Community Mental Health Journal 

About: Community Mental Health Journal is an academic journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Mental health & Poison control. It has an ISSN identifier of 0010-3853. Over the lifetime, 3745 publications have been published receiving 80139 citations. The journal is also known as: Community Ment Health J.

Goal attainment scaling: A general method for evaluating comprehensive community mental health programs

Abstract: A mental health enterprise may be described by either (a) rather general philosophical total mental health goals, or (b) highly diverse and individualized patient-therapist goals. Goals a. have not provided a workable framework for program evaluation. This paper proposes that evaluation be done in the framework of goals b. by setting up, before treatment, a measurable scale for each patient-therapist goal, and specifying, for each patient, a transformation of his overall goal attainment into a standardized T-score. This method, together with random assignment of patients to treatment modes, was devised to permit comparison of treatment modes within a program, but it also provides a good basis for a judgmental evaluation of the total program.

Moderators of stress in parents of children with autism.

Abstract: Parents of children with autism experience more stress and are more susceptible to negative outcomes than parents of children with other disabilities. The present work examines the relationship between stressors, social support, locus of control, coping styles, and negative outcomes (depression, social isolation, and spousal relationship problems) among parents of children with autism. Fifty-eight parents completed surveys. Results indicated that several coping styles corresponded to negative outcomes. Furthermore, the relationship between stressors and negative outcomes was moderated by social support and coping style. Results are discussed in relation to applications for clinical practice.

Mental Health of Immigrants and Refugees

Abstract: The United States is a country of immigrants. With the exception of Native-Americans, every other American is, or descends from, an immigrant. First and second generation immigrant children are the most rapidly growing segment of the American population, with the great majority of this population being of non-European origin. This paper reviews the unique risk factors and mental health needs of our new immigrant populations, as well as treatment and services approaches to address their unique needs.

Recovery as a Psychological Construct

Abstract: Mental health advocates have proposed recovery as a vision for severe mental illness. The purpose of this study is to examine psychometric characteristics of a measure of the psychological construct. Thirty-five participants in a partial hospitalization program were administered the Recovery Scale and measures of quality of life, social support, self-esteem, consumer empowerment, psychiatric symptoms, needs and resources, global functioning, and verbal intelligence. Results showed the scale to have satisfactory test-retest reliability and internal consistency. Analysis of the concurrent validity of the Recovery Scale showed recovery to be positively associated with self-esteem, empowerment, social support, and quality of life. It was inversely associated with psychiatric symptoms and age. Implications of these findings for a psychological model of recovery are discussed.

Ethnic variations in mental health attitudes and service use among low-income African American, Latina, and European American young women.

Abstract: This study examines the predictors of mental health service use among patients in an ethnically diverse public-care women's clinic. While waiting for their clinic appointments, 187 Latina, African American, and White women were interviewed about their attitudes towards mental illness and mental health services. White women were much more likely to have made a mental health visit in the past than the ethnic minority women. Having a substance use problem, use of mental health services by family or friends, and beliefs about causes of mental illness were all predictors of making a mental health visit.