Understanding Successful Community Living by Individuals with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness

Abstract

34 volunteers diagnosed as chronically mentally ill were administered a questionnaire to evaluate what factors were important in preventing rehospitalization. The volunteers were divided into two groups based on their relapse history. Analysis showed the nonrelapse group were more likely to attribute factors such as in-home therapy, taking medication, and having fun with friends than did the group who had experienced at least one relapse in the past 24 months.

New Visions of Me: Finding Joy in Recovery With Women Who Are Homeless

“…Two studies that focused on reducing readmissions found that among the number of factors identified by people with mental illness as helpful in their efforts to remain out of the hospital, the most frequently named was "friends" (Davidson, Stayner, Lambert, Smith, & Sledge, 1997), and "having fun with people important to me" differentiated those who returned to the hospital in a 2-year study (Husted & Ender, 2001). While play can often be dismissed by adults as something only children do and should do, Elkind (2007) persuasively argues that "[p]lay is not a luxury, but rather a crucial dynamic of a healthy physical, intellectual, and social-emotional development at all age levels."…”