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Admitting Mental Health Evidence To Impeach The Credibility Of A Sexual Assault Complainant

February 21, 2019October 17, 2017 by admin

INTRODUCTION

The 1970 edition of Wigmore on Evidence offers the proposition that every female complainant in a rape prosecution should be subject to a psychiatric examination and echoes turn-of-the century psychoanalysts in its explanation: “The unchaste (let us call it) mentality finds incidental but direct expression in the narration of imaginary sex incidents of which the narrator is the heroine or victim.” In other words, some women falsely accuse men of rape because, either intentionally or inadvertently, they have confused a sexual fantasy with a violent crime. The focus of this Comment, and the focus of considerable controversy and difficulty in rape trials, is evidentiary procedure when the defendant claims that the complainant consented to the intercourse. Putting aside the philosophical problem of defining consent, in the absence of physical injuries the only relevant evidence of the crime will be testimony from the defendant,,

How To Convince Politicians That Mental Health Is A Priority

November 20, 2018October 17, 2017 by admin

Politicians, especially ministers of health, are crucial to drive national policy and strategy, because they can bring political will to bear on decision making, speed up decision making, and steer decisions in a specific direction. Therefore it is important to persuade politicians that mental health should be a priority.

One of the most helpful things a minister of health can do to make mental health a real priority is to ensure that mental health is well integrated into the national health sector strategic plan at each level (community, primary care, district, provincial and national). This will make it much more likely that community based and primary care health staff will see mental health as an integral part of their work, that district staff will see mental health as an essential part of their support responsibilities to primary care alongside other health priorities, and that provincial level staff...

Deinstitutionalization and Its Discontents: American Mental Health Policy Reform

February 15, 2019October 17, 2017 by admin

INTRODUCTION

Mental illness is real. 10 percent of children and 25 percent of adults in America struggle with serious emotional and mental disorders which cause significant daily functional impairment.

Mental illness is pervasive. 4 of the 10 leading causes of disability in the United States are mental disorders. Children, adolescents and adults from all classes, backgrounds, faiths, and walks of life suffer.

Mental illness is ruinous. 31 percent of homeless adults have a combination of mental illness and addiction disorder. Adults living with serious mental illness die 25 years earlier than other Americans. Over 90 percent of those who die by suicide have a mental disorder. 24 percent of state prisoners and 21 percent of jail prisoners have mental illnesses. 70 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system have at least one mental disorder. Over 50 percent of students with a mental disorder drop out of high school...

Mental Health Medications

November 20, 2018October 17, 2017 by admin

Overview

Medications can play a role in treating several mental disorders and conditions. Treatment may also include psychotherapy (also called “talk therapy”) and brain stimulation therapies (less common). In some cases, psychotherapy alone may be the best treatment option. Choosing the right treatment plan should be based on a person's individual needs and medical situation, and under a mental health professional’s care.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a Federal research agency, does not provide medical advice or referrals. Resources that may help you find treatment services in your area are listed on ourHelp for Mental Illnesses web page.

NIMH also does not endorse or recommend any particular drug, herb, or supplement. Results from NIMH-supported clinical research trials (What are Clinical Research Trials?) that examine the effectiveness of treatments, including medications, are reported in the medical literature. This health topic webpage is...

Community Mental Health Team Management In Severe Mental Illness: A Systematic Review

November 20, 2018October 17, 2017 by admin

Abstract

Background Community mental health teams are now generally recommended for the management of severe mental illness but a comparative evaluation of their effectiveness is lacking.

Aims To assess the benefits of community mental health team management in severe mental illness.

Method A systematic review was conducted of community mental health team management compared with other standard approaches.

Results Community mental health team management is associated with fewer deaths by suicide and in suspicious circumstances (odds ratio=0.32, 95% Cl 0.09-1.12), less dissatisfaction with care (odds ratio=0.34, 95% Cl 0.2-0.59) and fewer drop-outs (odds ratio=0.61, 95% Cl 0.45-0.83). Duration of in-patient psychiatric treatment is shorter with community team management and costs of care are less, but there are no gains in clinical symptomatology or social functioning.

