Homelessness and Mental Health (Studies in Social and Community Psychiatry)

As homelessness becomes an increasingly serious issue, the mental health of homeless people is beginning to appear on the agendas of politicians and policy makers, as well as health care workers. In contrast to the popular "Skid Row" stereotype that the word "homeless" tends to trigger, many are in fact families and young single people. The health needs of these different kinds of people are, of course, varied. This volume brings together the experiences of mental health teams from around the world in addressing the problems of mental illness in the homeless. The difficulties in assessment and treatment are discussed at length with an emphasis on the application of existing knowledge in health care. By addressing social policy implications and clinical management as well as providing models and definitions of homelessness in different cultures, this book will offer practical support for all those who work with the homeless. 1. Introduction / Dinesh Bhugra -- 2. Homelessness And Mental Illness: A Brief History / Philip Timms -- 3. Models Of Homelessness / Alan Mcnaught And Dinesh Bhugra -- 4. Young Homeless And Homeless Families: A Review / Dinesh Bhugra -- 5. Homeless Women / E. Jane Marshall -- 6. Homelessness And Criminality / Philip Joseph -- 7. Services For The Mentally Ill Homeless / E. Jane Marshall And Dinesh Bhugra -- 8. Clinical Work With Homeless People In The Usa / William R. Breakey -- 9. Severely Mentally Ill In Hostels For The Homeless / Max Marshall -- 10. Old And Homeless In London And New York City: A Cross-national Comparison / Carl I. Cohen And Maureen Crane -- 11. Primary Health Care Of The Single Homeless / David El-kabir And Simon Ramsden -- 12. European Perspectives -- Introduction To European Chapter / Max Marshall -- Homelessness In Denmark / Preben Brandt And Povl Munk-jorgensen -- Continental European Experience: Germany / Wulf Rossler And Hans Joachim Salize -- Homelessness: An Irish Perspective / Joseph Fernandez -- 13. Lessons From America: Semantics And Services For Mentally Ill Homeless Individuals / Leona L. Bachrach -- 14. Homelessness And Mental Health: Lessons From Australia / Helen Herrman And Cecily Neil -- 15. Implications Of Social Policy / David Kingdon -- 16. Evaluating Services For Homeless People With Mental Disorders: Theoretical And Practical Issues / Max Marshall -- 17. Future Directions For Homeless Mentally Ill / Dinesh Bhugra. Edited By Dinesh Bhugra. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. As homelessness becomes an increasingly visible problem, the health care of homeless people is beginning to appear on the agenda of politicians, health care workers, and policy makers. In contrast with the popular stereotype of elderly alcoholic males or bag ladies which the word homeless tends to trigger, homelessness affects families as well as young single people. The health needs of these various groups are not homogeneous. This book brings together the experience of mental health care teams around the world in addressing the problems of mental illness in the homeless. The difficulties in assessment and service delivery are discussed at length with an emphasis on application of existing knowledge in health care. In addressing social policy implications as well as clinical management, models, and definitions of homelessness in different cultures, this volume will offer a practical support for all those working with the homeless on a day-to-day basis Homelessness is an increasing global problem which poses particular challenges with respect to appropriate mental health care, assessment, and service delivery. Bringing together international experience of mental health care teams, this book provides a valuable and practical resource for all those working with the homeless on a day-to-day basis. As homelessness becomes an increasingly serious issue, the mental health of homeless people is of concern to local communities. This book examines the social and policy implications and offers a comparative study of how the problem is addressed in different countries This book brings together experts from around the world in addressing mental illness in the homeless. The difficulties of assessment and service delivery are discussed with an emphasis on applying existing knowledge in health care Homelessness and its consequences have become much more visible on the streets of big cities as well as villages across the globe in the last few years.