A community and all of its key element can play a vital role in the prevention of mental disorder just as it can help to promote mental health close friend and co – workers first notice the early signs of emotional illness in any individual by next of kin and possibly. Therefore they have the responsibility of helping the person to seek help from appropriate mental or other health care professionals other persons within the community such as club member, colleagues at work vicars of churches or imams of mosques to which the person belongs can also play a similar role before the condition of the person becomes too serious law enforcement agencies can also assist the person to seek mental health care
Community approach to the treatment of mental disorder
The treatment of any person suffering from several emotional illness is not always the sole responsibility of formally trained workers. It is customary to involves key element within the community at one stage or another in order for treatment to be effective this is because key element within the community can contribute to quick recovery of the patient
Next of kin or significant other
It is widely accepted today that treatment should also involve the next of kin or where necessary significant other (e.g. friends) from the onset from the following reason there is always the need for mental health professional who provide treatment to focus on the family of a patient in order to ascertain whether the illness has its origin in the family dynamics. Should this case, it becomes necessary to bring members of the family into the treatment process in order to address the causal factors and to help all of them to recognise and overcomes the problem even in other circumstance in which patient problem have their origin in family dynamic, the next of kin still has important role to play in the treatment process because their moral and financial support for members who are emotionally ill are essential for quick recovery involvement of next of kin in the treatment process increase their tolerance level which in turn promotes the healing process. These supportive measures are necessary because treated patient suffer relapse partly due to lack of the financial resources needed to produce medication or to obtain the treatment, and, or due to unwillingness of kin to accept the patient fully after recovery therefore emotionally ill person can overcome their crisis if kin are brought into the treatment process. One other reason for bringing relation or friends (i.e. where appropriate) into the treatment process is to prepare them for the supportive role which they are expected to render after any of their member has been discharge from hospital. Many patient defaults from treatment they are also noted for complying with treatment regimen unless next of kin and/ or friends therefore prepare them for this post treatment task.
Community members
In some circumstances too, the members of the community are brought into the treatment process this is the case with patient who receive care in community as the one which was established in ARO villages several years ago here members of the community who live with the patient and their relatives during treatment are encourage to play a very active role in the treatment friends rather than their next of kin are people within easy members of the church or mosques or clubs to which the treated person belongs should also be encouraged to assist.
The role of the community in rehabilitation of mental disturbed
Rehabilitation can be defined as the process of restoring an individual to or close as possible to the previous level of functioning socially and occupationally this means that an individual should as much as possible be free of the symptoms which led him/ her to seek care in the first place the person social functioning level should also be restored as much possible. Apart from treating the symptoms of the mental disorder attempts should also be made to help the individual to cope with everyday living relate in an accustomed to cope with everyday living relate in an accustomed way with kin and other in community and mental illness is socially stigmatised. Persons who have received treatment for mental disorder are often labelled and regarded as outcasts by there family and colleagues at work or school relatives friend employers and colleagues at work or school are usually intolerant of those who have been treated for mental disorder because of belief amongst these persons that the disorder is likely to reoccur. The implication of this attitude is that the process of re-integrating treated persons is made difficult and yet if treated persons are not fully accepted by relations, friend and employers they would sooner or later find their way back to the hospital or street it is for this reason that all the key element within the community have very crucial role to play in the rehabilitation of those treated for mental disorders an awareness and reorganization of the importance’s role of all the key element within the community of those treated for mental disorder is essential.
Step to facilitate rehabilitation
A number of steps may be taken to facilitate rehabilitation. They start from the treatment phase. First, effect should be made during treatment to quip person undergoing treatment with skill which may help the process of rehabilitation in this regard treatment facilities should make provision for then following
Occupational therapy: which involve imparting some skill which would help to reduce boredom during care and strength patient ability to work and resume normal social responsibilities after hospitalisation some hospital teach sewing, knitting weaving, carpentry, handicraft, etc.
Recreation therapy: which expose patients to a variety of game during hospital care patient are encouraged to play indoor games such as card draft and other traditional games e.g. chess table tennis scrabble, monopoly and outdoor games e.g. soccer badminton, hand ball and lawn tennis other recreation activities which are often integrated into group psychotherapy session are dancing singing and play acting these activities are expected to boredom and to facilitate the process of recociallization and re integration of treated patients into the family and the larger community rehabilitation being long before discharge from hospital facility in some societies affect are made to facilitate the process by tanking hospitals patent who have been under prolonged care to what is often referred to as houses are established to case the difficulties of discharge patient and to help bring about their gradual re socialization and re integration into then larger society.
