Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-24hb2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T11:46:48.088Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Crisis cards and self-help crisis initiatives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Kim Sutherby
Affiliation:
Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AZ
George Szmukler*
Affiliation:
Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AZ
*
Correspondence
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The concept of a ‘crisis card’ originated in the voluntary sector as an advocacy tool for use in mental health emergencies. This type of self-help initiative, and variations which include advance planning for mental health crises, are becoming more common, and have received Government and media attention (Brindle, 1993). The Health Committee's Fifth Report to the House of Commons (1993) on ‘Community Supervision Orders' included evidence given by Survivors Speak Out on the use of crisis cards or treatment contracts as an optional alternative to community supervision orders. Survivors Speak Out described how a user, “when in a rational state of mind, can set out in writing (on a crisis card) how they would like to be treated in circumstances when they are not the best judge of their own interests”. The Government's response was to encourage the informal use of crisis cards and the development of best practice and guidance on their use bearing in mind the central role of the user (Department of Health, 1993). They also recommended that ways of amending the law to provide for crisis cards to be legally effective should be examined. The Report of the Inquiry into the Care and Treatment of Christopher Clunis recommended that the Royal College of Psychiatrists should design a card for mentally ill people. This appeared to be a response to the identified need for improved provision of information, communication and liaison across geographical boundaries where necessary (Ritchie et al, 1994).

Type
Original Papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Footnotes

See editorial p. 3, this issue.

References

Bewick, S. (1995) Playing crisis card for safety (letter). The Ferret The Newspaper for Caring Services in Kent 50.Google Scholar
Birchwood, M., Smith, J., MacMillan, F., et al (1989) Predicting relapse in schizophrenia: the development and implementation of an early signs monitoring system using patients and families as observers, a preliminary investigation. Psychological Medicine, 19, 649656.Google Scholar
Brindle, D. (1993) Card gives user say in treatment. Guardian, 8 July.Google Scholar
Department of Health (1993) Community Supervision Orders: Government Response to the Fifth Report from the Health Committee (Session 1992–1993). London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Essex, B., Doig, R. & Renshaw, J. (1990) Pilot study of records of shared care for people with mental illnesses. British Medical Journal 300, 14421446.Google Scholar
House of Commons Health Committee (1993) Health Committee Fifth Report to the House of Commons, Community Supervision Orders. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Leader, A. (1995) Direct Power. Brighton: Pavilion Publishing.Google Scholar
Manic Depression Fellowship (1995) Inside Out: A Guide to Self Management of Manic Depression. Kingston Upon Thames: Manic Depression Fellowship.Google Scholar
Ritchie, J. H., Dick, D. & Lingham, R. (1994) The Report of the Inquiry into the Care and Treatment of Christopher Clunis. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Sommerville, A. (1995) Remembrance of conversations past: oral advance statements about medical treatment. British Medical Journal 310, 16631665.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.