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Smoking and nicotine dependence are still one of the main reasons for a number of serious and life-shortening somatic diseases. At the same time, they are more prevalent in mentally ill individuals than in the general population. This work, which constitutes the first part of recommendations of the Polish Psychiatric Association, presents the scale of the phenomenon in the general population and among people with psychiatric disorders, diagnostic criteria of nicotine dependence and nicotine withdrawal. It discusses the impact of smoking and exposure to cigarette smoke on the development and course of psychiatric disorders as well as on the treatment of psychiatric disorders, including interactions between nicotine and psychotropic medications. Many psychiatric patients can reduce smoking or achieve complete abstinence if they are offered adequate motivation and therapeutic support. Contrary to popular belief, smoking cessation and nicotine dependence treatment do not negatively affect the symptoms of psychiatric disorders; patients' mental conditions can improve following smoking cessation therapy. The best results in terms of maintaining abstinence are achieved with a treatment approach that combines pharmacotherapy with psychotherapeutic intervention integrated into routine psychiatric care.

In December 2019, the first case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) infection was reported. In only few weeks it has caused a global pandemic, with mortality reaching 3.4%, mostly due to a severe pneumonia. However, the impact of SARS-CoV-2 virus on the central nervous system (CNS) and mental health outcomes remains unclear. Previous studies have demonstrated the presence of other types of coronaviruses in the brain, especially in the brainstem. There is evidence that the novel coronavirus can penetrate CNS through the olfactory or circulatory route as well as it can have an indirect impact on the brain by causing cytokine storm. There are also first reports of neurological signs in patients infected by the SARS-Cov-2. They show that COVID-19 patients have neurologic manifestations like acute cerebrovascular disease, conscious disturbance, taste and olfactory disturbances. In addition, there are studies showing that certain psychopathological symptoms might appear in infected patients, including those related to mood and psychotic disorders as well as post-traumatic stress disorder. Accumulating evidence also indicates that the pandemic might have a great impact on mental health from the global perspective, with medical workers being particularly vulnerable. In this article, we provide a review of studies investigating the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 on the CNS and mental health outcomes. We describe neurobiology of the virus, highlighting the relevance to mental disorders. Furthermore, this article summarizes the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 from the public health perspective. Finally, we present a critical appraisal of evidence and indicate future directions for studies in this field., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest We have none conflict of interest to disclose. The publication was prepared under the project financed from the funds granted by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in the „Regional Initiative of Excellence” programme for the years 2019-2022, project number 016/RID/2018/19, the amount of funding 11 998 121.30 PLN, (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a treatment method that is currently getting more and more attention from psychiatrists. It has proven to be efficacious and safe in the treatment of neurological disorders, mainly Parkinson's disease (PD), dystonia and essential tremor. DBS has very often contributed to successful treatment in cases that had proved resistant to all other methods of treatment. Nowadays treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the main psychiatric indication for DBS. Many studies have focused on assessing the efficacy and safety of this method in different mental disorders, including depressive disorders, Alzheimer's disease, anorexia nervosa, Tourette syndrome, substance addiction or aggressive behaviors. Single cases of successful treatment in bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder have also emerged in recent years. In this review the current state of knowledge on the applicability of DBS in psychiatry is presented, based on the available systematic reviews, clinical trials and case studies, as well as on neurophysiological and neuroimaging data.

