Programs & Services

Abuse In Mental Health - Mindfreedom International

Abuse in Mental Health System is a page on issues related to abuse. These include:

• Psychiatric Labels: harm caused by unscientific psychiatric diagnoses.
• Electroshock: information about electroconvulsive therapy.
• An Overview of Psychiatric Abuse
• School of Shock: Inside a school where mentally disturbed students are jolted into good behavior. The Village Voice looks at an institution that openly uses pain to try to control behavior of people labeled with mental disabilities.
• Psychiatric Coercion: techniques ranging from pressure to out right force in the mental health system.
• Racism
• Psychiatric Institutionalization: stories and information challenging the use of coerced lock-ups in psychiatric institutions.
• Veterans Mental Health: present and former military personnel and their family are often denied adequate alternatives and advocacy for mental and emotional well being.
• Brain Altering Technology Experiments: psychosurgery, vagus nerve stimulation, and rTMS (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation) are all examples of brain altering technology that may be used for psychiatric purposes and that are currently openly used internationally.
• Prescription Abuse Seen In U.S. Nursing Homes: a 4 December 2007 article in the Wall Street Journal, by Lucette Lagnado, describing the massive over-drugging of senior citizens.
• Restraint: information about restraint.
• E. Fuller Torrey: One of main opponents of human rights of mental health consumers & psychiatric survivors. One of the main crusaders to make it easier to forcibly administer psychiatric drugs to mental health consumers and psychiatric survivors — including in their own homes — is psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey, and his extremist organization Treatment Advocacy Center.

Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress (CPTS) - Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

The Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress (CPTS) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia addresses medical trauma in the lives of children and families. Founded in 2002 as a multidisciplinary intervention development center within the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, CPTS collaborates worldwide with hospitals, universities, nonprofit, and government organizations to further its work in preventing and treating medical traumatic stress in healthcare settings. As a center focusing on addressing medical traumatic stress, CPTS seek to:

• Increase awareness and recognition of medical traumatic stress by healthcare providers using the Healthcare Toolbox.
• Develop and promote empirically based screening and intervention for children and families who have experienced traumatic stress due to pediatric illness and injury.
• Provide training to medical and mental health providers about best practices in assessing and treating medical traumatic stress.
• Develop and disseminate resources about coping with traumatic stress to ill and injured children and their families.
• Develop an educational Web site for healthcare providers to provide information and training in trauma-informed care
• Provide training, information and resources for medical and mental health professionals in assessing and treating medical traumatic stress in children and their families.
• Collaborate with national healthcare provider organizations to promote trauma-informed care and best practices in preventing and treating medical traumatic stress.
• Adapt CPTS' assessments and interventions for medical traumatic stress across a wider range of healthcare settings and patient populations.
• Translate CPTS' educational materials for children and parents into Spanish and developing additional Web-based and print resources to meet the informational needs of different patient populations.

Many professionals contribute to the work of CPTS staff collaborates with:

• Healthcare providers from psychology, critical care medicine, emergency medicine, nursing, oncology, primary care, psychiatry and surgery at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
• Medical and mental health providers nationwide.
• Collaborators within the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
• Working with our partners, we study the effects of medical traumatic stress on children, adolescents and families, and use our findings to raise awareness and improve treatment.

Community Responses to Violence Against Women & Children - Transcultural Pychsosocial Organisation - Cambodia (TPO)

Community Responses to Violence Against Women & Children is a pilot aimed to improve the mental well-being of survivors of gender-based violence through psychological support. In collaboration with our project partners, we are also contributing to improving the living conditions of the families of survivors of gender-based violence by facilitating appropriate support.

Through psycho-social education, we raise community awareness about mental health issues, psychosocial problems, and the causes and effects of violence. We identify and train Community Resource People in basic mental health care. Together with the Community Resource People, we form and run self-help groups for survivors of gender-based violence and community members with a drinking problem. For those who need extra help or individual attention, either within or outside the self-help group, TPO provides psychosocial counseling. We work on establishing effective referral mechanisms with other organizations so that support for female survivors of gender-based violence is maximized.. Finally, through closely collaborating with NGO partners, we will also ensure that the living conditions of the families of survivors of gender-based violence are enhanced by providing appropriate support, for instance encouraging the establishment of saving groups as a means of income generating support.

