Psychiatric services : a journal of the American Psychiatric Association
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Some opinion leaders and mental health experts have called for replacing diagnostic terms such as schizophrenia with words that are less stigmatizing and that more clearly reflect recovery. Although the author notes that such efforts are laudable, he describes three concerns in regard to diagnostic relabeling. ⋯ The focus on relabeling makes stigma change look easy, which undermines the stigma change agenda. The author points to lessons that can be learned from other efforts to promote civil rights.
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This study compared recidivism outcomes among criminal offenders with mental illness who were assigned to a mental health court (MHC) or a traditional criminal court. It also explored potential differences in outcomes between subgroups of offenders, including felony and misdemeanor offenders and violent and nonviolent offenders. ⋯ The results suggest that an MHC can be effective in reducing recidivism among offenders with mental illness and also indicate that persons who commit more severe offenses may be appropriate candidates for MHC.
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This column describes the current state of resources and practice in mental health care in the Anglophone countries of West Africa: the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, and Liberia. Information was systematically gathered from the five countries by using a standard framework for country situation analysis. ⋯ Challenges include manpower development, policy and legislation updates, and increased attention to policy and budget. Although mental health service is still grossly inadequate in the context of human and material constraints, there are slowly evolving signs of positive modernization and service development.
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This study assessed knowledge of neurotic disorders, and attitudes and preferences toward professional help and treatment for them, among general medical outpatients in general hospitals in Xi'an, China. ⋯ Study results underscore the need for information campaigns aimed at improving the mental health literacy of general medical outpatients. Such campaigns must consider culturally relevant beliefs to facilitate the development of specific educational programs.
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Two federal reports dating from 1999 and 2006 are by far the most widely cited sources for the prevalence of mental illness among persons in U. S. jails and prisons. To provide a broader picture of the issue, the author undertook a systematic review of 28 articles published between 1989 and 2013. Not only did the review confirm the high prevalence of mental illnesses among prisoners, it identified a litany of health problems associated with the incarceration of persons with mental illness and profound difficulties in finding housing and employment after release.