OBJECTIVE To provide an overview of treatment options for opioid-dependent patients. METHOD We screened all published studies on the treatment of opioid dependence, with a special focus on systematic literature reviews, formal metaanalyses, and recent trials. RESULTS Both clinical experience and neurobiological evidence indicate that opioid dependence is a chronic relapsing disorder. Treatm...

BACKGROUND Experiencing mental ill health adds a layer of complexity for individuals in touch with the justice system and for those responsible for working in the justice service with these individuals, such as frontline police officers. In England and Wales, there are three commonly used but not necessarily commonly designed or operated, mental health interventions associated with policing, Li...

BACKGROUND Bipolar patients are at risk for relapses of their illness even when undergoing optimal pharmacotherapy. This study was performed to determine whether combining family-focused therapy (FFT) with pharmacotherapy during a postepisode interval enhances patients' mood stability during maintenance treatment. METHODS In a randomized controlled trial, 101 bipolar patients were assigned to...

This study investigated whether crisis intervention (CI) at the General Hospital is a suitable management strategy among borderline patients referred to the emergency room (ER) for deliberate self-harm. Two patient cohorts (n=200) meeting DSM-IV Borderline Personality Disorder criteria, were prospectively assessed for repeated deliberate self-harm and service consumption. At ER discharge, 100 s...

In this study, we adopted a single qualitative case study method to explore and examine indigenous approaches to crisis counseling in Taiwan, through the distinct lens of an expert Taiwanese counseling psychologist. In-depth, open-ended interviews were conducted with the psychologist (as the case) to document her lived clinical experiences counseling a grief-stricken Taiwanese family in crisis ...

OBJECTIVE To establish whether patients with a crisis plan had fewer voluntary or involuntary admissions, or fewer outpatient emergency visits, than patients without such a plan. DESIGN Multicenter randomized controlled trial with two intervention conditions and one control condition. PARTICIPANTS Adult outpatients diagnosed with psychotic or bipolar disorder who had experienced at least on...

Identity empowerment is defined as the deliberate enhancement of clients' awareness of their values and goals and of clients' expression of these values and goals in everyday behavior. Values are the deepest and broadest objectives or goals with which an individual can identify. Identity empowerment culminates in observable increases in clients' behavioral expressions of their values in social ...

The authors describe a program to reduce the use of physical restraint on three psychiatric units of a university hospital. One component of the program involved interviewing patients to determine their stress triggers and personal crisis management strategies. The second consisted of training staff members in crisis de-escalation and nonviolent intervention. During the first two quarters after...

Institutional altruism in the form of a public-sector intervention and support for victims and social altruism generated by mutual aid and solidarity among citizens constitute a coming together in a crisis. This coming together and mutual support precipitate a decrease in crime rates during such an event. This paper presents an analysis of daily fluctuations in crime during the prolonged ice st...