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Mental health problems

Mental health care co-ordinators' perspectives on carers' assessments

In the UK, there are around 1.5 million carers of people with mental health problems providing substantial amounts of free care. Despite having a legal right to a ‘carer's assessment’, only a minority of mental health carers have had such an assessment.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:11

Working with families in mental health: some pointers from research

This article looks at one model of how mental health professionals relate to carers and families.  It then goes on to consider some research on aspects of the family environment, and the impact that mental illness has on how clients and families relate to one another.  Finally it offers suggestions as to how this material might be relevant to our approach to social work in mental health.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:11

Separating the personal from the professional

The author had a shock when she visited her mother in India and discovered the realities of caring for a person with mental health problems. Here she describes the difficulties that many carers cope with on a daily basis.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:10

Gatekeepers, proxies, advocates? The evolving role of carers under mental health and mental incapacity law reforms

This article explores the potential impact of the mental health and mental incapacity law reforms on carers. The reform proposals anticipate a number of overlapping and at times conflicting roles for carers (including those of gatekeeper, decision-making proxy and advocate), which is suggestive of an ongoing ambivalence toward the caring role at the level of ethics, policy and strategic planning.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:10

A general practice-based prevalence study of epilepsy among adults with intellectual disabilities and of its association with psychiatric disorder, behaviour disturbance and carer stress

BACKGROUND: Although the elevated occurrence of epilepsy in people with intellectual disabilities (ID) is well recognized, the nature of seizures and their association with psychopathology and carer strain are less clearly understood. The aims were to determine the prevalence and features of epilepsy in a community-based population of adults with ID, and to explore whether the presence of epilepsy was associated with greater psychopathology or carer strain.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:10

Developing a joint mental health strategy for elders

Reports on the development of a joint mental health strategy for older people in a central London Borough. The project brought together clinicians and practitioners from a variety of settings, the voluntary sector, and users and carers. The aim of the project was to develop a shared philosophy of care based on promoting independence and from this to identify the components of a spectrum of care that would meet the wide range of needs of elders with mental ill health. The borough had high levels of deprivation, unemployment and poor housing.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:10

Scoping studies: towards a methodological framework

This paper focuses on scoping studies, an approach to reviewing the literature which to date has received little attention in the research methods literature. We distinguish between different types of scoping studies and indicate where these stand in relation to full systematic reviews. We outline a framework for conducting a scoping study based on our recent experiences of reviewing the literature on services for carers for people with mental health problems. Where appropriate, our approach to scoping the field is contrasted with the procedures followed in systematic reviews.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:10

Personalised caregiver support: effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in subgroups of caregivers of people with dementia

Objective: Insight into the characteristics of caregivers for whom psychosocial interventions are effective is important for care practice. Until now no systematic reviews were conducted into the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for caregiver subgroups.

Methods: To gain insight into this relationship between caregiver subgroups and intervention outcomes, a first review study was done. This study reviews the personal characteristics of caregivers of people with dementia for whom psychosocial interventions were effective.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:10

Quality of life and social isolation among caregivers of adults with schizophrenia: policy and outcomes

Services have been increasingly directed at supporting carers of people living with mental illness but it is difficult to evaluate the impact of service change where benchmarks for carer functioning are sparse. Sixty Australian carers were assessed regarding their quality of life, psychological distress, social isolation and caregiving experience. Their scores were compared with two matched community samples and previous studies. Carers were ten times more likely to be socially isolated and quality of life was significantly less than matched community samples.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:10

Decisions, decisions

The Mental Capacity Act comes into full effect on 1 October 2007. This article aims to provide answers to some of the most frequent voiced questions and misapprehensions from mental health service users, carers, and practitioners about what the Act will mean to them.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:10