Community Re-integration of a Person with Schizophrenia and Poor Family Support

Abstract

Community re-integration is an integral part of treating persons with mental illness. Especially in India, presence of family support facilitates the process of community integration. Several initiatives are available now for effective integration for the homeless mentally ill back to their families, people with severe mental illness in the community and long stay in-patients in mental hospitals. However, in the absence of family support and community resources, community re-integration of a person with severe mental illness, like schizophrenia, can be highly challenging. This case reflects the challenges in the process of community re-integration in a person with schizophrenia, who was managed by a multi-disciplinary team at a tertiary care centre in Bengaluru, India. While close monitoring of the case was helpful in maintaining improvement, lack of community resources was one of the major challenges in the process of community re-integration. The case also highlights that if long-stay psychiatric facilities/ hospitals can offer a safe, supportive and stimulating environment, they can be useful to plan effective psychosocial treatments and interventions for community re-integration than just for custodial care.