The Suryani Institute for Mental Health just published an original paper from the study of untreated mentally ill people in Bali at European Archives of Psychiatry & Clinical Neuroscience. This study identified, mapped and treated the clinical features of mentally ill people, who had been isolated and restrained by family and community members as a result of a functional failure of the traditional medical, hospital-based mental health model currently practiced in Indonesia. A 10-month epidemiological population survey was carried out in Karangasem regency of Bali, Indonesia. A total of 404,591 individuals were clinically interviewed, of which 895 individuals with mental health problems were identified, with 23 satisfying criteria of physical restraint and confinement.
“Through the application of a holistic intervention model, all patients exhibited a remarkable recovery within 19 months of treatment”, said Professor Luh Ketut Suryani as one of the author beside Dr Lesmana (Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University, Denpasar, Indonesia) and Dr Tiliopoulos (School of Psychology, The University of Sydney). This remarkable results still face big challenges as the government and the policy makers unwilling to change their budget management for the mentally ill people.
“We conclude that the development of a community-based, culturally sensitive and respectful mental health model can serve as an optimum promoter of positive mental health outcomes”, add Professor Suryani after the completion of the original paper on mental illness in Bali.
For more reading of the article visit http://www.springerlink.com/content/rm743646657475q6/