What is recovery from mental disorders?

When it comes to rehabilitation of mental disorders, what comes to mind is to take patients to watch TV, sing and dance, do exercises, play poker and chess, and other so-called entertainment activities, so as to prevent patients from being lonely and homesick during hospitalization and not being at ease in the hospital. Let me tell you, this is only one aspect of rehabilitation, called learning to have fun, and what I want to tell you about the rehabilitation of mental disorders is this:

First things first: What is rehabilitation?

In the concept of modern medicine, rehabilitation refers to the recovery of physical function, psychological function and occupational ability, improving their mobility, improving their ability to take care of themselves, encouraging them to re-participate in social activities and improving their quality of life.

Secondly: What is rehabilitation psychiatry?

It is a branch of rehabilitation medicine, which is consistent with the rehabilitation of physical diseases. That is, it uses all available means to correct the pathological manifestations of mental disorders as much as possible and restore the mental functions to adapt to social life to the greatest extent possible.

Third: Who are the main targets of rehabilitation psychiatry services? When does rehabilitation treatment take place?

In the past, including disabled people with various mental illnesses and mental disorders, most of whom were severe mental patients, and mainly chronic mental patients, the main purpose was to reduce the degree of disability. In the past, mental rehabilitation was carried out after the occurrence of disability.

The current targets of rehabilitation treatment also include those patients who have just developed mental and psychological diseases. That is, rehabilitation treatment is carried out at the same time as the patients' treatment, with the aim of preventing the occurrence of mental disability.

The targets of rehabilitation treatment in the future will be all people who are susceptible to mental and psychological illnesses, and its main purpose is to prevent the occurrence of mental and psychological illnesses.

Fourth point: What principles should be followed in the rehabilitation of mental disorders?

There are three basic principles, namely: functional training, comprehensive rehabilitation, and return to society.

1. Functional training: refers to the use of various rehabilitation methods and means to carry out various functional activities for patients with mental disorders, including training in psychological activities, physical activities, language communication, daily life, occupational activities and social activities.

2. Comprehensive rehabilitation: It is the principle and policy of rehabilitation, which enables the patient to achieve comprehensive and holistic rehabilitation of psychological, physiological and social functions;

3. Return to society: This is the goal and direction of rehabilitation.

Point 5: What are the main tasks of rehabilitation for mental disorders?

1. Life skills training: Seriously train behavioral skills in life, study, and work, including the ability to live independently, basic work ability, interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills, stress coping skills, etc., so that patients can reintegrate into society.

2. Medication self-management training: This includes making patients understand the importance of medications for prevention and treatment, and consciously accepting medication treatment; learning about psychotropic drugs, understanding the effects and adverse reactions of drugs, learning to identify common adverse drug reactions, and being able to handle them in a simple manner.

3. Learn to seek help from doctors. When necessary, you can consciously seek help from doctors, ask questions and make requests to doctors correctly, and effectively describe your problems and symptoms. When there are signs of relapse, you can report to the doctor in time to get reasonable treatment.

4. Social and psychological rehabilitation: learn to manage emotions, learn to adapt to the basic requirements of family, school, and work, learn how to deal with prejudice and discrimination from society, etc.

About the Author:

Wang Huiqiu is a chief physician, professor, master's supervisor, national psychotherapist, director of the Rehabilitation Center of Shenyang An Ning Hospital, executive deputy director of Shenyang Mental and Psychological Rehabilitation Clinical Medicine Research Center, and head of Shenyang Psychological Counseling Hotline Studio. Expert member of the Science Popularization Committee of the Chinese Medical Education Association, standing member of the Geriatric Mental Health Committee of the Chinese Mental Health Association, standing member of the Geriatric Mental Health Committee of the Chinese Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics, member of the Psychiatric Psychology Group of the Sleep Medicine Committee of the Chinese Medical Association, member of the Mental Rehabilitation Committee of the Psychiatric Physicians Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, deputy director of the Social Psychology Operations Committee of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association, standing member of the Science Popularization Group of the Mental Rehabilitation Branch of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association, standing member of the Mental Disability Rehabilitation Committee of the China Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Association, mental health and psychological health science popularization expert of the Collaborative Research Network Platform of the National Clinical Research Center for Mental and Psychological Diseases, deputy editor-in-chief of "Psychological and Psychiatric Nursing", co-editor of "Internal Medicine", "Practical Geriatric Mental Health", "Medical and Nursing Care Practice for Demented Elderly People", "Prevention and Treatment of Common Mental Disorders" and other monographs, won the title of Outstanding Rehabilitation Physician of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association in 2022 and the title of Advanced Science Popularization Individual, advanced individual in the construction of the Chinese Medical Education Association, and was awarded the honor of "Outstanding Science and Technology Worker of 2018-2022" by the International Chinese Applied Psychology Research Association in 2023.