New Family Care Model Aids At-Risk Families

Monday, September 7, 2009

Many families struggle on a day-to-day basis with insufficient in-home care or problematic out-of-home care for their emotionally or behaviorally troubled children and adolescents. Researchers have recently shown that an integrative family care model, which incorporates the strengths of external agencies and care providers, may be the answer. The latest issue of Family Process features this new model.

The I-FAST system was developed specifically to assist families dealing with a diversity of ongoing, severe, emotional and behavioral issues. Its foundational techniques are based on evidence-based practices found within the mental health and psychotherapy communities.

I-FAST allows clinicians, therapists, case managers, and agencies working with at-risk children, adolescents, and families to modify and creatively tailor their approach to meet the needs of their clients. These measures can not only improve the child's and family's situation and overall functioning level, but can also reduce frequent out-of-home placements and train parents to directly care for their children's problems at the home with less difficulty.

The model empowers agencies such as community mental health centers to further utilize their therapists' strengths, skills and expertise. This practice in turn leads to a less costly operation. It encourages agencies to develop and cater their own home-based treatment and protocol rather than continually depend on external clinical support and monitoring. It also reduces the need for families to rely on out-of-home support at psychiatric hospitals or residential treatment facilities to handle the problems in their children.

This study is published in the September 2009 issue of Family Process.

Mo Yee Lee, PhD is a Professor at the College of Social Work at Ohio State University and has led several studies on integrative and creative social care for families.

Source:
Bethany Carland-Adams
Wiley-Blackwell

MedicalNewsToday.Com

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Comfort Place and Best Program of Drugs Addiction Curing

Thursday, August 20, 2009

All of us definitely have known about the danger effects of someone when he/ she has been addicted to something dangerous and harm such as alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex and many more. In the aspect of social; such addiction certainly will affect their productivity that makes them lose spirit of working, do not care of family, get trap in many debts and many more. While in the aspect of health; it is so dangerous and can cause kinds of serious illness; moreover the addiction to opiates and alcohol, it can easily harm vital organs of body and cause fatal.

Of course, no one is willing to see the beloved one get addicted to drugs and other dangerous things for it can damage the future and even cause death. That is why an intensive care and good education have to be given well to al of your children because some addiction in many people usually happen in someone who needs care and friends to share problems of life. But, if it has happened in your beloved one; don’t let it continue and make such an addiction intervention to them before everything has been too late.

Just visit Chapmanrehab.com and find the information about the qualified rehabilitation house inside. Yes, it is the official site of Chapman House Inc that has been handling and treating addiction for 30 years. You can bring your addicted beloved one here and get the best drug detox system that is usually used to cure the patients. The detoxification is the process of the cleaning from drugs so there is no remaining that can cause more drugs needs. Beside, you can also be sure about the curing program here for your beloved one will not feel like in the prison while having treatment here. It has nice place as the drug rehabilitation center; comfort place like home. So, don’t wait too long till you get a fatal cause of the drugs addition. Visit the site and find more information inside.

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Hurricane Survivors Experience Long-Term Mental Health Distress

Thursday, June 5, 2008

As the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) works to close the last trailer parks that many Gulf-area hurricane survivors call home this weekend, the findings of a new study suggest that displacement affects survivors' mental health. More than half of the study participants reported significant long-term mental health distress, even as they moved back to their original communities. These findings are published in the latest issue of the American Medical Association (AMA) Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness journal.

The study, "Prevalence and Predictors of Mental Health Distress Post-Katrina," measured mental health distress and disability among members of more than a thousand households in Louisiana and Mississippi who lived in areas greatly affected by Hurricane Katrina or who were forced to evacuate after the storm. Poor physical health, moving often, and living in unsafe neighborhoods were among the significant factors of people more likely to have poor mental health. People with children in the household were also more likely to exhibit higher levels of mental health distress as the study suggests having a responsibility for others, particularly children, during a time of uncertainty and chaos, may lead to such distress.

"People who did not have strong informal support networks, who were afraid in their community, or who were more fatalistic were far more likely to exhibit mental health distress and disability," says lead study author David Abramson, PhD, MPH, Director of Research at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

Participants were interviewed face-to-face six to 12 months after Katrina, and a telephone follow-up was conducted at 20 to 23 months after the disaster. Over time, several factors were associated with better mental health - including a functional social network and a positive state of mind.

"These findings show that rebuilding communities - and their social support networks - can greatly contribute to people's recovery," Dr. Abramson concludes.

Additional articles in the June issue of the AMA disaster journal include:

• Unexplained Deaths in Connecticut during 2002-2003: Failure to Consider Category A Bioterrorism Agents in Differential Diagnoses"



• Cash Grants in Humanitarian Assistance: An NGO Experience in Aceh, Indonesia Following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami"



• Secondary Contamination of Medical Personnel, Equipment, and Facilities Resulting from Hazardous Materials Events"

This article is available ahead of print and the full journal will publish June 3.

About AMA's Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness Journal

The AMA Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness Journal was created to promote public health preparedness and the science of disaster medicine. It is the first comprehensive, peer-reviewed publication emphasizing public health preparedness and disaster response. The journal is published for the AMA by leading health care publisher Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Taken from : http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/

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Understanding Single Parent Psychology and Mental Health

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Extramarital pregnancy, divorce, and abandonment of one parent are some reasons why there are single parents. What most people don�t know is, these occurrences are life-changing as they can be traumatic for the single parent and the child, making them often misunderstood. That makes the study of a single parent�s psychology and mental health important.

Studies have reported that there are more child and adolescent problems for households with single parents rather than those with the �normal� set-up. While most single parents may disagree, it is understandable why the statistics say so.

For one, a single parent has limited time in his hands. Managing a household with another person is difficult in itself. What more if you have to do it alone. That�s why it is important for a single parent to make a daily or weekly schedule of his activities. That way, he can find time to do all the things that need to be done, including some time off for leisure and relaxation.

Also, a parent may have financial problems, as he is the only one earning for the family. He must learn to save his money by learning to set aside a portion of it as it comes. Also, he must learn to make a few sure investments.

Of course, if one becomes a single parent because of a divorce or death of the spouse, there are more problems that he needs to face. It is normal for him to feel sad or depressed, so allow him to have some time to grieve. Friends can help in the moving on process. This is also devastating for the child, so the parent must learn to show his support to the child instead of focusing on his grief alone. Parent and child can help each other to shorten grieving time.

Lastly, the single parent may feel alone and rejected. So he must learn to nurture himself. Eat and sleep well. Exercise on a regular basis, or engage in a sport that you like. Join a church group or association in your community.

To minimize incidence of child problems like school dropouts, early pregnancy and juvenile behavior, a single parent must learn to communicate well with his child. Spend more quality time with him. Engage in an activity that you both can enjoy. Regularly monitor his progress in school.

What resources are available for the single parent? He may join a group or organization of single parents like him. In this venue, members can share and discuss their common problems and experiences such as coping with divorce and raising kids. Educational activities like lectures by professionals and training seminars as well as other recreational activities are organized to help the single parent cope with his situation.

There are also websites which support single parents. Many parent resources can be found in the internet like chat rooms, forums, newsletters, articles and other forms of literature that they can share.

Knowing single parent psychology and mental health will make us understand single parents and their children better. Being a single parent is a challenging job. With limited time and finances, he has to cope with the challenge of raising a child as well. But with tolerance and understanding from people around him, the job will not be as difficult as it is already.

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