Objectives: MEETINGDEM investigated whether the Dutch Meeting Centres Support Programme (MCSP) could be implemented in Italy, Poland, and the UK with comparable benefits. This paper reports on the impact on people living with dementia attending pilot Meeting Centres in the 3 countries., Methods: Nine pilot Meeting Centres (MCs) participated (Italy-5, Poland-2, UK-2). Effectiveness of MCSP was compared with Usual Care (UC) on outcomes measuring behavioural and psychological symptoms (NPI), depression (CSDD), and quality of life (DQoL, QOL-AD), analysed by ANCOVAs in a 6-month pre-test/post-test controlled trial., Results: Pre/post data were collected for 85 people with dementia and 93 carers (MCSP) and 74 people with dementia /carer dyads' receiving UC. MCSP showed significant positive effects for DQoL [Self-esteem (F = 4.8, P = 0.03); Positive Affect (F = 14.93, P < 0.00); Feelings of Belonging (F = 7.77, P = 0.01)] with medium and large effect sizes. Higher attendance levels correlated with greater neuropsychiatric symptom reduction (rho = 0.24, P = 0.03) and a greater increase in feelings of support (rho = 0.36, P = 0.001)., Conclusions: MCSPs showed significant wellbeing and health benefits compared with UC, building on the evidence of effectiveness from the Netherlands. In addition to the previously reported successful implementation of MCSP in Italy, Poland, and the UK, these findings suggest that further international dissemination of MCSP is recommended., (Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Objectives: The aim of the project was to assess changes of occupational and relational functioning within 2 years period of ambulatory treatment of persons suffering from different mental disorders., Material and Method: Outpatients (n = 184) at the age of 18-54 from five diagnostic groups - according to ICD-10: psychotic disorders (F2), affective disorders (F3), anxiety disorders (F4), eating disorders (F5) and personality disorders (F6) were enrolled in the prospective study with 6, 12 and 24 months follow-up assessments. Functioning was evaluated by the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS) and the Global Assessment of Relational Functioning (GARF)., Results: In the whole group occupational and relational functioning improved during the two-year follow-up. At the time of recruitment to study the worst occupational functioning (SOFAS) was observed within the group schizophrenic patients and the best within neurotic group. In each diagnostic group SOFAS scores have improved over time. However, the groups F2 and F6 difference between the baseline and 24.months follow-up measurements was irrelevant statistically, whereas in the case of the other groups (F3, F4, F5) a significant increase were observed. In all diagnostic groups except F6 the relational functioning has improved. Taking into account the results of the entire cohort, there was no association between occupational functioning and relationships and age, sex. The occupational and relational functioning was, however, strongly associated with the presence of negative and depressive symptoms, number of days on sick leave and level of education., Conclusions: The results warrant further research, in-depth discussion on the recognition of occupational dysfunction, disability of social coping in relationships among people with mental disorders. The next step will be the introduction of appropriate after-effect in this regard.

Background: Many authors stress the important correlation between disorders and social disability., Objectives: The aim of the project was the assessment of the occupational and relational social functioning of persons who suffer from different mental disorders., Material and Methods: During the 15 months of the project, enrollment was conducted among patients calling in to three outpatient psychiatric clinics in the Lower Silesia region in Poland. The study included persons (n = 185) at the age of 18-54 from five diagnostic groups, according to ICD-10: psychotic disorders (F2), affective disorders (F3), anxiety disorders (F4), eating disorders (F5) and personality disorders (F6). Functioning was evaluated using the Groningen Social Disabilities Schedule (GSDS II), the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS) and the Global Assessment of Relational Functioning (GARF)., Results: The group which had the highest level of functioning with a disability consisted of persons with the F2 diagnosis (1.42, SD = 0.63), whereas persons with anxiety disorders had the lowest disability (0.72, SD = 0.59). The severity of psychopathological symptoms was indeed related to social functioning. There was a significant correlation between general social functioning (the overall GSDS score) and the number of episodes (cor = 0.289; p = 0.001), hospitalizations (cor = 0.352; p < 0.001) and days on leave (cor = 0.393; p < 0.001) for the sample as a whole., Conclusions: The functional disabilities indicated within the majority of patients give strong arguments for introducing the diagnosis and therapy of these disabilities and implementation of them to the standards of psychiatric treatment.

