A Developmental Treatment Program for the Chronic Patient

Abstract

The need exists for a prescriptive treatment program for chronic mental patients within the state hospital. The community mental health center has not met the needs of the chronic patient, and the state hospital has developed neither the diagnostic nor treatment system to qualify as a viable aspect of the overall mental health delivery system. This article presents a diagnostic system based upon developmental stages which considers the whole person and allows prescriptive treatment for the chronic patient. The description of this treatment system within a state hospital suggests the role of the large institution in the total mental health delivery system.

Fourth revolution in the treatment of mental disorders: Rehabilitative entrepreneurship.

“…The Augusta Mental Health Institute, a state mental hospital in Maine, developed a comprehensive rehabilitation model that focused on developmental, cognitive, interpersonal, and social processes. Magaro and his co-workers (Magaro & DeSisto, 1981; Magaro, DeSisto, & West, 1984) created a developmental diagnostic battery for chronic patients that assessed behaviors ranging from reflexes to social skills. Some chronic patients had basic deficits such as psychomotor responses, whereas others only exhibited deficits in proper work behaviors such as dress and supervisory relations.…”