Experience of a Clinical Psychologist Working with Chronic Mental Illness in a Halfway Home: An Illustrative Report

Abstract

As the focus and awareness about mental health increase, the need to care for less privileged individuals suffering from chronic mental illness also becomes important (In The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD Act, 2016), Mental Illness is one of the disabilities specified). In the recent past, the importance of Psychosocial Rehabilitation (PSR) has been gradually increasing. Considering this, Halfway and Longstay Homes are the need of the hour. Halfway and longstay homes are residential facilities that are beneficial for providing accommodation to those who suffer from chronic mental illness, who are destitute, may have wandered away from their homes due to their illness or those who have minimal family support in the wake of mental illness as a disability. Such a cohort constitutes an important part of PSR. Whereas a halfway home is a transitional facility, longstay home provides extended residential care. Both these homes can be present in the same facility. The present article delineates the experiences of a clinical psychologist who is working as a part of a multidisciplinary team in one such halfway/longstay home exclusively for females who are stable on treatment and recovering from psychiatric illness. It also highlights how the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 is practically implemented in this institution. The institution is located in Tier I city of India (Census of India, 2011), and the name is kept anonymous to maintain the confidentiality of the residents. 

Keywords: Psychosocial rehabilitation, RPwD Act, halfway homes, longstay homes, clinical psychologist