Psychiatry Features

There are around one million victims of elder abuse each year in the UK. How should healthcare physicians respond if they suspect elder abuse and what happens next?

It is essential for psychiatrists and health professionals to gain both the theoretical and practical knowledge of how to deal with situations that may infringe on a patient’s fundamental freedoms. .

People with a severe mental illness die 15–20 years earlier than they would have done, had they not had a severe mental illness. The principle cause of this increased mortality is from long-term conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and cancer. 

Some 14–17% of adults over 65 are lonely. Cohousing is a form of grouped housing designed and managed by those who reside within it. This is part two of a two-part article.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is commonly associated with psychiatric morbidity, which may include depression and anxiety. The treatment goals may include improvement or remission of psychiatric symptoms.

Some 14–17% of adults over 65 are lonely. Social isolation and the subjective experience of loneliness can increase the risk of poor health outcomes, including anxiety, depression, suicide, sleep problems and premature mortality. Cohousing is a form of grouped housing designed and managed by those who reside within it. We consider whether this approach may have beneficial effects in alleviating or protecting from loneliness in older people. This is part one of a two-part article.

This article aims to update general hospital staff about electroconvulsive treatment.

For too long the psychological needs of older people have sat on the periphery of psychotherapeutic services, being seen by some as a luxury or a novelty, and too expensive with no productive outcome.