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Introduction: Schizophrenia is a chronic and one of the most severe mental disorders. From many years studies regarding mortality among people suffering from schizophrenia are being conducted as a way of controlling indirectly the effectiveness of medical care and therapy., Aim: The aim of this paper was to determine the course of studies of mortality in schizophrenia and to analyze possibilities of using this kind of studies to evaluate changes in mental care system in Poland., Material: This paper is a review of European literature concerning studies of mortality in schizophrenia. Most of the analyzed publications were created in Northern and Western Europe. There are no international publications originating from Southern and Eastern Europe. Directions of current studies include changes of causes of death in persons with a diagnosis of schizophrenia over years, coexistence of somatic diseases, medicine's impact on mortality in schizophrenia and worse access to medical care in comparison to mentally healthy people., Conclusions: Mortality in schizophrenia is a useful factor in clinical studies enabling evaluation health effects of changes in mental health care system, what allows creation of system based on scientific evidence.

Unlabelled: Today, the phenomenon of Euro-orphan is more and more frequently reported in the literature. This term refers to children with one or both parents emigrated from the country for work purposes. In connection with the social transformations of orphan-hood types described in the literature (nature, spiritual, social), the definition has been broadened by the definition ofeuro-orphan. The Ministry of Education describes the euro-orphan as the destruction of the family structure, the disorder of the socialisation process of children and reduction of the emotional exchanges among family members, as a result of migration of their parents. It provides further that not every child whose parents are not present in the country is covered as an euro-orphan. However, this group has become an increasingly larger populations. Lack of physical proximity and accessibility of important persons may have some psychological and pedagogical implications. These in turn can be shaped over time, into pathological symptoms, which are diagnostic entities in developmental psychiatry. It is not know precisely how many children in Poland are Euro-orphans., Aim: The aim of this paper is an attempt to understand the social phenomenon of Euro-orphanhood in the light of the observed psychopathologies of children and adolescents., Method: The case study of the psychotherapy of a patient suffering from the Euro-orphanhood syndrome., Conclusions: Euro-orphanhood is a social phenomenon that generates Euro-orphans with a wide range of psychopathological symptoms classified in different diagnostic categories. The type and intensification of the psychopathological symptoms depend on the quality of relationships with meaningful persons prior to the Euro-orphanhood period. The course of the psychotherapeutic work with Euro-orphans should cover an individual aspect taking into consideration the maturity of defensive mechanisms as well as the work-through of negative feelings cumulated due to becoming a Euro-orphan.

The stereotypes and sigma associated with mental disorders are frequently the main obstacles preventing early and successful treatment. Particularly in the case of schizophrenia, the burden of stigma often leads to chronic social impairment. In the paper, the prevalence of different public beliefs about mental disorders and varied components of the stereotypes of schizophrenia among respondents living in a few European countries (Poland, Switzerland, Germany, Croatia and Spain) are presented. The data have indicated that patients suffering from schizophrenia and their families not rarely have experienced social distancing, exclusion and rejection not only from the general public but also from mental health professionals. In general, respondents are fearful of people diagnosed with schizophrenia and desire emotional distance from them. The public attitudes tend to characterize people suffering from schizophrenia as dangerous, unpredictable, unreliable and so on. The article describes chosen psychological mechanisms that are associated with the presented results and explain the stigma attitudes of respondents.

2008 brings the 70th anniversary of the first electroconvulsive treatment, which was applied in a Psychiatric Clinic of Rome and introduced a new physical therapy to the clinical practice. The electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)--remains as the only method from the earlier therapies practised in the era preceding modem pharmacotherapy. It survived to the present times despite some difficulties. The ECT is a safe and extremely effective method for the treatment of severe affective disorders and psychoses. The paper presents the development of ECT and others convulsive techniques in a historical context.

The paper is an attempt to describe the current state of affairs and perspectives in Polish forensic psychiatry in relation to the EU rules and standards on dealing with psychiatric patients who break the law. Basic dilemmas and rules of forensic psychiatry are presented which allow for the formulation of a specific meta-model which in turn will enable further reforms and improvement of Polish forensic psychiatry. The author also analyses new opinion formulation rules in accordance with the criminal justica act of 1997. New legal regulations introduced solutions which improved the earlier legal regulations. This includes the role of the psychologist together with the psychiatrist, when deciding on the person's accountableness. Limiting detention use only in the cases of non-accountable offenders is an unfavourable action which is against European standards and makes it difficult for many psychiatrically ill offenders to obtain therapeutic help or adequate rehabilitation.