On the basis of the analysis of more than a hundred projects that have beencompleted over the past four decades, the process of the transformation of thearchitecture of orphanages in the context of ...the deinstitutionalisation strategywas analysed. The analysis was based on a specially developed method ofcomparing environmental and peculiarities of fostering. The main goal of thismethod was to establish a connection between the effective methods of raisingchildren and architectural form. In accordance with the structure of the plan,three types of orphanage have been identified – single, branched and dispersed.As a result of the analysis, three factors were identified that contribute to thepreservation of outdated methods of organising the architectural space of analternative care institution for children. A number of design solutions have beenidentified that have significant potential for strengthening deinstitutionalized,child-centred educational practices that correspond to the best interests of the child.
Beyond the asylum Mossa, Alessandra
Area (London 1969),
June 2024, Volume:
56, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
My research is situated within the literature looking at the processes of deinstitutionalisation of the mental health system through the lived geographies placed in between the walls of the asylum. ...It addresses mental health geographers' call for a situated knowledge about mental health and, by using the Italian psychiatric experience of the 1960s and 1970s as an example, stresses the importance of looking at care in both spatial and relational terms. Through a geographical understanding of the Italian psychiatric reform, that goes from Franco Basaglia's renowned work to the underrepresented experience of Turin, in northwest Italy, I will examine how space is intertwined with processes of mental health care. Additionally, I assess the role played by the interaction between spatial and relational elements in potentially enabling patients' self‐determination, empowerment and inclusion. The case of Turin—the story of which will be told through the analysis of archival material from a grassroots association called Associazione per la Lotta contro le Malattie Mentali—will serve to expand the common narrative around the Italian lesson and to give resonance to the instrumental role played at the time by both patients and civil society. By looking at the key events that led to the gradual dismantlement of the traditional psychiatric institutions in the metropolitan area of Turin, this paper contributes to the spatial turn in mental health studies, calling upon researchers to look at past achievements as something we still need to learn from and safeguard.
Short
The paper addresses mental health geographers' call for a situated knowledge about mental health and, by using the Italian psychiatric experience of the 1960s and 1970s as an example, stresses the importance of looking at care in both spatial and relational terms.
NHS Psychiatric beds comprise mental illness and intellectual disability beds. Penrose hypothesised that the number of psychiatric in-patients was inversely related to prison population size.
To ...ascertain whether the Penrose hypothesis held true in England between 1960 and 2018-2019.
A time-series analysis explored the association between total prison population and NHS psychiatric beds; this was also tested for the male and female prison populations, using non-psychiatric beds as a comparator. Associations were explored with time lags of up to 20 years. Linear regression was conducted to estimate the size of the effect of bed closures.
NHS psychiatric beds decreased 93% and the prison population increased 208%. A strong (r =-0.96) and highly significant negative correlation between these changes was found. Annual reduction in psychiatric bed numbers was associated with an increase in prison population, strongest at a lag of 10 years. The closure of mental illness and intellectual disability beds was associated with increases in female prisoners 10 years later. The only significant explanatory variable for the increase in male prison population was intellectual disability bed reduction.
The Penrose hypothesis held true between 1960 and 2018-2019 in England: psychiatric bed closures were associated with increases in prison population up to 10 years later. For every 100 psychiatric beds closed, there were 36 more prisoners 10 years later: 3 more female prisoners and 33 more male prisoners. Our results suggest that the dramatic increase in the female prison population may relate to the closure of NHS beds.
This paper assesses evidence of and challenges to the development of the foster care system in Portugal. It describes the evolution of the social policy adopted in the Portuguese child placement ...system, highlighting family placement in foster care, followed by an overview of the main institutional actors in the protection system and the supports provided to family carers. Then, based on available research developed in Portugal, a portrait of the experiences lived by foster families and children placed in foster care is presented, revealing children and carers’ opinions about well-being and personal development, education and leaving care process, foster care and residential care, and participation in decision-making. The analysis adopted identify the intensity and singularity of relationships in foster care, and the impact it has on children’s and foster families life’s. They reveal an intense, unique experience that is unmatched by other educational and affective relationships established between adults and children. The article discusses implications for policies and practices, by considering the need for a shift from residential to family care to achieve a better balance in the system and move closer to international statements of good practices.
Pädagogische Institutionen gelten als träge, befinden sich jedoch in einem ständigen Wandlungsprozess. Welche Dynamiken werden dabei sichtbar und wie können sie qualitativ-empirisch erforscht werden? ...Die im Band versammelten Beiträge untersuchen beispielsweise Wandlungen und Institutionalisierungsprozesse, die durch Flucht- und Migrationsbewegungen, Inklusion oder Digitalisierungsprozesse angestoßen werden, und loten aus, wie sich diese methodologisch und methodisch (neu) erfassen lassen. (DIPF/Orig.)
