The publication is devoted to such an important section of psychology and medicine as psychoprophylaxis. This is an important part of the knowledge of a practitioner who is involved in the preservation of the human mental health.
What is psychoprophylaxis?
First, give a definition of the term. Psychoprophylaxis is one of the sections of general prevention, which includes a set of measures aimed at studying the causes and timely elimination of mental disorders and diseases.
That is, psychoprophylactic activity is aimed at forming a common psychological culture, creating conditions for development and timely prevention of violations in the formation of personality. Such work can be carried out with children, parents, substitutes for them, teachers, company employees and so on.
Targets and goals
The goal of psychoprophylaxis is the timely determination and elimination of factors leading to developmental abnormalities.
The tasks include the following.
- Prevention of deviation through early diagnosis.
- Elimination of the action of the pathogenic cause on the person or organism.
- Carrying out measures to prevent relapse.
In a broad sense, the psychoprophylaxis of children and adults involves the implementation of psychological measures that strengthen, improve and maintain mental health and well-being; prevent the occurrence of phobias, neurotic disorders; counteract emotional burnout, stressful effects; solve the problems of mental organization at the personal, behavioral and existential levels.
Psychoprophylaxis Methods
A number of methods are used to conduct psycho-preventive work:
- Early diagnosis of mental disorders and diseases.
- Medical examination of the mental state of different population groups - students, military personnel and so on.
- Sanitary and educational work.
- Collection of statistical data on the conditions of occurrence of mental disorders and their subsequent analysis.
- Organization of special medical care (neuropsychiatric sanatoriums, dispensaries, night and day hospitals).
As the experience of specialists shows, psychoprophylaxis and psychotherapy are inextricably linked. It is important to adjust interpersonal relationships to eliminate emotional and behavioral disorders. For this, various methods of family psychotherapy are used.
Areas of prevention
Specialists distinguish the following areas of psychoprophylactic activity:
- Prevention of academic problems. This includes the development of cognitive processes (memory, thinking, perception, speech, imagination, etc.) and mental functions (logical, critical, creative and intuitive). As a rule, these types of work are carried out by educational institutions with children from an early age. But this may be true for adults who have lost these abilities due to injury or serious illness. Work with such patients is carried out in medical and other medical institutions.
- Prevention of social and personal problems. It involves the formation of an adequate attitude to alcohol, tobacco, drugs and sexual contacts. Training can also be conducted to critically perceive any advertisement, say no, manage aggression, conflict behavior skills and so on. As a rule, it is in the form of trainings that this sphere of psychoprophylaxis is implemented.
- Psychological rehabilitation. It is aimed at restoring lost mental functions and formations. They can be disturbed due to mental or physical trauma, distortions during development (single-parent family, hyper- or hypo-care of parents, destructive social group, and so on). Also, this includes the formation of an adequate self-concept and conscious motivation, which can be relevant for any person.
Forms of psychoprophylactic exposure
There are various types of psychoprophylaxis:
1. Information. This is the most common area of work. It can be carried out in the form of conversations, lectures, watching films, videos and disseminating narrow literature. The meaning of the approach is the impact on cognitive processes to increase the ability of an individual to make constructive decisions. Usually used information that is confirmed by statistical data. It can also be intimidating. For example, the negative consequences of drug use are mentioned, personality degradation and the dramatic fate of deviants are described.
2. Organization of social environment. This form involves environmental impact. Such psycho-prophylaxis can be directed at teachers, class, school, social group, family, specific personality. Sometimes the whole society becomes an object of influence. Most often, to form a general negative opinion about deviant behavior. To implement this form of prevention, social advertising can be created (for example, to develop guidelines for sobriety and a healthy lifestyle). The participation of the media is of particular importance here.
3. The formation of a desire to lead a healthy lifestyle. With this form of work, an idea of personal responsibility for one’s health, harmony with one’s body and the surrounding world is created. Also, a person learns to counteract adverse factors and achieve a state that is optimal for a particular situation.
4. Stimulation of personal resources. It involves creative self-expression, sports, participation in groups of psychological growth. In turn, this ensures a person’s activity, his health and resistance to the influence of negative external factors. This form of work is especially important for ensuring the psycho-prophylaxis of children.
5. Minimization and elimination of negative consequences of destructive behavior. Usually this form of work is used in cases where abnormal actions are already entrenched in the consciousness of the individual. The main goal is to prevent relapse and their undesirable consequences.
6. Active learning of important social skills. Usually it is realized through group trainings. The following types are most common:
- Life skills training. By them it is customary to understand the most important social skills. First of all, this is the ability to communicate, build friendships and resolve conflicts. No less significant are the skills of confident behavior, self-control, changing oneself depending on the situation. Also here include the ability to take responsibility, to defend their interests.
- Assertiveness training. It is based on the idea that deviant behavior is directly related to emotional disturbances. Therefore, in the lesson, the psychologist teaches to effectively deal with stress, understand your feelings and express them in an acceptable way. Also, in the process of training, self-esteem increases, the desire for self-determination and the development of positive values is stimulated.
- Resistance training. This is a psychoprophylaxis of negative social influence. During the lesson, positive attitudes are formed and resistance to destructive factors is developed.
By the method of organization of psychoprophylactic activity, it is possible to distinguish an individual, group and family form of work.
Principles
Experts note that when conducting psychoprophylaxis, the following principles must be observed:
- Targeting This means that you should consider gender, age and social characteristics.
- Complexity It is most effective to influence at various levels: personality, family and social space.
- Positive information.
- Minimizing negative effects.
- Orientation of the result for the future.
- Maximum activity, personal interest and responsibility of the participants.