The article depicts the international scientific project-DEMoB.inc. which aims to develop a European tool kit for assessing quality of care provided by long-term psychiatric and social care facilities. Positive aspects of rehabilitation of people with profound and chronic mental disturbance, as well as health care system shortcomings leading to patients' social exclusion, abuse and violation of basic human rights have been shown. While describing the six phases of the research, special attention has been paid to the first one based on the Delphi method. The implementation of the method in the development the tool kit's international core and local "clip-ons" as well as its general characteristics have been presented. Association between tool kit assessments and patients' quality of life, autonomy, markers of recovery as well as the MANSA and the Resident Choice Scale have been described. Economic analysis--value for money (VfM), the CSRI scale and potential dissemination activities on an international and local level have been proposed.

According to the new tendency of planning and developing mental health services in response to the individual needs, many tools assessing needs of persons with mental disorders were created during last few years. This paper presents some of them, with concentration on the Camberwell Assessment of Need Short Appraisal Schedule (CANSAS). The aim of CANSAS is to identify patient's needs, thus the tool can be a part of routine clinical practice and research, as well as a component of service evaluation. Because "need" is a subjective concept, CANSAS incorporates separately the views of both users and staff about needs. The tool was developed in the Institute of Psychiatry King's College in London and is now successfully used in many countries all over the world. It has been also translated into Polish and used in the first Polish studies on the needs of persons with mental disorders.

Failure of the deinstitutionalization process and a tendency of limitating health care costs on the basis of evidence based medicine initiated planning mental health services according to the clients' needs. Defining needs is difficult due to the complexity of the concept ofneeds, so numerous definitions of needs have been proposed. In the health care context a need is most often regarded as "the lack of health/wellbeing or the lack of access to care". Many clinical and population-based studies on needs were conducted in England and other well-developed countries. According to their results the most important are unmet needs, which correlate with unemployment, single status, low quality of life, low satisfaction with services and high social disability scores. Assessment of needs becomes a part of routine clinical practice and evaluation of mental health services. Results of such an assessment enables to fit the therapy and rehabilitation to the individual patient's needs which in consequence leads to a better therapeutic response and lower social disability. First Polish studies on needs of persons with different mental disorders indicate the social needs (company, intimate relationship and sexual expression) as the most often unmet from patient's point of view.

Aims: To analyse factors that differentiate patients who attend follow-up assessments versus those who do not, and to identify predictors for drop-out within the context of the European Day Hospital Evaluation Study (EDEN-Study)., Methods: The EDEN-Study, a multi-center RCT comparing acute psychiatric day care with inpatient care, required re-assessment of patients at discharge, 3 and 12 months after discharge. Follow-up rates varied between 54.0% and 99.5%. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who did and did not attend follow-up were analysed using uni- and multivariate statistical methods., Results: Univariate analyses showed differences between patients regarding study site, treatment setting, living situation, employment, age, psychopathological symptoms and treatment satisfaction. They were not confirmed in multivariate analyses thus meaningful predictors of drop-out could not be identified., Conclusions: Results emphasize the general need to compare patients re-assessed and not re-assessed in terms of their most relevant socio-demographic and clinical variables to assess the generalizability of results.

The number of people suffering from mental disorders and receiving disability pensions is still increasing in Europe. Young persons in their working-age are receiving disability pensions more and more often. Among those who are incapable to work (due to both mental and somatic disorders), persons on benefits due to mental disorders are usually younger. The number of disability pensions depends on the sort of mental disorder. Persons suffering from affective and anxiety disorders are the most common group receiving benefits. An increase in the number of disability payments among people with several mental disorders or both, mental and somatic diseases is observed. Furthermore, research data shows Poland as the country with high costs relevant disability payments. Disability pensions assignment for persons suffering from mental disorders, as well as incapacity for work, is discussed in this article. The reason for a still increasing number of disability payments is explained, the characteristics of persons applying for disability pensions is introduced and the mental impaired persons' incapacity for work is described.

