Monday, July 26, 2004

Geriatric Psychiatry: A Subspecialty Whose Time Has Come
Editorial introducing a special issue of the Journal of the Canadian Psychiatric Association - "As the demographic imperative increases with the aging of our society, the need for geriatric psychiatry services will continue to grow. This will lead to increasing demands in an already underserviced area. Recruitment to geriatric psychiatry suffers because it tends to be an 'acquired taste,' with residents recognizing their interest after clinical rotations, often late in their training. Subspecialty recognition will strengthen the awareness and the profile of geriatric psychiatry, increasing the likelihood of recruitment into the practice. It will lead to national standards and specific training requirements, improving the education of subspecialists and general psychiatrists alike. This will be advantageous not only for our profession but also for our patients..." See also, in the same issue, Canadian Outcomes Study in Dementia: Study Methods and Patient Characteristics, Exploring the Links Between Depression, Integrity, and Hope in the Elderly and Defining Best Practices for Specialty Geriatric Mental Health Outreach Services: Lessons for Implementing Mental Health Reform, all in Adobe Acrobat format.  
  

Risk of suicidal behaviour is similar for SSRIs and tricyclics
Brief item in the British Medical Journal on the study publiched in JAMA noted here last week - "Risk of suicidal behaviour after starting to take antidepressants was similar for four antidepressant drugs, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants..." See also the "rapid responses" feature that allows BMJ subscribers to post substantive responses.  
  

Homes for Special Care program does not meet needs of all residents: study
Item in CMHA/Ontario's Mental Health Notes - "Among a group of residents with schizophrenia spectrum disorders living in Homes for Special Care, more than half could live independently with intensive support while almost 40 percent require more support than they are currently receiving, according to the results of a needs assessment planning project described in Schizophrenia Bulletin. The Ontario-based Homes for Special Care program provides board and care for people who are discharged from psychiatric hospitals. According to the authors of the study, the program was designed as a custodial model and has been criticized for not changing in response to the model of recovery for people with schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses..." See also the abstract in Schizophrenia Bulletin (full text is available for a fee).  
  

Task force outlines mental health plan for Illinois children (Illinois)
News-Gazette story - "Barbara Shaw and fellow members of the Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership embarked on a five-city Illinois tour this week, promoting the task force's preliminary mental health plan for Illinois children. ... The goal is to build a coordinated system of prevention, early intervention and treatment for children and their families through schools, communities and health care agencies."  
  

Program seeks to keep patients out of ER (South Carolina)
Times and Democrat story - "Health care officials say hospitals are the not appropriate place to take mentally ill patients as the state cuts mental health funding. The Orangeburg Area Mental Health Center has applied for a grant from the South Carolina Department of Mental Health to enhance its crisis stabilization program which is designed to tackle the issue. The dual purpose of the grants is for mental health centers to implement programs to help reduce the numbers of people with mental illness waiting in local emergency departments and to reduce the number of beds used in the state's two psychiatric hospitals..."  
  

Forum challenges mental illness labels (Oregon)
Gazette-Times story - "Mental health issues carry an almost unshakeable stigma, and a set of preconceived notions about what is 'normal' and what is not. For those who work directly with the mentally ill, and those who struggle with both illness and its labels, confronting the issues surrounding psychiatric labels is a step toward shattering those stereotypes. Sunday, a group of area residents gathered at the Oddfellowship Hall in downtown Corvallis to discuss human rights for people with psychiatric labels, hoping to move from oppression of those individuals into a realm of awareness and wellness..."  
  

Mental health consumers to run Main Link (Pennsylvania)
Story in the Daily & Sunday Review - "The Main Link of Sayre, a support center for mental health consumers that is planning to open a branch in Towanda, has some unique aspects. The day-to-day operations of The Main Link are run by mental health consumers, and that is unusual, according to Mark Beauchemin, one of the organization's two paid executive directors..."