Ami-Quebec and Forward House Community Service - Essay Example

 Community Service Introduction Community service is conducted by an individual or a group of people for the benefit of a third party; either the public or other institutions (Hoffman, Parker, Sanchez and Wallach 2009). In their view, community service has a broad range of contributions to the society. One of the benefits presented is social benefits whereby the population served gets an opportunity to interact with other members of the community. Community service also has a psychological benefit whereby the served population decreases stress and depression as well as increasing self-esteem and life satisfaction. Additionally, cognitive benefits are recognized as students, and other participants earn new experiences, develop new skills and enhance their knowledge. Community service has a mutual benefit, both to the participants and the served community (Hoffman, Parker, Sanchez and Wallach 2009). This paper will look at Ami-Quebec and Forward House community centers. Body Ami- Quebec community center The researcher visited Ami- Quebec community center and Forward House community center. Ami-Quebec community center is located in Boulevard Decarie, Montreal in Canada. Its contact numbers are (514-486-1448) for those within Montreal and (1-877-303-0264) for those outside Montreal. Ami-Quebec is a mental facility that aims at helping families cope with the effects of mental illness through education, information, support, and advocacy. The center also aims at raising public awareness of mental illnesses and dispelling the shame and stigma surrounding mental illness. Ami-Quebec center adopts various programs to support the community. One of the programs adopted is the education programs. This program aims at educating families living with Borderline Personality Disorder. The other program is through the use of support groups. These groups allow the interaction of peers through weekly private sessions whereby members are encouraged to share in a small group setting. Similarly, the facility makes use of counseling as a one-on-one service program that addresses the challenges encountered by caregivers when providing care to someone with a mental illness. Forward House community society Forward House community is located in Parksville, Canada. The facility provides care to patients with persistent mental health and addiction recovery. The facility aims at meeting the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs of the clients, both the patients and their families and friends. This facility has several partners, including caregivers, volunteers, post-secondary practicum students in related disciplines and families. The service does not require referral from doctors and clients can refer themselves. Clients are not obliged to pay for the services, except for nominal fees for lunches and dinners. The facility strives to provide a safe, healing and stimulating environment that allows for the development of self-esteem and social interaction among the clients and enhancement of vocational, interpersonal and independent life skills. The programs offered by the facility include in-house education, client rehabilitation, and community presentation. Client recovery involves the use of psychosocial rehabilitation whereby patients are evaluated through individual case management and goal setting for all customers. Similarly, community presentations aim at presenting the issue of mental illness and addiction to the public arena and create room for discussion of strategies to be adopted to limit their impact. Additionally, in-house education is aimed at enhancing social connection by encouraging the interaction between volunteers, staff, clients and community partners. Mental illness Mental illness is a cognitive disorder or psychological disorder that limits the ability of the victim to function properly and brings suffering to the victim. Some of the causes of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorder, personality disorder, mood disorders, personality disorder, panic disorder and psychotic disorders (Corrigan, Watson and Barr 2006). Corrigan, Watson and Barr (2006) added that biological factors can be part of the cause of mental ailments. Livingston and Boyd (2010) collaborated with the findings presented by Corrigan, Watson and Barr (2006) and added that traumatic injuries and the exposure of mothers to viruses and toxic materials during pregnancy can also lead to mental illness. In addition, Livingston and Boyd (2010) noted that the use of drugs and other substances can result in mental illness. From my psychiatric rotation, I encountered Ms. M. Y, a 61-year-old patient diagnosed with schizophrenia paranoid type. She is currently hospitalized at St- Mary’s Hospital since May 27, 2015. Her illness led to her eviction from her apartment in June due to unpaid bills. She was living alone prior to her hospitalization and she had not worked for the last ten years due to her condition. Some of the cognitive difficulties experienced by Ms. M. Y are executive memory functioning, safety and health management and lack of adequate knowledge about her condition. Ms. M. Y is independent in her instrumental activities