Objective: Acute psychiatric day care has been proposed as an alternative to conventional inpatient care, yet the evidence of its effectiveness is inconsistent and based only on single-site studies in 3 countries. The aim of this multicenter randomized controlled trial was to establish the effectiveness of acute day hospital care in a large sample across a range of mental health care systems., Method: The trial was conducted from December 2000 to September 2003 in 5 European countries, with a sample of 1117 voluntarily admitted patients. Immediately before or very shortly after admission to the participating psychiatric facilities, patients were randomly allocated to treatment in a day hospital or an inpatient ward. Psychopathology, treatment satisfaction, subjective quality of life, and social disabilities were assessed at admission, at discharge, and 3 and 12 months after discharge. An intention-to-treat analysis was conducted using fixed-effects linear models with structured error covariance matrices and covariates., Results: Day hospital care was as effective as conventional inpatient care with respect to psychopathologic symptoms, treatment satisfaction, and quality of life. It was more effective on social functioning at discharge and at the 3- and 12-month follow-up assessments., Conclusion: This study, which has more than doubled the existing evidence base, has shown that day hospital care is as effective on clinical outcomes as conventional inpatient care and more effective on social outcomes., Clinical Trials Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00153959.

Occupational functioning of persons with mental disorders is a serious, rarely discussed problem in Polish literature. Foreign research review shows that occupational activity of persons with mental disorders seriously affects their mental functioning. It was suggested that the major way of mental health promotion was re-employment. However the risk of mental disorders (especially affective and anxiety disorders) increased with loss of some work. Despite of a healthy influence of occupational activity on the mental health among people suffering from mental disorders, the high level of unemployment in that group (higher than among people with somatic diseases) is observed. The aim of this article is to describe the problem of occupational activity of persons with mental disorders, as well as in comparison to people without mental disorders and those with somatic diseases. The relationship between mental disorders and occupational activity is shown. Psychological benefits of occupational functioning as well as difficulties at work caused by mental disorders are explained. The costs connected with mental disorders are described.

Aim: Qualitative analysis of acute psychiatric patients' subjective opinions on the conditions and effects of their hospital treatment. Presentation of patients' expectations in this respect and the follow up of the opinion changes taking place during hospital stay., Method: Patients' opinions were obtained in open questions which were part of the Clients' Scale for Assessment of Treatment (CAT) performed twice during the study: one week after admission and at discharge. Answers were analyzed using a qualitative approach and odds ratio., Results: An overwhelming part of the respondents pointed to the positive aspects of psychiatric hospitalization (92% of those interviewed) and less than a half (42%) pointed to its negative aspects. The most important sources of positive cognitions about hospital stay were: a relationship with the ward staff, the forms of treatment introduced, relationship with other patients, overall atmosphere and sense of security and empathy. Almost 3/4 of the interviewed patients were convinced about a favourable outcome of treatment and care. Amongst elements of treatment that were helpful to the patients, pharmacotherapy was named most frequently. Patients' activity understood as occupational therapy and interpersonal contacts was an important component of the stay in the hospital and treatment. Most patients felt that no changes in the ward routine were necessary., Conclusion: It is important to take into consideration the patients' opinions and expectations towards therapy, ward conditions and work organization while planning mental health care. The presented results are a part of a complex investigation and might inspire to expanded research in this field.

Aim: The goal of the present study was to examine whether contemporary psychopharmacotherapy (atypic neuroleptics) can have an impact on the patient's compliance and limit coercion (involuntary admission to hospital, coercive measures)., Method: 71 adult inpatients with diagnoses of the schizophrenia spectrum (F20 group according to ICD-10) admitted to psychiatric hospital were observed. 41 of them were treated with atypic neuroleptics before hospitalization and 30 with typical ones. Data about their pharmacotherapy before hospitalization, compliance, history of disease and coercion used during hospitalization were gathered and analysed by means of chi square Pearson's and Mann-Whitney's tests., Results: There were no significant differences in non-compliance, the type of admission to hospital and frequency of coercion measures used during hospitalization between groups of patients receiving atypic and typical antipsychotics. However, the group with atypic neurolepitics was nearly significantly more adherent to therapy than the typical ones., Conclusions: Results of the study did not confirm the impact of atypic neuroleptics on compliance and coercion connected with admission to hospital. A long-term study with an increased number of patients is needed to confirm the results of this study.