Healing and Reconciliation for Victims of Torture of Khmer Rouge Trauma - Transcultural Pychsosocial Organisation - Cambodia (TPO)

Healing and Reconciliation for Victims of Torture of Khmer Rouge Trauma is a projects that addresses community healing and reconciliation for victims of torture of KR era. This program brings together the strengths of the two organization in a project that seeks to address healing of both community and individual level. TPO continues collaboration from previous project with CVT to improve the capacity building development in three domains: clinical mental health service, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and organizational development (OD).

This three years project (2016-2019) aims to promote trauma healing for individuals and communities experienced torture during the KR time and strengthen resilience and thus enhance their capacities for peaceful conflict resolution to improve mental well-being for victims of torture through increasing access to mental health services, and truth-telling and memorialization processes that treat and heal trauma caused by torture at individual and community levels.  Activities include:

• Community needs assessment and Baseline: TPO and KdK staff will interview villagers, commune and district authorities, Community Based Organizations (CBOs), NGOs, pagoda commitees and other stakeholders in order to understand the needs of the community, to assess problems and identify the severity of psychology distress among victims of torture and select key resource people as well as local facilitators for the project.
• Capacity building to Local Facilitators (LFs): identify, select and provide training on the community dialogue method and basic psychological support and conflict resolution. The LFs will play a key role to assist the project in organization community dialogues and primary mental health support for victims of torture.
• Psycho-education: education to increase understanding and awareness of trauma and mental health, allow victims to seek help on time, and address stigmatizing and other detrimental attitudes. IEC material (film, posters, leaflets…) are used to provide information to the participants. General psycho social problems such as domestic violence, discriminatory gender norms, violent behavior, or alcoholism are addressed in these sessions.
• Self-help groups provide victims of torture a safe place where they can meet, find understanding, and express their feelings. This sessions are conducted in local community settings and appropriate for victims of torture who have more severe psychological problems (Civil Parties or community members). Each group consists of between 6-10 members.
• Testimonial Therapy (TT) for victims of torture to foster their psychological healing and improve their social functioning. Depending on the beneficiary, the TT intervention can be implement in Phnom Penh or in their community over the course of five days. An additional 2-3 telephone support sessions are provided after the intervention.
• Exploratory history education (EHE) to teach the process of reconciliation and peace building. In close collaboration with Local Facilitators, KdK will facilitate victims of torture and youth participation and ensure appropriate preparation and follow up. Local Facilitators will act as multipliers leading to a trickle-down effect in communities, peer groups and families and are encouraged to promote intergenerational dialogue.
• Truth-telling and community-based dialogues to help raise public awareness and knowledge, and reduce mental health bias, TPO and KdK will use a variety of Truth-telling and community-based dialogues formats that support victims to come forward to share their stories as means of giving voice to the full scope and breadth of the KR atrocity. Target groups includes community members, victims of torture, youth and local authorities.
• Counseling and telephone counseling
• Psychological support: the onsite psychosocial support at the ECCC differs from the other interventions outlined above. Support is provided through grounding technique and emotional support (psychological first aid) to help the clients deal with the emotional stress related to attending proceedings. Psychological support will be continued by TPO counselors via telophone in order to make sure that CPs feel safe psychologically after the courtroom testimony.
• Ongoing clinical training and supervision to TPO therapists to improve the quality of mental health services to victims of torture, TPO/KdK provide vigorous capacity development and document evidence regarding the effectiveness of psychosocial intervention and best practices. With its partner CVT TPO will keep ongoing capacity building on three domains such as clinical for clinicians/therapists using the Unified Clinical Approach (UCA), Organizational Development for senior staff and Monitoring & Evaluation part for the organization.
• Document and disseminate the testimonies: TPO and KdK will document the testimonies of victims of torture and victims of GBV (past and current). This document is a form of acknowledgement of the pain and suffering of victims of torture. TPO and KdK will also document the best practice through collecting data from the progress report, case study, and observation note and supervision/monitoring report.