of daily living (IADLS) and activities of daily living (ADL). Placement is being sought for Ms. M. Y due to her poor judgment and cognitive difficulties. Despite the cognitive and mental challenges facing Ms. M. Y, she does not want to live in a group home and would like to remain as autonomous as possible. She preferred to live in a supervised apartment rather that a group home. Some of the limitations facing Ms. M. Y include the risk of financial difficulties, risk of social isolation and the risk of expulsion of housing arrangements. In addition, she would face the challenge of psychological compensation since she would be living alone without anyone to look after her. Ms. M. Y will have to live close to St. Mary’s Hospital for easier transportation to her psychiatric follow-up. Additionally, Ms. M. Y is comfortable speaking in English, and it's better for her to be oriented to a supervised apartment in an anglophone environment. Mental disorders are classified into three categories; adult, childhood and personality disorders. According to observations presented by Livingston and Boyd (2010), some disorders may fall into more than one class in accordance with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Childhood disorders are often classified as developmental or learning disorders. Some of the examples of childhood disorders include attachment disorders, conduct disorder, autism and attention deficit. By the same token, adult disorders can be classified as common disorders, bipolar disorder, feeling and eating disorders, sexual and paraphilic disorders and sleep and wake disorders. Some of the adult disorders are self-induced, some by excessive consumption of alcohol, drugs and substance abuse and overworking. Equally important, personality disorders are mostly diagnosed to young adults, mainly in their 20’s or even early 30’s. However, most individuals with personality disorders often seek psychotherapeutic treatment when they are under increased stress and pressure. This disease is particularly difficult to treat since it is an integral part of a person (Livingston and Boyd 2010). Legal and Ethical issues of mental illness The legal and moral perspective of mental illness has not been clearly established. Historically, victims of mental illness have been mistreated and considered as a threat to the community rather than people in need of support and care. Some of the legislation laws that have transformed many lives include the adoption of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 in the US and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 2006. This laws aimed at increasing the social standard of persons with disabilities and awarding them equal rights as anyone else in the society (Killion and Dempski 2006). Killion and Dempski (2006) added that mentally unstable people are exempted from some legal liabilities and instead offered compulsory medical attention. Killion and Dempski (2006) also observed that people with mental illness have the same rights to health care as any other patient and the physicians have the same obligation to any patient, including to patients. Physicians and other members of the community have an ethical responsibility of eliminating the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness. The physicians also have the responsibility of respecting the autonomy of all patients by awarding them with the same rights to make decisions about their own care, irrespective of their cognitive difficulties. Equally important, the physicians should consult the patients and seek their informed consent to treatment. The physicians should protect the privacy and confidentiality of all patients and ensure that they do not violate the dignity or human rights of their patients, and should ensure that their desires, personal feelings, and beliefs do not affect or interfere with the treatment of the patients (Killion and Dempski 2006). Involuntary treatment of persons with mental illness is both ethically and legally controversial. The involuntary treatment can only be morally and legally justifiable only when the disorder can endanger the life of the patient and/or others and when the mental disorder prevents the patient from making informed and autonomous treatment decisions. In addition, the physician should include an advocate for the sake of the rights of the patient. By the same token, the physicians should base the treatment and offer the best recommendations based on the best professional judgment and treat all the patients with respect, regardless of the care setting. People should raise awareness of the role and responsibilities of care providers to support and protect the well-being of patients with mental illness. This will create awareness of the legal and ethical foundations of patients with mental illness (Killion and Dempski 2006). Addiction Recovery Addiction recovery is mainly adopted in alcohol and drug abuse treatment. Addiction Recovery is an individualized process as different people face different challenges that lead to drugs and substance abuse. Recovery programs are provided for each addiction to aid in providing specialized care to the patients. Treatment of dependency is mainly provided by mental health