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The purpose of this paper is to explore newly graduated nurses’ experiences of their preparation for psychiatric nursing practice in Malawi. Knowledge of how basic or undergraduate nursing training programs prepare nurses for mental health services will inform educators to maximize the teaching and learning processes. Students are a key stakeholder in professional training hence an understanding of their experiences of training programs is critical.

A qualitative exploratory study was undertaken. In total, 16 newly graduated nurses with six months work experience at three psychiatric hospitals in Malawi were purposively sampled and recruited into the study. One to one interviews which lasted almost 45 minutes were conducted. Data were analyzed using content analysis.

Findings show that training programs fall short in preparing students for psychiatric nursing practice. Participants reported little attention to the specialty as compared to other specialties by educators. Inadequate academic support during practice sessions was highlighted by the majority of participants.

The study needed to compare the findings with experiences of students who have been allocated to other nursing specialties.

Psychiatric nursing specialty remains the least preferred career choice for many nursing students. However, preservice nursing education programs are expected to socialize, motivate and prepare students for psychiatric practice as well. It is therefore critical to understand gaps that exist in student preparation for psychiatric nursing services in order to improve mental health training.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the effects of two types of community-based, residential treatment programs among justice involved persons with dual diagnoses.

A randomized clinical trial examined treatment conditions among justice involved persons with substance use disorders who reported high baseline levels of psychiatric severity indicative of diagnosable psychiatric comorbidity. Participants (n=39) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions upon discharge from inpatient treatment for substance use disorders: a professionally staffed, integrated residential treatment setting (therapeutic community), a self-run residential setting (Oxford House), or a treatment-specific aftercare referral (usual care). Levels of psychiatric severity, a global estimate of current psychopathological problem severity, were measured at two years as the outcome.

Participants randomly assigned to residential conditions reported significant reductions in psychiatric severity whereas those assigned to the usual care condition reported significant increases. There were no significant differences in psychiatric severity levels between residential conditions.

Findings suggest that cost-effective, self-run residential settings such as Oxford Houses provide benefits comparable to professionally run residential integrated treatments for justice involved persons who have dual diagnoses.

Results support the utilization of low-cost, community-based treatments for a highly marginalized population.

Little is known about residential treatments that reduce psychiatric severity for this population. Results extend the body of knowledge regarding the effects of community-based, residential integrated treatment and the Oxford House model.

Police officers are increasingly interacting with individuals with mental illnesses. Officers who encounter these persons have three choices: detain, arrest and transport to a correctional facility; resolve the situation informally; or initiate an involuntary psychiatric admission. The decision to place someone under an involuntary psychiatric admission is based on a variety of factors. This paper aims to collaborate with two metropolitan Police Departments in South Florida to explore individual and departmental factors that contribute to involuntary psychiatric admissions initiated by their officers.

This investigation examined 1,625 police reports of involuntary psychiatric admissions in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Descriptive statistics for the entire sample were computed, and percentages of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)-trained officers for both departments in each year were determined.

Results highlighted differences in rates of involuntary commitments, CIT-trained officers and associated variables (e.g. mental health diagnoses, substance use) between the two cities.

Implications of the findings, and directions that future research in this area might take, are discussed.

There is a dearth of literature pertaining to involuntary psychiatric admissions in general and factors specific to involuntary psychiatric admissions initiated by police. This paper adds preliminary findings and implications to this body of research.

Evidence suggests high rates of psychiatric disorders in bariatric surgery candidates (e.g. Mitchell et al., 2012), although no rigorous studies have examined the prevalence in a Canadian sample. Improved understanding of the prevalence of psychopathology among female patients is an important area of study, as females comprise approximately 80 percent of surgical candidates (Martin et al., 2010; Padwal, 2005). The purpose of this paper is to assess the prevalence of Axis I disorders and associations with quality of life in a Canadian sample of female bariatric surgery candidates.

Female patients (n=257) were assessed using a structured psychodiagnostic interview and completed a health-related quality of life questionnaire.

Results indicated that 57.2 percent of patients met DSM-IV-TR criteria for a lifetime psychiatric disorder and 18.3 percent met criteria for a current psychiatric disorder. Major depressive disorder was the most common lifetime psychiatric disorder (35.0 percent) and binge eating disorder was the most prevalent current psychiatric disorder (6.6 percent). Patients scored significantly lower than Canadian population norms on all domains of the SF-36 (all p's<0.001). Patients with a current Axis I disorder also reported significantly worse functioning on four mental health domains and one physical health domain (p's<0.01) compared to patients without a current Axis I disorder.

Results confirm high rates of psychiatric disorders in Canadian female bariatric surgery candidates and provide evidence for associated functional health impairment. Further study is needed to elucidate how pre-operative psychopathology may impact female patients’ post-operative outcomes.

