The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a sailing rehabilitation program on the quality of life (QoL) in a sample of patients with severe mental disorders. The study adopted a randomized, crossover, waiting-list controlled design. The participants enrolled in the study were outpatients diagnosed with severe chronic mental disorders. The participants (N=40) exposed to rehabilitation ...

BACKGROUND Current health policy assumes better quality services lead to better outcomes. AIMS To investigate the relationship between quality of mental health rehabilitation services in England, local deprivation, service user characteristics and clinical outcomes. METHOD Standardised tools were used to assess the quality of mental health rehabilitation units and service users' autonomy, q...

Two controlled studies at Fountain House examined the influence of psychiatric rehabilitation services on rehospitalization. Study I, initiated in 1959, followed 252 experimental and 81 control subjects for 9 years. Study II, initiated in 1964, followed 40 experimental and 34 control subjects for 5 years. Experimental subjects had Fountain House services available, while controls did not. Addit...

BACKGROUND Long-term sick leave has considerably negative impact on the individual and society. Hence, the need to identify effective occupational rehabilitation programs is pressing. In Norway, group based occupational rehabilitation programs merging patients with different diagnoses have existed for many years, but no rigorous evaluation has been performed. The described randomized controlled...

Limit setting is a concept familiar to most mental health clinicians, but much less familiar to staff not specifically trained in mental health care. This paper presents guidelines developed for rehabilitation staff on the strategy of limit setting. The aim of these guidelines was to provide a starting point for ongoing education on limit setting and behavioural management for staff working in ...

A severe mental illness like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is known to have psychosocial consequences that can lead to a decreased quality of life. Research in Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) has revealed that the presence of a dog can have a positive effect on health, e.g., increase quality of life and lessen depression and anxiety. However, canine companionship is not a catch-all soluti...

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation of traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients when conducted by therapists who had participated in a training program on effective patient communication, as compared to rehabilitation administered by therapists without this training. The study included 40 TBI patients under treatment in a phased rehabilitation program. The expe...

Background About 25-60% of the homeless population is reported to have some form of mental disorder. To our knowledge, there are no studies aimed at the screening, diagnosis, treatment, care, rehabilitation, and support of homeless people with mental, neurologic, and substance use (MNS) disorders in general in Ethiopia. This is the first study of its kind in Africa which was aimed at screening,...

The reappearance of developmental reflexes in the aged has been found to be associated with severe, diffuse cerebral damage. This study examined the relationship between the presence of such reflexes in stroke patients and the outcome of rehabilitation. Tests for the presence of snout, suck, jaw-jerk and palmomental reflexes were tested in 106 consecutive stroke patients admitted for rehabilita...