Adjustment to community residential settings over time among older adults with serious mental illnesses.

2006 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Larivière ◽  
Isabelle Gélinas ◽  
Barbara Mazer ◽  
Beverlea Tallant ◽  
Isabelle Paquette
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Residential Settings ◽  
Serious Mental Illnesses ◽  
Over Time

Enhancing Wellbeing for Older Adults With Serious Mental Illnesses: Co-Producing a Positive Psychology Course With Certified Older Adult Peer Specialists

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232199204
Author(s):  
Lydia P. Ogden
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Subjective Experiences ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Peer Specialists ◽  
Psychology Course ◽  
Serious Mental Illnesses

Compared to peers in the general population, persons aging with serious mental illnesses (SMIs) face physical health disparities, increased isolation, and decreased subjective experiences of quality of life and wellbeing. To date, limited intervention research focuses on addressing specific needs of persons aging with SMIs and no interventions targeted for that population are informed by the theory and science of positive psychology. With the aim of co-producing a positive-psychology-based program to enhance wellbeing for older adults with SMIs, the author held a series of focus groups and individual interviews with six certified older adult peer specialists. Analysis of the data developed in-depth insights into helpful processes, values, and priorities of individuals aging with SMIs, as well as the creation of a wellbeing-enhancing course curriculum.

scholarly journals Family contact and health status among older adults with serious mental illnesses.

2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly A. Aschbrenner ◽  
Kim T. Mueser ◽  
Stephen J. Bartels ◽  
Sarah I. Pratt
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Serious Mental Illnesses ◽  
Family Contact

“To fill the emptiness”: The importance of work in life history narratives of older adults with schizophrenia-spectrum diagnoses

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 556-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia P Ogden
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life History ◽  
Vocational Rehabilitation ◽  
Psychiatric Rehabilitation ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum ◽  
Vocational Goals ◽  
History Narratives ◽  
Serious Mental Illnesses

Objective: This study’s purpose was to develop an understanding of the importance and meaning of vocational histories, present-time employment status, and vocational goals for older adults who were in treatment for schizophrenia-spectrum diagnoses. Methods: The theory of cumulative adversity and advantage focused 35 semistructured interviews and 43 field observation points that developed life history narratives of seven older adults in treatment for schizophrenia-spectrum diagnoses. Thematic narrative analysis was the primary analytic strategy. Results: Five shared themes within the life history narratives connected to vocational histories: “Purpose is provided by work,” “identity in work,” “perseverance toward value-based vocational goals,” “the importance of an income,” and “illness symptoms and their treatment disrupted work.” Discussion: Findings connect to practice implications for vocational programs for persons with serious mental illnesses, suggesting that vocational services for older adults could be rehabilitative and that vocational assessments should be holistic and values oriented. Psychiatric rehabilitation programs developed specifically for older adults might benefit from the inclusion of vocational rehabilitation options that do not rule out competitive employment. Social workers must be aware of bias in the profession toward persons on the basis of age and serious mental illnesses. Conclusion: In line with current vocational rehabilitation literature, the study concludes that psychiatric rehabilitation treatment that inhibits work can have unintended negative consequences for all persons with serious mental illnesses. Those negative consequences have to potential extend into later life challenges that range from identity challenges to challenges in day-to-day survival.

Cure and Recovery

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry Davidson
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Therapeutic Agents ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Conceptual Background ◽  
History Of ◽  
Multiple Domains ◽  
Binary Functions ◽  
Serious Mental Illnesses ◽  
Over Time

This chapter briefly discusses the history of the notion of "cure" in relation to serious mental illnesses from Pinel to the present day, including both theories on the nature of the illnesses and the nature of presumed therapeutic agents and mechanisms. The chapter then gives a brief overview of the notion of "recovery" in relation to serious mental illnesses, also from Pinel to the present day, and describes various definitions and forms of recovery as they have emerged over time. With this historical and conceptual background in place, the chapter then takes up the present state-of-the-art in psychiatry in relation to both concepts of cure and recovery, considers the empirical and neuroscientific evidence available relative to each concept, and then suggests several directions for research and philosophical reflection as the field continues to evolve. Two guiding principles that shape this discussion are that mental illnesses are not one-dimensional phenomena, but may be made up of several loosely related components which each have their own natural course, and that mental illnesses do not typically take over the entirety of a person's functioning, but also leave other aspects of functioning relatively intact. The combination of these principles suggests that cure and recovery are not likely to be binary functions in relation to serious mental illnesses (i.e., yes or no), but will more likely be more a matter of degree across multiple domains.

Community participation as a predictor of depressive symptoms among individuals with serious mental illnesses

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110521
Author(s):  
Shinichi Nagata ◽  
Bryan McCormick ◽  
Eugene Brusilovskiy ◽  
Mark S Salzer
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Community Participation ◽  
Predictor Variable ◽  
Depression Score ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Symptom Index ◽  
Depression Subscale ◽  
Serious Mental Illnesses ◽  
Over Time

Background: People with serious mental illnesses have elevated levels of depressive symptoms. Limited engagement in meaningful activities, such as work, social interactions, volunteering, and participation in faith, are one plausible explanation for this. Increased community participation over time may be associated with decreased depressive symptoms. Aim: Examine whether an increase in participation over time predicts a decrease in depression after controlling for depression at the baseline. Methods: Participants were 183 adults with schizophrenia spectrum, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder who completed the Hopkins Symptom Index – Depression subscale and the Temple University Community Participation Measure. Participants completed these measures at baseline and either a 12- or 24-month follow-up timepoint. Multiple regression analyses were conducted with the depression score as a dependent variable and changes in community participation as a predictor variable. Demographics, baseline depression score, and time interval between baseline and last observation were entered as control variables. Results: Endorsing more activities as important, participating in more important areas that are important, and participating ‘enough’ in more important areas over time were each significant predictors of decreases in depression. Conclusion: These findings enhance the connection between community participation and depression and suggest that a focus on participation may be important in terms of boosting both community functioning and treatment goals.

Wellness for life: A pilot of an interprofessional intervention to address metabolic syndrome in adults with serious mental illnesses.

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Gill ◽  
Michelle Zechner ◽  
Ellen Zambo Anderson ◽  
Margaret Swarbrick ◽  
Ann Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Serious Mental Illnesses
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document