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Biomedical subjects

H L Ruben

Publications and source records attributed to H L Ruben.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1986

American psychiatry's fundamental policy is to foster the patient's good.

As long as psychiatrists are human, there will be episodes of unethical psychiatric practice and ineffective, sometimes damaging psychiatric treatment. The author argues that these incidents do not detract from the overall integrity of the profession, the reality of mental illness, or the increasing sophistication of psychiatric treatment and knowledge. Rather than being oppressive, as a minority of former patients have charged, the policies of the American Psychiatric Association related to patient care are broadly worded ethical principles intended to foster the patient's good. The author defends the need for involuntary treatment and suggests that controversies surrounding involuntary treatment, the insanity defense, and the homeless mentally ill are essentially social, legal, and legislative issues in which psychiatry has found itself in the middle.

Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders↗
PubMed1978

The frequency and persistence of depressive symptoms in the alcohol abuser.

A survey of 61 outpatients admitted to a mental health center for the treatment of alcoholism determined that a majority of them (59 per cent) were clinically depressed. The depressive symptoms were rarely treated with anti-depressant agents and, at 1-year follow-up, were found to persist even though the patients had attended the standard treatment program for alcoholics. There is need for new treatment strategies that recognize the diagnostic heterogeneity of the alcoholic and that consider the use of appropriate psychopharmacological agents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Mental health training and consultation: a model for liaison with clergy.

A chaplain, a psychiatrist, and a social worker developed a program to train clergy in more effective mental health case management, counseling, and referral skills, and to sensitize mental health center professionals to the work of the clergy in mental health. The program consists of 12 two-hour meetings conducted by a clinician and a chaplain once a week. In the first four meetings, clergy are trained to use a self-report personal-data kit with individuals presenting with emotional problems. In the next eight meetings, clergy make case presentations that are used as a basis for consultation and group discussion. The project has established a firm basis for collaboration between clergy and mental health center staff in providing care.

Community Mental Health Services↗
PubMed1977

Symptom patterns in primary and secondary depression. A comparison of primary depressives with depressed opiate addicts, alcoholics, and schizophrenics.

The primary-secondary distinction in affective disorders has been proposed to reduce the heterogeneity of depression. An investigation of the frequency of secondary depression and its nature in depressed opiate addicts, alcoholics, and schizophrenics was undertaken. Findings show that secondary depression in ambulatory patients with other psychiatric disorders is relatively common. The sociodemographic characteristics of the secondary depressive are consistent with the population from which they derive but differ from primary depressives. The symptom patterns of secondary depressives are similar to primary depressives but are overall less severe. These findings give further support to the value of separating out secondary from primary depression in future research studies.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Family crisis.

Various family crises confront the busy family physician on almost a daily basis. He must recognize the existence of a family crisis and assess the situation adequately and thoroughly. This includes being impartial and unbiased, being aware of countertransferential feelings and asking all necessary questions to obtain adequate information. The family physician must become the objective clarifier and definer of the situation for the family and assume the role of consultant-strategist.

Conflict, Psychological↗