Speaker(s):
Presentation:Patients committed to inpatient psychiatric long term care settings with the Missouri Department of Mental Health have an average length of stay of over six years currently. Some patients remain in these settings much longer due to treatment-resistant severe mental illnesses, problems related to head trauma or dementia, and problems related to personality disorders. The demoralization and poor quality of life that can result from the long term-institutionalization of these individuals is well-documented yet problematic to address. We will offer a review of the research literature on improving meaning and quality of life for psychiatric inpatient clients in long term care settings in general and with respect to various mental illnesses and psychiatric diagnoses. We will share our efforts and observations within our inpatient unit within a Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program to boost meaning and quality of life for our clients.
Objectives:
- Describe the factors which impact quality of life for many psychiatric clients in long term care inpatient settings
- Describe the efforts as demonstrated in research to improve meaning and quality of life for psychiatric inpatient clients in long term care settings
- Learn the efforts to improve meaning and quality of life for psychiatric inpatient clients at one unit within SLPRC