Stages
Specialists distinguish several stages (levels) of psychoprophylaxis, depending on whether the person is healthy, is at risk, has mental disorders or a pronounced persistent pathology. It is accepted to adhere to the international classification. According to her, prevention is divided into:
- primary;
- secondary;
- tertiary.
Next, each of the levels will be considered in more detail.
Primary prevention
This is a set of measures that are aimed at preventing the occurrence of mental disorders. They apply both to mental illness itself and to disorders associated with organic abnormalities of the brain. Primary psychoprophylaxis involves the study of the resistance of the psyche to the influence of harmful environmental agents, identifying possible ways to improve this endurance and preventing psychogenic diseases.
Activities at this level are closely linked to general prevention. Therefore, specialists from different fields (psychologists, doctors, physiologists, sociologists and hygienists) should participate in them. In this case, a special role is given to psychotherapists and clinical psychologists who are able not only to detect neuropsychiatric diseases in the early stages, but also to develop and implement special events.
In a sense, primary prevention is the medical examination of healthy people, since neuropsychiatric disorders can occur due to several reasons:
- Adverse socio-psychological conditions of development and existence. Improper upbringing in childhood, microsocial conflicts, information overload, etc.
- Biological factors. Adverse heredity, brain injuries, somatic diseases, intoxications, harmful effects at the stage of intrauterine development.
There are several types of primary psychological prevention :
- Education of the population of psychological literacy.
- Educational work that addresses issues of stressful situations, their consequences, methods of prevention and ways to resist them.
- Correction of destructive interpersonal relationships.
- Learning self-regulation techniques.
- Mastering the skills of liberation from deviant behavior and bad habits.
Secondary psychoprophylaxis
Secondary psychoprophylaxis is a set of measures aimed at eliminating risk factors that, in the presence of certain conditions, lead to relapse or exacerbation of the disease. Including, disorders may occur that are dangerous to the life and health of not only the patient himself, but also those around him.
Secondary psychoprophylaxis involves the earliest possible determination of the initial stages of neuropsychiatric abnormalities and their timely active treatment. That is, control over the aggravation or re-emergence of the negative consequences of an ongoing disease is carried out. If the treatment is untimely or of poor quality, the disease may take a protracted
The outcome of mental illness is strongly influenced by active methods of treatment, advanced pharmacological preparations. They significantly increase the number of cases of recovery and discharge of patients from psychiatric hospitals. But it should be borne in mind that secondary psychoprophylaxis of behavior involves not only work with the biological component of the disorder. It also requires the use of sociotherapy and psychotherapy. The most effective method for this level of psychological prevention is clinical observation. It includes early detection of signs of deviation, dynamic examination, targeted treatment and rehabilitation.
Tertiary Psychoprophylaxis
Tertiary psychoprophylaxis is a system of measures whose purpose is to prevent the formation of mental disorders and disability in chronic disorders. Measures are aimed at the rehabilitation of patients who have lost their full life.
That is, at this level of psychoprophylaxis, psychologists and other specialists are involved in the prevention of disability in the presence of a neuropsychiatric disorder. It is important to prevent the occurrence of relapses and restore the person's ability to work.
In treatment, a competent selection of medications and pedagogical correction is of great importance. So, with affective disorders (for example, with manic-depressive psychosis), the emphasis is on the use of lithium salts. For the prevention of neurosis, psychotherapy and other forms of work are mainly prescribed.
With tertiary psychoprophylaxis, a special role is given to techniques that are aimed at maintaining performance. For this, the following events are usually carried out:
- Finding ways for self-actualization. A person must realize his own capabilities in order to replenish his resources of growth and development.
- Vocational rehabilitation. This is a search for career opportunities, new resources for activity or a change in profession.
- Social adaptation. When a sick person returns to his familiar environment, the most favorable conditions should be created.
Is psychoprophylaxis and psychohygiene the same thing?
What is psychoprophylaxis has already been considered. Now you need to get acquainted with the concept of psychological hygiene. This is the science of maintaining and maintaining the mental health of an individual. Mental hygiene performs a number of important tasks. She creates scientifically based psycho-hygienic standards and recommendations. Passes this knowledge and teaches the necessary skills of teachers, health workers, parents and other groups. Also, the tasks include health education, which is conducted among a wide range of people.
Some experts believe that between psycho-hygiene and psycho-prophylaxis you can put an identical sign. This opinion is not unfounded.
For example, the German scientist K. Hecht, speaking in his book about psychohygiene, gives his definition of this science. He wrote that psychological hygiene can be understood as preventive protection of a person’s mental health. For this, in his opinion, it is necessary to create optimal conditions for the full development of personality and the functioning of the brain. It is equally important to increase the resistance of the psyche to harmful environmental factors. It is also necessary to establish multilateral interpersonal relations, improve living and working conditions.
The Soviet psychologist K.K. Platonov believed that psychohygiene is a science that lies at the intersection of hygiene and medical psychology. It is aimed at improving the environment and improving living conditions.
According to L. L. Rokhlin, it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of psychoprophylaxis and psychological hygiene. They are only closely interconnected with each other. After all, it is impossible to strengthen and maintain mental health without preventing diseases. The scientist spoke about the conditional demarcation of these two branches. He believed that the main goal of mental hygiene is to strengthen, improve and maintain health through the formation of an appropriate social and natural environment, an appropriate lifestyle and regime. While psychoprophylaxis is aimed at preventing mental disorders.
So, the publication spoke about the basics of psychoprophylaxis, its goals, objectives, principles, forms, methods and levels. You can summarize. Psychoprophylaxis is a branch of general health prevention, which is associated with a number of social and medical sciences. This line of science is useful for everyone, including people without mental disabilities. After all, as you know, a disease is easier to prevent than to treat it. If the deviation is started, then psychoprophylaxis can also help find a suitable solution to stabilize the condition.