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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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Deprivation, Discrimination, Human Rights Violation, And Mental Health Of The Deprived

November 19, 2018October 17, 2017 by admin

INTRODUCTION

Human behavior is conceived of as an outcome of genetic and biochemical characteristics, past learning experiences, motivational states, psycho-social antecedents, and the cultural context in which it unfolds[1] Culture plays a complex role in the natural history and psycho-social development of human behavior[2] comprising of customs, beliefs, values, knowledge, and skills.[3] Social norms, the shared rules that specify appropriate and inappropriate behaviors;[4] mores, that people consider vital to their well-being and to their most cherished values,[5] and sanctions, the socially imposed rewards and punishments that compel people to comply with norms,[6] constitute important ingredients of a culture. Orlandi et al. (1992),[2] define culture as shared values, beliefs, norms, traditions, customs, art, history, folklore, and institutions of a group of people. A society which is a cohesive group of people shares all the ingredients of the culture among its members...

Injunction Sought to Bar DSHS from Using Jail Settings for Mental Health Competency Services

November 18, 2018October 17, 2017 by admin

Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit A.B/Trueblood v. DSHS filed a motion last night in U.S. District Court seeking a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). The TRO would prevent the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) from violating the Court’s order requiring DSHS to ensure that competency restoration treatment is provided in a therapeutic environment similar to what is found at state psychiatric hospitals. Instead of creating a plan to increase capacity at the state psychiatric hospitals, DSHS developed a competency restoration program in a Yakima jail wholly unsuitable for treating people with mental illness.

“The use of jails to treat people with mental illness is inhumane, and a plain violation of the Court’s order. It is an unsafe practice that is further evidence of this State’s continued disregard of its legal obligations,” said La Rond Baker, ACLU-WA Staff Attorney.

The underlying lawsuit was filed in 2014 on behalf of people with mental...

Discharged From A Mental Health Admission Ward: Is It Safe To Go Home? A Review On The Negative Outcomes Of Psychiatric Hospitalization

November 18, 2018October 17, 2017 by admin

Abstract

Before psychiatry emerged as a medical discipline, hospitalizing individuals with mental disorders was more of a social stigmatizing act than a therapeutic act. After the birth of the mental health disciplines, psychiatric hospitalization was legitimized and has proven to be indispensable, preventing suicides and helping individuals in need. However, despite more than a century passing since this legitimization occurred, psychiatric hospitalization remains a controversial issue. There is the question of possible negative outcomes after a psychiatric admission ceases to take its protective effect, and even of whether the psychiatric admission itself is related to a negative setback after discharge. This review aims to summarize some of the most important negative outcomes after discharge from a psychiatric institution. These experiences were organized into two groups: those after a brief psychiatric hospitalization, and those after a long-stay admission. The author further suggests possible ways to minimize these..

Human Rights Group: Mexican Mental Hospitals Performing Lobotomies Without Consent

November 18, 2018October 17, 2017 by admin

Ten years ago a human rights group released a scathing, ground-breaking report on abusive, decrepit conditions in Mexican institutions for the mentally and physically disabled, moving the country to promise change and to take the lead in writing international agreements to protect the disabled.

But in a new report released Tuesday, the group, Disability Rights International, working with a Mexican human rights organization, said a yearlong investigation revealed “atrocious and abusive conditions” that included lobotomies performed without consent, children missing from orphanages, widespread filth and squalor and a lack of medical care.

At one institution here in the capital, which a reporter visited with investigators from the groups, men walked around half-naked, feces littered a yard, bed sheets were missing, the smell of urine permeated a day room, bathroom faucets malfunctioned and patients lay sprawled on several patches of grass....

Anger Disorder (Part Two): Can Bitterness Become a Mental Disorder?

November 18, 2018October 17, 2017 by admin

To fellow PT blogger, literary professor Christopher Lane--and the American PsychiatricAssociation's DSM-V Task Force-- I say, yes, you bet, as to whether bitterness can become problematical enough in some cases to warrant being deemed a mental disorder. Emphatically yes.

Bitterness, which I define as a chronic and pervasive state of smoldering resentment, is one of the most destructive and toxic of human emotions. Bitterness is a kind of morbid characterological hostility toward someone, something or toward life itself, resulting from the consistent repression of anger, rage or resentment regarding how one really has or perceives to have been treated. Bitterness is a prolonged, resentful feeling of disempowered and devalued victimization. Embitterment, like resentment and hostility, results from the long-term mismanagement of annoyance, irritation, frustration, anger or rage. Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche noted that "nothing consumes a man more quickly than the emotion of resentment."

Most mental disorders stem either directly from--or secondarily generate--anger, rage, ...