A challenge facing many deinstitutionalized psychiatric patients is finding suitable employment. At Fountain House, run by the Cape Mental Health Society, patients receive training and temporary work assignments to give them a second chance.
Almost 700 psychiatric patients have been discharged from hospitals in the Western Cape and according to the SA Health review, more will follow. Many believe that mentally ill patients will have a better quality of life outside an institution. However, being exposed to a new kind of life outside hospital walls presents numerous challenges. Kerry Cullinan reports
It should be a time of joy, peace and goodwill ' yet all too often Christmas can be a time of loneliness, strained family relations and financial hardship. Psychologists warn that society has imposed all kinds of expectations around this time of year ' some of which are unrealistic and most of which are guaranteed to heighten stress levels. However, there are ways of coping.
