Psychosocial RehabilitationIts Importance in Indiacenter8500090881201000000center10795Sneha ShivarajanIsmail Yusuf College (Affiliated to the University of Mumbai)E-mail: [email protected] ShivarajanIsmail Yusuf College (Affiliated to the University of Mumbai)E-mail: [email protected] Rehabilitation is a key area, that functions to provide a holistic recovery treatment for persons suffering from mental illness and help them become self-dependent and be able to reintegrate them into mainstream society. This report aims to provide a better understanding about psychosocial rehabilitation and how it is essential in India.
Key words: Psychosocial rehabilitation, client, caregiver, psychiatry, counseling.Mental health has been a long-standing issue in our country. It is a subject that has been stereotyped and stigmatized for many years and remains a subject that is spoken in a hushed manner in an era where scientific research has progressed significantly.
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Rehabilitation is not a strange matter, especially when one speaks of physical or substance abuse rehabilitation. Unfortunately, people are unaware about psychosocial rehabilitation and its benefits for persons with mental illnesses. Although the prevalence of most disorders is low, they significantly impact the individuals, their family and the society (de Alemdia & Killapsy, 2011).Psychiatric rehabilitation is said to be an application of psychosocial interventions in a systematic manner to improve the functional and symptomatic course of a psychiatric disorder (Mueser & Gingerich, 2011). The World Health Report (2001) also states that psychosocial rehabilitation is a component of the comprehensive community based mental healthcare system that has been devised. The lack of awareness on the matter of mental health and its care, along with stigmatization has led to many people who suffer from mental illness not receive rehabilitation. But, as Rossler (2006, p.
151-157) states:Psychiatric rehabilitation cannot be imposed. Quite the contrary, psychiatric rehabilitation concentrates on the individual’s rights as a respected partner and endorses his or her involvement and self-determination concerning all aspects of treatment and rehabilitation process.The idea of psychosocial rehabilitation is also seen as an “effective and appropriate measure, including peer support, to enable persons with disabilities to attain and maintain maximum independence, full physical, mental, social and vocational ability and full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life” (Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006).Psychosocial rehabilitation is an all encompassing and holistic means of assisting persons with mental illness, aiding them in various aspects of their life, as a diagnosis of a severe mental illness leads to hampered cognitive, emotional and social abilities.
Such form of rehabilitation is very different from that of psychiatric treatment but are equally important components of the mental healthcare system (Chandrashekhar, Prashant, Kasturi and Madhusudan, 2010).ObjectivesThe objective of this study is to gain a thorough understanding of how psychosocial rehabilitation can help individuals with mental illness to improve their social, intellectual and cognitive abilities and assist them in the reintegration process into society. A key aspect of persons with mental illness is their dependency on their care-givers or other personnel. The question of whether psychosocial rehabilitation helps improve on the aspect of dependency will be of prime focus. MethodScope: The findings of this study are essential in various aspects.
Firstly, a major contribution this study will make is the understanding of psychosocial rehabilitation on a more practical level, based on past theoretical understandings of the subject. Secondly, this can further lead to more detailed and empirically based studies on the effectiveness of psychosocial rehabilitation, and possibilities of improving the structure and functioning of the concept of psychosocial rehabilitation. Lastly, this study can help bring awareness about mental health and rehabilitation of those persons with mental illness.Mode of study: The information that was gained in the process of this study was done in the form of studying past research on the subject and interviewing persons involved in the process of psychosocial rehabilitation, which included clients, families, counselors and psychiatric social workers. The information gained by these means has helped gain a more in depth understanding of the process of rehabilitation for persons with mental illness.
Time frame: The entire study was undertaken in a span of one year, that includes observation, research on previous studies, interviewing of people involved in the field of psychosocial rehabilitation and compiling of the entire study.Sources of articles: The articles citied in this report have been sourced from various journals and published articles that are available in print and in an electronic format on the internet. Results and DiscussionWhile preparing this report, my observations and understanding of mental health has been dynamic.
Medication has taken our knowledge of mental illness to a very different level. Over the course of one year, it has come to my observation that persons suffering from severe mental illness do undergo a great extent of cognitive and social drawbacks. This is a fact many of us are aware of, but for the complete honing of an individual with mental illness is difficult to provide within the closed walls of one’s home. While the symptoms of the various illness’ can be brought under control through proper diagnosis and medication, regular counseling and genuine efforts, not just by the patient but also their care givers and family, are essential. Psychosocial rehabilitation is a multifaceted approach to aiding and assisting the recovery of people with mental illness, with three key areas that are focused upon: Psychiatry, Counseling and Socialization.
