performed by a community college counseling service. The applicability of the term "psychotherapy" to the therapeutic services rendered is discussed, with reference to definitions offered by experts in the field. Implications for community mental health of such medical and educational services…

The author describes ways in which the mental health specialist can help classroom teachers. (Author/HMV)

Depression is defined as a "whole-body" illness, involving the body, mood, and thoughts. Three of the most prevalent types of depressive disorders are described: major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disorders (formerly called manic-depressive illness). Eleven symptoms of depression and 10 symptoms of mania are listed. Causes of depression are…

The report examines data from three sample surveys of admissions during 1980 to the inpatient psychiatric services of state and mental hospitals and private psychiatric hospitals and the separate inpatient psychiatric services of non-federal general hospitals. Findings revealed that an estimated 81,532 persons under 18 years were admitted to…

Designed to promote and facilitate educational opportunities at the local level for prospective guardians, this manual outlines a model course to introduce the concept of guardianship to persons interested in serving as legal guardians. First, introductory material describes the purpose, content, and development of the model course. Next, a course…

This background paper on children's mental health indicates that less than one-third of the children who have mental health problems receive treatment. Types of mental health problems are discussed, including intellectual, developmental, behavior, emotional, psychophysiological, and adjustment disorders. Enviromental risk factors of poverty and…

Drawing from a conceptual framework which hypothesizes a temporal sequence for persons who are in psychological distress, this paper focuses on two problems faced by chronically mentally ill (CMI) Hispanics in need of clinical services: (1) barriers in seeking follow-up clinical services upon discharge from a psychiatric hospital; and (2) barriers…

This paper provides general guidelines for psychiatric mental health workers who work with children and adolescents in a residential treatment center. Twenty-four questions commonly asked by therapists in these situations are posed and answers are discussed for each question. Topics covered include why some patients appear perfectly normal, the…

Asian-American students in the 1966 freshman class were studied over a four-year period to determine usage of mental health services. Asian-Americans underutilized the campus psychiatric service but significantly overutilized the Counseling Center. Possible reasons related to the Asian-Americans' subcultural values explain these findings. (Author)

Many research efforts have demonstrated relationships between the experience of mental health volunteers and their attitudes toward mental illness. Questionnaire surveys were completed by adult volunteers in psychiatric and nonpsychiatric programs in order to assess general attitudes toward mental patients and to control for the potential effects…

The two groups of children and adolescents seen for emergency psychiatric treatment were studied in an attempt to determine what constitutes an emergency in child psychiatry, whose anxiety initiates consultation, what the precipitating factors are and how they can be predicted, and to ascertain who is crucial to the management of these problems.…