BETTER EDUCATION HELPS DISPEL MENTAL ILLNESS STIGMA
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MANY OF OUR MENTAL ILLNESSES ARE CAUSED OR AGGRAVATED BY SOCIAL PROBLEMS BUT PEOPLE ARE NOW MORE FORTHCOMING IN SEEKING PROFESSIONAL HELP TO OVERCOME THEM, A CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST OF THE SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT SAID.
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MISS HEIDY NG, COORDINATOR OF THE DEPARTMENT'S CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY UNIT (CPU), SAID BETTER EDUCATION AMONG THE YOUNGER GENERATION IS HELPING TO DISPEL THE STIGMA FORMERLY ASSOCIATED WITH MENTAL ILLNESS.
+NO DOUBT THIS IS DUE TO THEIR REALISATION THAT MOST PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS CAN BE ALLEVIATED IF NOT ENTIRELY CURED. AND THE EARLIER THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS ARE DETECTED AND COUNSELLING AND TREATMENT INITIATED, THE GREATER THE CHANCE FOR THE PATIENT'S FULL RECOVERY, MISS NG SAID.
WITH A STAFF OF ONLY THREE PSYCHOLOGISTS AND TWO SUPPORT PERSONNEL, THE CPU HANDLED ABOUT 1 400 CASES/SESSIONS LAST YEAR 479 IN INTELLECTUAL ASSESSMENT, 172 IN DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT AND 753 IN TREATMENT.
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WHILE CAUTIONING THAT THESE CASES CANNOT BE TAKEN AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE EXTENT AND NATURE OF MENTAL ILLNESS IN HONG KONG, MISS NG SAID INDICATIONS ARE THAT THE MOST COMMON MENTAL PROBLEMS DEALT WITH IN THE UNIT ARE DEPRESSION, PERSONALITY DISORDER, BEHAVIOURAL MALADJUSTMENTS AND ANXIETY.
+DEPRESSIONS ARE CAUSED BY ALL KINDS OF FAMILY PRESSURE AND FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE, THERE IS THE ADDED PRESSURE OF EXAMINATIONS AT SCHOOL. PERSONALITY PROBLEMS USUALLY MANIFEST THEMSELVES AMONG THE YOUNG IN WITHDRAWAL OR AGGRESSIVENESS. BUT FOR BOTH YOUNG AND OLD, WHEN THEY FIND THEMSELVES UNABLE TO COPE, THEY BECOME OVERWROUGHT WITH ANXIETY, SHE EXPLAINED.
FROM A SMALL OFFICE ESTABLISHED IN 1970 TO PROVIDE ASSESSMENT SERVICES FOR MENTALLY RETARDED CHILDREN, THE CPU HAS EXPANDED TO THREE CENTRES TO HELP PEOPLE OF ALL AGES SUFFERING FROM ALL KINDS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIOURAL PROBLEMS, MENTAL DISORDERS AND EMOTIONAL DISTRESS.
SERVICES RENDERED BY THE CPU NOW INCLUDE ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT, AND CONSULTATION TO COURTS AND SOCIAL WORKERS IN MATTERS CONCERNING CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND MENTAL HEALTH.
TWO TYPES OF ASSESSMENTS ARE MADE BY CPU PSYCHOLOGISTS - DIAGNOSTIC AND INTELLECTUAL.
CLIENTS ARE INTERVIEWED PERSONALLY BY CPU PSYCHOLOGISTS OR GIVEN TESTS TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE IR PROBLEMS, THEIR LEVEL OF INTELLECTUAL FACULTY AND DEGREE OF MENTAL RETARDATION WHERE APPROPRIATE.
A TREATMENT PROGRAMME IS THEN PRESCRIBED FOR THEM WHICH MAY INVOLVE SUPERVISED GROUP DISCUSSION, COUNSELLING AND PLAY SESSIONS TO GIVE THEM A PROPER PERSPECTIVE OF THEIR PROBLEMS AND MAKE THE NECESSARY ADJUSTMENTS IN THEIR LIVES.
/+PATIENTS MAY