When we try to understand the process of reintegration of the individuals suffering from mental illness back into mainstream society, it is difficult to have a complete process without either of the three key areas of psychosocial rehabilitation. Let us delve deeper into the three-pronged process of rehabilitation.Psychiatry, as we are aware, involves the diagnostic and medical aspect of mental illness and health, helping us in identifying the area of concern and developing a strategy on how to overcome the critical issues that are commonly associated with a certain mental illness. Counseling involves the understanding of cognitive and behavioral patterns, planning and assisting of goals that help overcome maladaptive cognitive process and/or behaviors.
This is not restricted to only the person suffering from a mental illness but also extends to their closest social circle, namely their family and immediate caregivers.Socialization involves the developing and improving if the social skills that may have been compromised because of their illness or medication or both. These are developed using group-based activities, therapies and counseling sessions. Psychosocial rehabilitation not just focuses on the immediate treatment plan essential for the successful recovery of the clients it works with, but also help them develop skills that are necessary for an individual to be capable of tackling day to day tasks that one faces in mainstream society. Such rehabilitation inculcates a sense of self dependence that one may lack due to various factors. Over time, clients and their caregivers gain a greater understanding of the illness, and along with the assistance of professionals, can identify red flags that may hinder the recovery process.
Along with identifying red flags, clients and their caregivers can pin-point on factors that can cause a hinderance to the recovery process and make continues efforts to steer clear of those factors or prepare themselves for a setback if the situation is inevitable, thus preventing any major damage to the rehabilitation process and the progress that was made over time.Caregivers and family members play a key role in this process. It is important for them to remain active and participative during the client’s recovery, ensuring that they remain positive reinforces for their clients.
This aspect is essentially difficult with clients who are homeless, destitute or have negligent caregivers, which again, may hamper the process of rehabilitation and make recovery difficult. ConclusionRehabilitation of persons with mental illness is extremely crucial and a very sensitive matter, considering that the subject of mental illness is still a taboo subject in our society. But in the face of such a situation, psychosocial rehabilitation is of utmost importance as it provides an all-round development and recovery of persons with mental illness, making them self-dependent.While psychosocial rehabilitation is essential, it is also a lengthy process, as complete recovery can take years to come by.
It is also a continuous process as any changes in any of the facets of the process of rehabilitation can significantly impact the client’s health. For this very reason, it is important for all the key areas to function in co-ordination to provide optimum results.ReferencesChandrashekar, H, Prashanth, N, Kasthuri, P ; Madhusudhan, S, ‘Psychiatric rehabilitation’, Indian Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 52, no. 7, pp.
278-280.Janardhana, N ; Naidu, DM (2012). Inclusion of people with mental illness in Community Based Rehabilitation: need of the day. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation. Vol 16(1) 117-124.Mccracken, SG 2000, ‘Psychiatric Rehabilitation’, Psychiatric Services, vol. 51, no.
7, pp. 942-943.de Almeida, JMC, Killaspy, H, ‘LONG-TERM MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR PEOPLE WITH SEVERE MENTAL DISORDERS’, European Union, 2011.Mueser, K ; Gingerich, S 2011, ‘Relapse prevention and recovery patients with psychosis: The role of psychiatric rehabilitation’, Psychiatric Times, vol. 28, no.
6, pp. 66-71.Pratt, CW 2007, Psychiatric rehabilitation, 2nd edition, Elsevier Academic Press, Burlington, MA.R?ssler, Wulf; ‘Psychiatric rehabilitation today: an overview’; World Psychiatry. 2006 Oct; 5(3): 151–157.
UN Convention on the Rights of people with disabilities, New York UN 2006.UN resolution 46/119, principles for protection of persons with mental illness and the improvement of mental health care (1991).WHO (2015) Sustainable Development Agenda, WHO.
World Health Report 2001, Mental health: New Understanding New Hope Geneva, WHO 2001.World Mental Health Day: India’s Mental Health Crisis in Numbers, 2015 (http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2015/10/10/depression-stats_n_8267510.html).
AcknowledgementThe journey as a student of Psychology has been extremely exciting, with new experiences and challenges every day that only moulds me into a better professional that is yet to enter the field. In this journey I have met numerous people who have contributed significantly into my knowledge base, and I cannot thank them enough for doing so. First and foremost, I would like to thank University of Mumbai and Ismail Yusuf College, for providing me with the environment and infrastructure that nurtures scientific and analytical thinking amongst it’s students, encouraging us to pursue activities beyond our course material and therefore, stimulating greater intellectual thinking.I would also like to take a moment and thank the faculty of the Department of Psychology at Ismail Yusuf College for providing me with the guidance and mentorship that was essential to make this research successful.I would specially thank MANAV Foundation, it’s staff and clients for being an essential part of this endeavour and helping me raise an important subject in the form of this report.
This would have been impossible without your unwavering support.