Improving Mental Health for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence & Sexual Assault - Transcultural Pychsosocial Organisation - Cambodia (TPO)

Improving Mental Health for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence & Sexual Assault is a five-year project (2013-2018) aim to contribute to promotion of gender equality and to improve access to psychosocial services for survivors of gender-based violence and sexual assault. More specifically, it aims to create and strengthen a functional health support net work, which has not existed in the community before, in order to support survivors and to prevent further gender-based violence and sexual assault; and raise awareness in mental health and psychosocial issues, gender-based violence, legal rights and human rights in around 3,000 community members. The approach & activities of this project include:

• Baseline Assessment: TPO Cambodia undertake a baseline assessment (in 18 villages) to identify and understand the problems and needs of the community, and to assess and identify the prevalence of gender-based violence and sexual assault.
• Training Community Resource People: TPO regularly conducts focus groups with the Community Resource People who have been trained in mental health to monitor and evaluate the impact of its programs. They identify, select and train Community Resource people (CRPs) on mental health after-effects, basic psychological issues, gender-based violence, and on psychosocial support services for survivors of gender-based violence and sexual assault. These trained CRPs use this knowledge and skills in their daily work to identify, manage and refer survivors of gender-based violence and sexual assault to the appropriate services. With the new knowledge and skills they will also help others in their community putting mental health and psychosocial support into village development and commune investment plans. With their help, more survivors of gender-based violence and sexual assault will receive mental health/psychosocial support and their work also contribute to reducing the incidence of gender-based violence and sexual assault in their communities.
• Workshop: TPO Cambodia organizes a workshop on mental health and psychosocial issues for government staff and NGO partners, This will provide them with a greater knowledge of mental health and psychosocial issues. They will also be more aware of TPO services enabling them to extend better cooperation with regards to support and cross-referral of survivors of gender-based violence and sexual assault.
• Awareness Raising: TPO Cambodia will deliver 72 awareness raising sessions on basic mental health, psychosocial issues, gender issues, sexual assault, and legal and human rights, to community members, including survivors of gender-based violence and sexual assault.
• Self-Help Groups
• Art Therapy
• Counseling
• Building a Support Network

Together with the community, TPO set up a functional support network for survivors of gender based violence and sexual assault that provides for their psychosocial, psysical, legal and human rights needs. This network includes the Commune Councils, police, village chiefs, Commune Council for Women and Children, self-help group members and community resource people. They also work with the community to enhance community dialogue on mental health and psychosocial issues, gender sensitivity, human rights, legal matters, and migration and work to ensure that mental health and psychosocial issues, gender issues and human rights are integrated into the agenda of existing committeers in the commune.

These activities lead to greater preparedness and openness in talking about violence and abuse as well as reporting incidences to authorities; greater ablility to seek help when experiencing mental health or psychosocial issues, gender issues, sexual assault, and legal and human right matters; community members show increased positive and non-discriminatory attitudes toward survivors of gender-based violence and sexual assault.

Mental Health & Homelessness - Mindfreedom International

Military & Mental Health - Mindfreedom International

National Stigma and Discrimination Reduction Strategy - National Mental Health Commission

Prison & Mental Health - Mindfreedom International

Royal Ottawa Operational Stress Injury Clinic - The Royal Mental Health Care

Royal Ottawa Operational Stress Injury Clinic is a specialized outpatient program serving Canadian Forces Veterans and current members, and eligible members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. A team of clinicians with expertise in the assessment and treatment of PTSD, anxiety, depression and addictions work in tandem to help clients improve their quality of life through a better understanding of the impact of severe stress and by enhancing coping skills. Consistent with the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre’s interdisciplinary model of treatment, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses and social workers provide comprehensive services for OSIs, including evidence-based comprehensive assessment, psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. The following services are offered by the Royal Ottawa Operational Stress Injury Clinic:

• Comprehensive assessment of operational stress injuries;
• Evidence-based treatment of OSIs through specialized individual, group and couples therapy, as well as pharmacotherapy, and
• Education to veterans, military members and their families, as well as to other professionals and the general public.

