Other Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Rewriting Kendra’S Law: A More Ethical Approach To Mental Health Treatment, James Diven

Pace Law Review

Michelle Go was pushed in front of a subway car by a man suffering from schizophrenia that had fallen through the cracks of New York’s mental health care system. Michelle’s death was imminent because the severely ill man had every right to be on the streets under present law. This note will discuss the problems with New York’s mental hygiene laws that prevent courts from mandating treatment even when treatment is in the state’s best interest.

Michelle’s death is not unique. Historically, New York has struggled to enact effective legislation governing the treatment of mentally ill individuals. As a result, …

Broken Promises: The Granite State’S Return To The Institutionalization Of Children With Disabilities, Elizabeth Trautz

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

In 1975, the New Hampshire legislature enacted a progressive statute which mandated the Department of Health and Human Services “to establish, maintain, implement and coordinate a comprehensive service delivery system for developmentally disabled persons.” This law was innovative for its time; it decreed that individual service plans (ISPs) be developed for every client in the state’s service delivery system, guaranteed “a right to adequate and humane habilitation and treatment[,]” and contemplated the state’s area agency system as we know it today. The statute was a steppingstone for the 1981 class action lawsuit of Garrity v. Gallen. This was one of …

Insights From Nursing Students About Factors Affecting And Strategies Supporting Their Mental Health, Saima Hirani, Ambreen Tharani, Zohra Jetha, Shehla Khan

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: Nursing students experience high stress and mental health issues. It is essential to pay adequate attention to students’ mental health so they are trained to deliver quality patient care in complex settings. In order to provide a healthy environment to student nurses, it is essential that nursing students’ voices are heard. This study aims to explore nursing students’ perceptions about factors that influence their mental health and understand strategies that support mental health during nursing education.

Methods: The study used an exploratory descriptive qualitative design to achieve the objective. Purposive sampling was used to recruit nursing students from a …

Parent And Child Anxiety Evaluated During An Early Period Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study, Karla M. Abela, Darlene Acorda, Stanley Cron, Geri Lobiondo-Wood

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: The objective of this study was to explore parent and child anxiety during the pandemic. Unlike previous pandemics, measures implemented to prevent the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been much more limiting.

Methods: An explanatory convergent mixed-methods design was used to describe anxiety of children 9–17 years of age and their parents during August–October 2020. Adult and child versions of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used to examine levels as measured on STAI’s state-anxiety subscale. Web-based interviews with a subset of patients were conducted qualitatively to analyze anxiety-related themes.

Results: A total of 188 parents …

“My Attitude On Telehealth Has Completely Changed.”: Facilitators And Barriers To Implementing Technology For Care Delivery In Community Mental Health Centers, Suzanne Meller, Justin Tauscher, Dror Ben-Zeev

Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision

The purpose of this study was to explore facilitators and barriers aiding community mental health centers in implementing technology-assisted care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Six key informants were interviewed and 28 clinicians were surveyed from three community mental health centers. Interviews focused on technology-assisted care implementation efforts and factors that facilitated adoption. Surveys focused on clinician beliefs and experience with technology-assisted care in addition to training needs. Barriers to technology-assisted care implementation included beliefs about the quality of virtual services and a lack of technology access. An increase in service utilization was reported. Technology-assisted care facilitators included reimbursement policy changes …

The Lived Experience Of Postpartum Anxiety During Covid-19: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Walker Ladd Phd, Jenny De Decker

The Qualitative Report

The experience of pregnancy and postpartum anxiety disorders results in adverse birth outcomes and the disrupted development of infants and children. Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated pregnant and postpartum women as more vulnerable to COVID-19 (CDC, 2021), and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders rates have increased. However, research regarding the lived experience of women with postpartum anxiety (PPA) during a global pandemic remains lacking. Using van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological research method, we interviewed eight women self-identifying as having had PPA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis revealed five themes describing the lived …

Gender Dysphoria Versus Acute Psychosis: Can One Properly Diagnose Gender Dysphoria Solely During Acute Psychosis?, Kristy A. Fisher, Samantha Scemla, Clara L. Alvarez Villalba, Jessica Kroin

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Gender dysphoria occurs when a discrepancy between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity causes distress or impairment in function, which can lead ultimately to seeking treatment in the forms of psychotherapy, hormonal therapy, and/or gender-affirming surgery. Clinical care guidelines also recommend pharmacological treatment of psychiatric comorbidities if indicated. A review of the current literature demonstrates comorbidity between gender dysphoria and psychosis, including cases of gender dysphoria with schizophrenia and the occurrence of gender dysphoria symptoms during manic or psychotic episodes. The existing literature has yet to specifically examine gender dysphoria amongst individuals with schizoaffective disorder. The authors …

Alzheimer's And Patient Caregiver Burnout: A Review Of The Literature, Madeline Hekeler

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

The term “silent epidemic” is fitting for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as its negative impact is widely felt but rarely discussed. Burnout among AD caregivers has become an epidemic of its own as caregivers experience an increase in health risks, stress, and financial burden. This literature review focuses on caregiver burnout and how imperative it is that caregivers are better supported in their role. Researchers have developed instruments to assess and intervene in caregiver burnout that have shown effectiveness among caregivers and their families.Nevertheless, further longitudinal research is warranted regarding more effective interventions, including stress management and social support mechanisms.

Association Between Diagnosed Anxiety And Depression And Exposure To Life Stressors During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Emily Hallgren Phd, Don E. Willis Phd, Brett Rowland Ma, James P. Selig Phd, Pearl A. Mcelfish Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Research suggests that mental health disorders heighten the risk of exposure to life stressors. Drawing on a sample of 754 adults from a survey distributed at six primary care clinics, we examine whether adults who reported ever being diagnosed with depression or anxiety were more likely to experience an employment disruption, a housing disruption, and/or report more COVID-19-related stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals who reported ever being diagnosed with depression reported a greater burden (B=.75) of COVID-19-related stressors. Those who reported ever being diagnosed with anxiety had higher odds of experiencing an employment disruption (OR=1.90) and a housing disruption …

Women Just Wanna Have Time: Wellness Innovation Research, Jessica Long, Julia Simon, Victoria Demartelly, Candice Norcott, Adrianne Dade

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: Studies show that the stress that resident physicians endure, particularly female residents, can have a negative impact on one’s overall well-being. Many interventional studies have explored the impact that mindfulness, meditation, and exercise have on stress, a negative influencer of well-being. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate how short, self-led mindfulness, meditation, and movement exercises impacted OB/GYN residents at a university-based program.

Methods: Participants voluntarily enrolled in a self-led program (fall 2019 – spring 2020) encompassing movement, mindfulness, and meditative activities, for which they received instructions by email detailing six 21-day cycles (requiring 15 minutes of daily …

The Gender Freedom Model: A Framework For Helping Transgender, Non-Binary, And Gender Questioning Clients Transition With More Ease, Rae Mcdaniel, Laurel Meng

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

Transgender/non-binary experiences and identities are often represented in academic literature through narratives of distress and are often pathologized through a medical lens. This holds implications for the field of psychotherapy, as interventions aimed to support transgender/nonbinary individuals often focus solely on risk mitigation. This article presents a therapeutic framework that rests on three pillars—Play, Pleasure, and Possibility—as the focal points for reimagining work with transgender/non-binary clients. This model aims to help this population explore gender transition with more ease through building practical skills, cultivating personal and collective pride, and centering pleasure equity.