| Clients to mental health clinics are usually not admitted | | | | many cases are diagnosed in hospitals while the client |
| arbitrarily. The process usually consists of an initial | | | | is under treatment for other health problems. |
| interview with a community worker or a mental health | | | | Mental health problems affect people from all age |
| professional. If a client is considered in need of | | | | groups, and American mental health clinics also offer |
| residential or out-patient treatment at a mental health | | | | services specifically for the aged as well as children |
| clinic, an extensive history of the mental illness will then | | | | and adolescents. The reasons that commonly lead to |
| be recorded. Such assessments will also include | | | | a referral for elderly persons range from senile |
| interviews with other doctors and family physicians | | | | dementia and Alzheimer's disease to problems related |
| who have noted the onset and progress of the | | | | to chronic alcohol abuse. Mental health problems typical |
| ailment. | | | | to the aged fall under the category of geropsychiatric |
| The staff at mental health clinics usually consists of | | | | medicine. |
| psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health nurses, and | | | | Teenagers and young adults often find themselves in |
| support personnel who are specially trained. The | | | | need of mental health services because of substance |
| scope and activities of mental health clinics in America | | | | abuse, inherited mental problems, and Attention Deficit |
| generally falls under the purview of the CMHC | | | | Disorders (ADD). |
| (Community Mental Health Centers). This body issues | | | | The services available at mental health clinics |
| licenses to clinics and centers for the practice of | | | | necessarily include group therapy, individual and family |
| mental health-related treatment. | | | | counseling, and a social awareness cell. The latter |
| Considering that mental health crises do not always | | | | would be staffed by personnel who could explain the |
| announce themselves in advance, a mental health clinic | | | | various issued surrounding metal health in layman's |
| or center usually offers twenty-four-hour emergency | | | | terms to clients and their families. They are also an |
| services. These include inpatient hospital referral, since | | | | integral part of the evaluation process. |