Evidence-based therapy for PTSD and other OSIs is tailored to meet each client’s specific needs and often includes a combination of medication and (group or individual) cognitive behavioural therapy. The OSI program’s comprehensive approach to recovery includes interventions aimed at improving readiness for treatment, symptom-reduction and assistance with transitioning back into the community. Each client may access different components of this comprehensive treatment package based on their symptoms at the time of their assessment. This tailored approach to treatment planning ensures that clients receive maximal benefit by matching services to clinical needs.

The Royal’s OSI Clinic offers individualized treatment according to each person’s needs through outpatient services. As every client’s needs are different, there is no set number of appointments for services at the clinic. Instead, each treatment plan is developed for each individual after a comprehensive assessment is complete. The treatment plan collaboratively establishes an initial commitment and a set of goals, and progress towards these goals is continuously monitored.

Schizophrenia - Schizophrenic.com

• History of Schizophrenia: Where It All Began and How Far We Have Come

• Causes of Schizophrenia

• Talented Schizophrenic Musicians Who Succeeded In Life

• Schizophrenia Pathophysiology: Key Factors In The Development Of Schizophrenia

• Managing Schizophrenia

• Types of Shizophrenia

• What Are The Characteristics and Symptoms of Catatonic Schizophrenic?

• Why Schizophrenia Has Lead To Homelessness

• ICD 10 Schizophrenia General Criteria For Diagnosis

• Five Common Variables: Study Reviewed Risk Factors For Self Injury In Schizophrenics

• What Are Movement Disorders In Schizophrenia?

• Signs That Serotonin Plays A Role In Schizophrenia

• Do Schizophrenics Know They Are Schizophrenic?

• People Experiencing a Schizophrenic Break Display Outward Symptoms

• Diathesis Stress Theory: One Established Explanation for Schizophrenia

• Acute Schizophrenia Responds Better To Treatment Than Chronic Schizophrenia

Sustainable and Adapted Treatment Strategies among Displaced Somalis - Africa Mental Health Research & Training Foundation

Sustainable and adapted treatment strategies to restore psychological functioning and mental health among displaced Somalis: Preparation of a multicenter treatment study was a pilot program that aimed to develop and evaluate new concepts of integrated community-based mental health services to Somali refugees in the urban refugee settlement in Kenya. The studies helped the researchers better understand the attitudes and expectations towards and the usage of different mental healthcare services within the community. The study also recognized that most Somali patients with severe mental disorders have a trauma-related disorders and an addiction problem, often with a multiple functional relationship in the sense that khat is used in order to self-medicate trauma-related symptoms.

Trauma Healing - Fresh Hope For Mental Health

Fresh Hope offers Trauma Healing Groups, developed by Christian mental health professionals of the Trauma Healing Institute of the American Bible Society. This unique method of Trauma Healing unites proven mental health practices and engagement with God through the Bible.

• Groups

Trauma-Informed Guide - Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission

Guidelines for trauma-informed mental health complaints resolution

Trauma-Informed Practice (TIP) program - mHub - The Mental Health Hub

The Trauma-Informed Practice (TIP) program work with institutions and organizations such as schools to develop trauma-informed service systems and practice. Typically, there are four stages to becoming a trauma-informed system: trauma-aware, trauma-sensitive, trauma-responsive, and trauma-informed. In the process, participating individuals learn to understand trauma, its effects, and survivor adaptations, and to enable changes in behavior and to strengthen resilience and protective factors. At the system level, the culture – including all work practices and settings – changes to reflect a trauma-informed approach.