Beyond the asylum Mossa, Alessandra
Area (London 1969),
06/2024, Volume:
56, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Abstract My research is situated within the literature looking at the processes of deinstitutionalisation of the mental health system through the lived geographies placed in between the walls of the ...asylum. It addresses mental health geographers' call for a situated knowledge about mental health and, by using the Italian psychiatric experience of the 1960s and 1970s as an example, stresses the importance of looking at care in both spatial and relational terms. Through a geographical understanding of the Italian psychiatric reform, that goes from Franco Basaglia's renowned work to the underrepresented experience of Turin, in northwest Italy, I will examine how space is intertwined with processes of mental health care. Additionally, I assess the role played by the interaction between spatial and relational elements in potentially enabling patients' self‐determination, empowerment and inclusion. The case of Turin—the story of which will be told through the analysis of archival material from a grassroots association called Associazione per la Lotta contro le Malattie Mentali—will serve to expand the common narrative around the Italian lesson and to give resonance to the instrumental role played at the time by both patients and civil society. By looking at the key events that led to the gradual dismantlement of the traditional psychiatric institutions in the metropolitan area of Turin, this paper contributes to the spatial turn in mental health studies, calling upon researchers to look at past achievements as something we still need to learn from and safeguard.
The research study presented in this article (based on my PhD dissertation), aimed to explore the shifting meaning of “asylum”, for people with severe mental illness (SMI), who are residents of ...community care units (CCUs), by comparing and contrasting participants’ experiences of CCUs with their previous lives in institutions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with residents (N=35) and staff members (N=20) of four CCUs run by Klimaka (a non-governmental organisation) in Attica, the legal advisor of Klimaka, two mental health officers, a psychologist and a psychiatrist from Dromokaition Mental Health Hospital. Data were analysed thematically. Most residents felt that institutions provided a “temporary asylum” based on: 1) financial security; 2) stress-free daily routine; 3) segregation from the pressures of the outside world; 4) good or neutral relationships with staff; and 5) trust in their treatment. But most felt that the hospital had never become their actual home. All residents felt that CCUs offered them a temporary or permanent asylum, based on: 1) financial security; 2) enriched daily routine; 3) wider social networks; 4) an increased degree of freedom; 5) good relationships with staff; 6) trust in treatment, with increased awareness; and 7) absence of abuse. Twelve residents felt that the CCU was their permanent residence, while for seven of them it was a temporary one, before moving to more autonomous living conditions. The study concludes that “Asylum” as a place offering safety and security, does not represent a physical entity, but a set of interrelated criteria which, if met by services, can be achieved for people with SMI anywhere. In relation to treatment, residents’ experiences revealed increased awareness of the pharmaceutical treatment, increased monitoring by staff members and increased participation in psychotherapy, while in CCUs.
•advances understanding on institutional conditions for technological phase-out.•complements the existing focus on full decline of unsustainable technologies.•examines multiple dissipation mechanisms ...and their effects on technological decline.•highlights the role of institutional remnants in shaping technological decline.
The decline side of transitions is an emerging study, which advances thinking on regime destabilisation, technology decline and phase-out policies. Previous research has predominantly focused on the complete phase out of specific unsustainable technologies as desirable or possible, but it has given less attention to how these technological aspects interweave with institutional elements in ways that may constrain or enable system transformations. Our research develops a framework that clarifies the nuanced relationships between technological decline and the dissipation of institutional elements as distinct but interrelated processes. Through a longitudinal case study, we used the framework to examine the decline of unsustainable drainage technologies in Melbourne, Australia. These technologies are embedded within existing institutional elements, i.e. routines, rules, roles, and meanings that govern how stormwater should be managed. The near-full decline of one type of the drainage technologies is enabled by mixing old and new institutional elements. We found that the dissipation of multiple elements using combined mechanisms is important to achieve this partial decline outcome, and more attention needs to be paid to the effects of institutional remnants in constraining systems transformations.
This paper analyses actual legal issues related to the protection of rights of a child deprived of parental care and the use of alternative care. Every child separated from the family has the right ...to receive adequate care and protection from the state. The author notes that currently, there is no unified deinstitutionalisation strategy and action plan in Georgia ensuring the protection of the rights of a child deprived of parental care. The qualitative research results, regulatory legal acts for alternative care and court practice are based on legal analysis. The authority of the guardianship and custody body lies in the application of alternative care. Thus, the aim of our study is to analyse alternative care issues regulated in Georgia, its enforcement in practice and to develop specific proposals and recommendations in order to eliminate the gaps related to the alternative care issues. The research has revealed that in order to successfully complete the deinstitutionalisation process in Georgia, it is necessary to develop a unified strategy and action plan. Children should be provided with services as close to family as possible: taking prevention measures, offering appropriate support services to families and considering the geographical access. It is necessary to allocate both material and human resources, including in terms of training.
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