Conclusions Community mental health team management is superior to standard care in promoting greater acceptance of treatment, and may also reduce...

Deprivation of Liberty: the Mental Health Act or the Mental Capacity Act?

November 20, 2018October 17, 2017 by admin

Abstract

Both the Mental Health Act (1983) and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 now have provisions that authorise the care and treatment of a person in circumstances that amount to a deprivation of liberty. In accordance with the requirements of article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights both regimes require a person to be suffering from a mental disorder before they can be subject to a deprivation of liberty. This article rebuts the assumption that practitioners can pick and choose which method to use when authorising a deprivation of liberty. It goes on to highlight the primacy of the Mental Health Act (1983) when a deprivation of liberty is necessary to treat a mental disorder in hospital or care home...

Mental Fatigue Impairs Physical Performance In Humans

November 20, 2018October 17, 2017 by admin

Abstract

Mental fatigue is a psychobiological state caused by prolonged periods of demanding cognitive activity. Although the impact of mental fatigue on cognitive and skilled performance is well known, its effect on physical performance has not been thoroughly investigated. In this randomized crossover study, 16 subjects cycled to exhaustion at 80% of their peak power output after 90 min of a demanding cognitive task (mental fatigue) or 90 min of watching emotionally neutral documentaries (control). After experimental treatment, a mood questionnaire revealed a state of mental fatigue (P = 0.005) that significantly reduced time to exhaustion (640 ± 316 s) compared with the control condition (754 ± 339 s) (P = 0.003). This negative effect was not mediated by cardiorespiratory and musculoenergetic factors as physiological responses to intense exercise remained largely...

Surreptitious Practices In The Management Of Persons With Serious Mental Illnesses – Perspectives From The Schizophrenia Research Foundation

November 20, 2018October 17, 2017 by admin

Abstract

The aim of this communication is to briefly describe the surreptitious practices and management of non-adherence, observed at the services offered by the Schizophrenia Research Foundation. Screening of records at our services for documentations of this practice and the efforts made to deal with non-adherence and concealed treatment was done. Surreptitious practices in SCARF's out-patient services and in community outreach programs have been documented. Efforts to manage non-adherence include educating families on pharmacotherapy and strategies of dealing with non-adherence. At the level the patient, individualised and group strategies deal with the issues addressing lack of insight, acceptance of the disorder, or dealing with perceived side effects are held. Ethical principles of autonomy, justice, beneficence, and respect are adopted in implementing these strategies. There are potential advantages and disadvantages of adopting surreptitious treatment strategies in persons with serious mental illnesses. There is a need to formulate rigorous guidelines for the management of non-adherence...

Road to Recovery: Employment and Mental Illness

February 21, 2019October 17, 2017 by admin

INTRODUCTION

Individuals with mental illness are a diverse group of people, with a wide range of talents and abilities. They work in all sectors of the U.S. economy, from the boardroom to the factory floor, from academia to art. Employment not only provides a paycheck, but also a sense of purpose, opportunities to learn and a chance to work with others. Most importantly, work offers hope, which is vital to recovery from mental illness. Our nation must invest in vocational strategies that work. The good news is that there are a number of effective supported employment programs. However, despite approximately $4 billion annually in federal funding for supported employment, employment rates for people with mental illness—which were abysmal to begin with—have declined even more over the last decade. This distressing trend is attributable to a number of factors. For example, many state vocational rehabilitation programs...

Exploring The Link Between Unemployment And Mental Health Outcomes

November 20, 2018October 16, 2017 by admin

The U.S. economy shed over 10 million jobs from 2007 to 2009 and gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by more than 5 percent — the largest decline since World War II. The unemployment rate soared from 5 percent to well over 9 percent, leading this period to be dubbed the Great Recession. At the height of the Great Recession the average bout of unemployment lasted half a year and some estimates suggest that half of the unemployed were out of work for more than two years. This was an economically devastating epoch in our nation’s history.

