Mental health care settings: Nursing

Patients with mental health disorders require treatment in settings specific to their condition and unique needs. These settings include outpatient settings, where treatment is conducted in the community; or inpatient settings, where treatment occurs in a hospital-like facility.

Therapeutic activities provided in these settings include individual and group therapy; psychoeducation, which combines cognitive-behavior therapy, group therapy, and education; and nursing care for medication management and monitoring of existing medical conditions.

Depending on the setting, patients may also partake in activities like rehabilitation services, such as occupational and physical therapy; gardening; yoga; or dance therapy. These services are provided by a multidisciplinary health care team, including providers, nurses, therapists, social workers, and case managers.

Outpatient settings include group homes, partial hospitalization, and day treatment centers.

Group homes are a structured, home-like living situation that provides 24-hour support for patients who are unable to function independently, such as adults with mental health conditions like schizophrenia or pediatric patients with behavioral or conduct disorders. In the group home setting, patients develop necessary life skills, like learning to adhere to house rules, including nighttime curfews and abstaining from illegal substances. Group homes can also serve as residential treatment centers for patients with substance use disorders.

Next, partial hospitalization centers are short-term programs that provide ongoing treatment for patients who are transitioning from an inpatient facility. Patients typically spend four to six hours each day, five days per week in therapy, with the goal of decreasing the likelihood of being readmitted to inpatient treatment. After completing a partial hospitalization program, patients are often transferred to a lower level of care in a day treatment center, which are community centers focused on stabilization, rehabilitation, and recovery. Patients attend structured activities for a set number of hours on a prescribed schedule and develop skills to increase their ability to function independently. Patients with co-occurring conditions, such as schizophrenia and substance use disorder are provided with intensive therapy for schizophrenia along with attending Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

Now, inpatient mental health care can occur in a variety of settings. In situations when there’s an acute psychiatric emergency, like when a patient is a danger to themselves or others, or is gravely disabled, the patient can receive care in an acute psychiatric unit for rapid evaluation and stabilization. Intensive psychiatric care is typically provided on a locked unit, and patients can be admitted voluntarily or involuntarily.