Although substance misuse by adolescents is widespread, few previous studies have investigated illicit drug use in adolescent psychiatric populations. The literature on adolescent substance misuse has focused on risk factors, and protective factors have received little or no attention. The study examined substance misuse and its correlates among young people referred to a regional adolescent psychiatric service. Co‐morbidity of substance misuse and psychiatric disorder was discussed, and the possible role of substance misuse as a gateway to adolescent offending examined. Recommendations for the development of adolescent substance misuse services are made.

The purpose of this paper is to describe mental health-related contact with educational professionals amongst children in the British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Survey (BCAMHS) 2004.

BCAMHS 2004 was a community-based survey of 5,325 children aged 5-16, with follow-up in 2007. This paper reports the percentage of children with a psychiatric disorder that had mental health-related contact with education professionals (categorised as teachers or specialist education services) and the percentage with specific types of psychiatric disorders amongst those contacting services.

Two-thirds (66.1 per cent, 95 per cent CI: 62.4-69.8 per cent) of children with a psychiatric disorder had contact with a teacher regarding their mental health and 31.1 per cent (95 per cent CI: 27.5-34.7 per cent) had contact with special education either in 2004 or 2007, or both. Over half of children reporting special education contact (55.1 per cent, 95 per cent CI: 50.0-60.2 per cent) and almost a third reporting teacher contact in relation to mental health (32.1 per cent, 95 per cent CI: 29.7-34.6 per cent) met criteria for a psychiatric disorder.

Many children in contact with education professionals regarding mental health experienced clinical levels of difficulty. Training is needed to ensure that contact leads to prompt intervention and referral if necessary.

This is the first paper to report on mental health-related service contact with education professionals in the 2004 BCAMHS survey along with its 2007 follow-up. It identifies high levels of teacher contact which represent challenges in supporting staff with training, resources and access to mental health services.

Despite the rising number of females in forensic psychiatry, research about their characteristics remains limited and is currently lacking in Belgium. Optimizing knowledge about the characteristics of these women will lead to a better understanding of this specific group. Therefore, the aim of the study was to gain insight into the characteristics of female forensic psychiatric patients in Flanders, Belgium.

A case file study was carried out in the forensic psychiatric hospital Sint-Jan-Baptist in Zelzate, Belgium. The files of female patients admitted in the period 2006–2017 were analysed (N = 82) based on a checklist including sociodemographic, mental health care and offence-related characteristics as well as historical risk factors.

The study revealed that female patients have been confronted with a large number of adverse experiences during both childhood and adulthood, were frequently diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and usually had an extensive mental health treatment history with many drop-outs. The majority of the female patients had committed violent offences towards relatives.

These findings are similar to those of other jurisdictions and highlight the importance of a gender-responsive treatment. This kind of treatment should include trauma-informed care, gender-sensitive risk-assessment and adapted versions of dialectical behavioural therapy and schema-focussed therapy. Additionally, treatment should focus on breaking the intergenerational transmission of violence and mental health problems by targeting parenting skills.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that scientifically scrutinized the detailed characteristics of female forensic psychiatric patients in Flanders, Belgium. Recommendations for gender-responsive treatment and directions for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the quality of healthcare offered by a Greek Public Psychiatric Clinic. Special attention is paid to the degree to which the Clinic promotes human rights, social inclusion, and autonomy.

The paper opted for an exploratory study using the open-ended approach of grounded theory, including 21 depth interviews with patients, staff members and patients’ relatives, documentation review and observation by an independent assessment team consisting of the author, a sociologist with mental disabilities, and a psychologist using the World Health Organization QualityRights tool kit which uses the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as its frame. The data complemented by a group discussion with employees in another Clinic of the same hospital.

The paper provides empirical insights about how the steps taken by the Psychiatric Clinic to address several of the themes drawn from the CRPD require either improvement or initiation to comply fully with the convention's themes, and how this compares unfavorably with the Urology Clinic.

Sample size and restriction of the data to only one mental health facility limit the generalizibility of the results. Staff who reported professional burnout and cuts in wages may have been be susceptible to recall bias due to current negative mood. Respondent patients may also have failed to disclose their true experiences due to fear of punishment.

The paper uses a new methodology and instrument to assess current practice in mental health facilities in relation to international human rights standards emanating from the CRPD as well as the degree of parity between mental health and general health services.

A review of literature concerning the over‐representation of young, African‐Caribbean males within secure psychiatric services.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of liaison and diversion services working in the lower courts (also known as Magistrates’ courts) with regard to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and their assessment, in particular, the role of pre-sentence and psychiatric reports and interviews.

Current practice is described in the lower courts in the context of current legislation and procedures.

When writing reports, there is a need for expertise to offer an opinion on future risk, disposal and what needs to be in place to support people with ASDs. No assumptions should be made when reporting on the basis of an ASD diagnosis alone and each case must be assessed on its individual merits while ensuring that individual human rights are protected.

There is currently a sparse literature examining ASD in court settings. This paper seeks to clarify the current practice.