Psychologists (Eisenberg and Lazarsfield 1938) and sociologists (Jahoda et al. 1933) have argued as far back as the Great Depression that unemployment damages emotional health and undermines the social fabric of society. Psychologists draw a conceptual connection between involuntary joblessness and mental health in numerous ways such as: incomplete...

Family Interventions For Mental Disorders: Efficacy And Effectiveness

November 20, 2018October 16, 2017 by admin

The physician Henry Richardson described the role of family care in the recovery from physical and mental health problems in 1948 (1). His landmark book entitled "Patients have families" was read by a group of psychiatrists and social anthropologists at the Palo Alto Research Institute in California and became the basis of the systemic approach to family interventions (see 2 for details of this historical perspective). Unlike Richardson, these psychoanalytically trained professionals postulated that family influence was an etiological factor in serious mental disorders, rather than a key factor on the road to recovery. For many years the family system was thought to be the root of all evil and families were accused of inadvertently abusing their offspring through a variety of subtle communication strategies, such as the double-bind or communication deviance. However, these pioneers of family treatment spent considerable time with families and attempted to help them correct...

The Police and Mental Health

November 20, 2018October 16, 2017 by admin

Abstract

With deinstitutionalization and the influx into the community of persons with severe mental illness, the police have become frontline professionals who manage these persons when they are in crisis. This article examines and comments on the issues raised by this phenomenon as it affects both the law enforcement and mental health systems. Two common-law principles provide the rationale for the police to take responsibility for persons with mental illness: their power and authority to protect the safety and welfare of the community, and their parens patriae obligations to protect individuals with disabilities. The police often fulfill the role of gatekeeper in deciding whether a person with mental illness who has come to their attention should enter the mental health system or the criminal justice system. Criminalization may result if this role is not performed appropriately. The authors describe a variety of mobile crisis teams composed of police, mental health professionals, or both...

The “Center Mass” Myth and Ending a Gunfight -Triggernometry

November 20, 2018October 16, 2017 by admin

Surviving a gunfight isn’t what you think it is. Don’t let conventional wisdom get you killed. A well place round to “center mass” in your attacker may not take him out of the fight. Lots of people stay in the fight after “center mass” hits, and some even win it. If you expect to win your gunfight, you have to make sure that you have effectively ended the threat of your attacker. One, two or even several well placed “center mass” shots may not do what you think it will, and learning to recognize this before you gunfight may save your life.

There is a self styled self defense “expert” under every rock, and perhaps two behind every bush, these days. If you have a pet theory on what might work on the street then you can probably find a champion for that idea who actually charges people to teach...

Psychiatric Drugs And Mass Murder: Exploring The Connection

November 20, 2018October 14, 2017 by admin

As the country reels from news of yet another senseless mass killing in suburban Milwaukee, coming on the heels of the even more deadly massacre in Aurora, Colorado, Americans are left to wonder what could possibly be responsible for this outbreak of bloody insanity and murder. But as terrible as these two incidents were, they have an undeniable ring of familiarity about them – since the year 2000, there have been twenty-six cases of mass murder (four or more victims) in the United States, as opposed to twenty combined during the 1980s and 1990s. And before the 1980s, mass killing sprees were actually quite rare in this country, usually averaging no more than one or two per decade. So it appears we are looking at a trend of madness that began approximately thirty years ago and has been picking up steam every since.

While the anti-gun forces came out in legion following the killingsy...

Prevalence And Experience Of Harassment Of People With Mental Health Problems Living In The Community

November 20, 2018October 14, 2017 by admin

Abstract

Background The levels and experiences of harassment of people with mental health problems in the community compared with those of the general population have not been explored.

Aims To measure the levels and experience of harassment experienced by people with mental health problems in the community in Scotland and compare them with the general population.

Method Experiences of harassment were collected by interviewing 165 individuals with mental health problems and a control group of 165 people from the general population.

Results Harassment in the community was found to be twice as common for individuals with mental health problems (41%) than for those in the general population (15%). The harassment commonly involved verbal abuse referring to the individual's mental health problems and was committed primarily by teenagers and neighbours.

Conclusions Harassment has a significantly higher prevalence among individuals with mental health problems living in the community and is believed to have...