Main description:

Mental illnesses are common and cause great suffering to individuals and communities everywhere in the world, but many health workers are more comfortable dealing with physical illness. This practical manual of mental health care is vital for community health workers, primary care nurses, social workers and primary care doctors, particularly in low-resource settings. This guide gives the reader a basic understanding of mental illness by describing more than thirty clinical problems associated with mental illness and uses a problem-solving approach to guide the reader through their assessment and management. Mental health issues as they arise in specific contexts are described - in refugee camps, in school health programmes, as well as in mental health promotion. The final section helps the reader to personalise for a particular location, for example, by entering local information on voluntary agencies, the names and costs of medicines and words in the local language for symptoms. This product is also available as Open Access.

Contents:

Preface; Foreword; Part I. An Overview of Mental Health Problems: 1. An introduction to mental health problems; 2. Core skills for mental health care; 3. Assessing someone with a mental health problem; 4. General approach to treatment of mental health problems; Part II. Treatments: 5. Specific treatments for mental health problems; Part III. Clinical Problems: 6. Emergency management; 7. Behaviours causing concern; 8. Symptoms that are medically unexplained; 9. The person with problems due to habits; 10. Problems arising from loss and violence; 11. Problems in childhood and adolescence; Part IV. Integrating Mental Health: 12. Integrating mental health into health care platforms; 13. Integrating mental health into community platforms; Part V. Localising This Manual For Your Area: 14. Medications for mental health problems; 15. Resources in your area; 16. Psychiatric terms for mental health problems; 17. Glossary; 18. Resources used in the manual.