Editing Learning patterns/Working with psychiatric patients in an editing workshop
What problem does this solve?[edit]
When you want to start an editing course in a hospital or clinic or mental health center, you cannot accept every patient. It is not like a normal editathon or course. Not all referred patients should be accepted directly. A course with psychiatric patients may fail if participants are not pre-selected.
What is the solution?[edit]
In this case, a pre-selection must be carried out with defined eligibility criteria, that is, to choose a method for selecting the participants.
It is important to consider that not all mental pathologies are suitable for this type of work, for this reason one has to be very careful when choosing potential participants. That is why they must be interview and evaluated one by one before starting the course.
Each pathology has its advantages and disadvantages and it is good for the volunteer to be familiar with these pathologies and their implications in the work. For example, patients who are in the midst of a psychotic break, patients with paranoid delusions, patients who cannot understand the slogans, patients who live outside of reality or patients who cannot generate any link with the other, are not people available to start this type of course. Eligibility criteria can be presented as inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Things to consider[edit]
Patients with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, eating disorders, schizoaffective disorders, and substance use disorders are eligible patients. Patients with intellectual disability or cognitive impairment are not eligible. Within the pathology of schizophrenia, epilepsy, and autism spectrum disorder, however, there are patients with whom one can work very well. In the case of schizophrenia, it must be taken into account that the patient is not going through an acute moment and is compensated or in remission. If the patient has paranoid delusions it is not possible to work well on the Internet. In the case of the autistic spectrum, patients with asperger syndrome are usually very well hooked on editing work. People with obsessive-compulsive disorder can also work very well, as they focus on the details. In the case of addicted patients, one can work well with almost everyone except those with Internet addictions. It is very difficult to work with people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It is essential that after the referrals, the volunteer who gives the course conducts individual interviews with the candidates.
However, one cannot be so categorical, things are not white or black, because each pathology has its advantages and disadvantages and it is good for the volunteer who gives the course to be familiar with these pathologies and their implications for the work. It is always necessary to take into account each particular case, since the course can be given even with homeless patients as long as they are literate and interested in participating.
Criteria for inclusion[edit]
- mood disorders
- anxiety disorders
- somatoform disorders
- eating disorders
- schizoaffective disorders
- bipolar disorder in remission
- substance use disorders
- compensated schizophrenia
- epilepsy
- asperger syndrome
- obsessive-compulsive disorder
- trauma-related disorders and stress factors
- somatic symptom disorders
- dissociative disorders
- personality disorders
Criteria for exclusion[edit]
- decompensated psychosis
- acute schizophrenia
- paranoid delusions
- internet addictions
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- manic episode bipolar disorder
- intellectual impairments or serious learning disabilities
- neurocognitive disorders related to:
- confusional syndrome
- Alzheimer's disease
- frontotemporal lobe degeneration
- Lewy body disease
- brain trauma
- Parkinson's disease
- Huntington's disease
When to use[edit]
When you are interested in teaching editing Wikimedia projects to mental health patients.
See also[edit]
- How to choose patients for an editing teaching course
- Wikimedia young projects in therapy settings with psychiatric patients
- Creation of an editing workshop or course with patients in an institution
- Wikitherapy
- How to avoid abandoning the course when your students have intellectual or mental disabilities.
- How to write a report when working with mental health patients