practitioners since psychological illness and traumas often underlie addiction. Addiction recovery is a lifelong process, and care should be taken to prevent relapse. Doctors usually recommend the involvement in a support group and also spend time in a recovery home to allow for interaction with other patients facing the same challenge. Addiction intervention may be necessary whereby the patient has not recognized their problem. In Peltz (2013)’s view, there are three programs that can be adopted in addiction recovery. One of the programs provided is the 12-step substance abuse program that is most efficient during early treatment of addiction. The facility can use this program in an individual approach, a group-centric approach or a combination of both. Patients that require more intensive treatment can opt for an outpatient program whereby they can stay at the recovery facility during the detoxification process. The support group accommodates all kinds of addiction, including narcotics, cocaine, alcohol, sex addicts, gamblers and overeaters addicts. Another program as presented by Peltz (2013) is the 12-step behavioral program that was initially developed to handle alcohol addiction but later evolved to cater for all kinds of addictions. This program provides the patients with strategies to deal with the situations that lead to alcohol and drugs use, such as boredom and stress. One of the most essential ingredients of the traditional 12-step program is faith. Other strategies adopted by this program is peer support whereby members have a community feeling. The other program is the non-12 step addiction recovery program. This program relies on peer support and group discussion to help addicts deal with triggers, process emotions and realize that they are not alone in the struggle. Another program is individual counseling (Peltz 2013). This program may be more suitable for people who are hesitant to share with a group. It may also be suitable for people who must guard their privacy due to professional concerns. The terminal program is relapse prevention that aims at preventing addicts from using the drugs again. Health and social problems facing addiction According to Barnard (2007), addiction is a brain disease that may alter gene expression and brain circuitry, which in turn changes human behavior. The health impacts of addiction include exposure to diseases like cancer, lung diseases, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, stroke and cardiovascular disease. Some of these effects occur when drugs are used in high doses or for a prolonged period. The social impact of drugs includes involvement in crime, loss of self-control, impaired judgment, aggressiveness, paranoia, and impulsiveness. Other effects include hallucinations, weakening the immune system of the user, liver damage or failure, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Additionally, addiction and excessive drug use can be dangerous to pregnant women and their babies. Some of the drugs can cause the baby to have birth defects or learning behavioral challenges. Conclusion In conclusion, community service is invaluable both to the participants and the beneficiaries. Community service has psychological and cognitive benefits to the served population. Community service also has a mutual benefit, both to the participants and the served community. The two centers illustrate the advantages of community centers on the society. The programs adopted aim at providing the best care to the patients to improve their well-being. The centers also aim at creating public awareness on mental awareness and addiction to dispel the stigma surrounding mental illness and addiction. The programs adopted to address addiction, and mental illness are crafted to consider all the aspects of these challenges to assist in providing the best specialized care to the patients. The legal and ethical issues of mental illness protects the rights and freedoms of the patients by presenting the moral codes to be followed by physicians and other medical practitioners and care providers. The community centers also aim at creating awareness on the health and social problems that are as a result of addiction. References Barnard, M. (2007). Drug Addiction and Families. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Corrigan, P. W., Watson, A. C. and Barr, L. (2006). The Self–Stigma of Mental Illness: Implications for Self–Esteem and Self–Efficacy. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology: Vol. 25, No. 8, pp. 875-884. Hoffman, A. J., Parker, N. E., Sanchez, E. and Wallach, J. (2009). Unity through Community Service Activities: Strategies to Bridge Ethnic and Cultural Divides. California: McFarland. Killion, S. W. and Dempski, K. (2006). Legal and Ethical Issues. Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Livingston, J. D. and Boyd, J. E. (2010). Correlates and consequences of internalized stigma for people living with mental illness: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Social Science & Medicine. Vol. 71, Issue 12, pp 2150-2161. Peltz, L. (2013). The Mindful Path to Addiction Recovery: A Practical Guide to Regaining Control Over Your Life. Boulder, Colorado: Shambhala Publications. Read More