The paper presents current knowledge about the prevalence of mental disorders during pregnancy and postpartum period and its' classification. Possible pathomechanisms of its incidence, risk factors and therapeutic possibilities based on the newest research were described.

Involuntary commitment is a topic that provokes a lot of controversy. Authors, supported by a review of literature, explain the need for conducting research on the use of coercion in psychiatry. They also attempt to answer the question whether a formal status of admission to hospital may possibly reflect the presence or lack of coercion. Further in the article they review the tools needed to make a subjective assessment of coercion associated with admission and they present results of their research with the use of these tools. The authors also point to the fact that the patient's retrospective confirmation of the need for hospitalisation may be a basis for their involuntary commitment but it does not, however, have any influence on the moral assessment of the need for coercion. Moreover, it does not arise out of this that the patient has come to terms with involuntary commitment after its completion. The need, then, to minimize the patient's perception of coercion while committed, becomes a very important matter which should be taken into account during treatment. This is both related to the fact that the perception of coercion is an undesirable factor but also that it may negatively influence the patient's cooperation during treatment.

Unlabelled: The development of science allows us to take up new investigative challenges. Interpretations of results can be difficult if there is no adequate and complete information about investigative methods applied, course of trial and statistical analyses. The CONSORT group proposed a standardized diagram facilitating an accurate presentation of the randomised trial. The EDEN study is an example of the application of this method, where the studied groups, number of participants, and all procedures can be presented. It is helpful to prepare reports and find necessary data. The first part of the diagram describes the course of recruitment, the second part presents data necessary to estimate the course of the study and data about numbers of patients in each timepoint whilst the third part shows the assessment of caregivers., Conclusions: The analysis of the course and correctness of the study is legible if the flow diagram is used. It is useful to find the necessary data for statistical analyses at every stage of study. Permanent control of the study allow to avoid bias upsetting the course of the study and influencing its quality. It introduces comprehensible and straight forward presentation of the results.

Aim: The survey was aimed at describing the characteristics and therapeutic means offered and the organizational structure of Polish day hospitals for adults as well the as characteristics of patients treated there. It was part of a wider international project carried out within a 5 EC Framework Program and focused on evaluation of costs and effectiveness of day hospital treatment when set against conventional stationary treatment in different European health care systems., Method: Data concerning the year 2000 were gathered using a self-designed questionnaire sent to respondents by post. The response ratio reached 65.2%., Results: Based on the cluster analysis, three main types of day hospitals were recognized: 1. day hospitals focused on rehabilitation of chronic mental disturbances, improvement of social functioning and support, 2. day hospitals being alternative to stationary inpatient treatment, 3. day hospitals intended to continue out-patient treatment and psychotherapy. The number of treatment places, working hours and work-days in a week in polled institutions was constant. Most frequent reasons for not admitting a patient to a day hospital were: intensive suicidal tendencies and acute psychotic decompensation. The most numerous diagnostic groups of patients treated there were schizophrenia (32.2%) and affective disorder (17.4%). Only 18.6% of day hospitals employed a qualified psychotherapist, and 32.6% had a social worker. On the average, one treatment place was offered to 5 patients during a year., Conclusions: The profile of patients admitted to Polish day hospitals for adults is not arbitrarily defined with respect to diagnosis and severity of disorder. However, it is possible to distinguish day hospitals, which have their preferences: more to rehabilitate or more to treat patients. In the last 16 years there was a threefold increase of the number of patients treated in day hospitals due to affective disturbances.

The paper presents the objectives and design of an ongoing multicenter randomized, controlled trial EDEN (European Day Hospital EvaluatioN). The EDEN-study aims to evaluate the efficacy of acute psychiatric treatment in a day hospital setting in five European centres: Dresden, London, Michalovce, Prague and Wroclaw. The main hypothesis is that day hospital treatment for acute psychiatric patients is as effective as conventional inpatient hospital care. The objectives of the study are to evaluate the viability and effectiveness of day hospitals for acute psychiatric treatment, to identify subgroups of patients with a more or less favourable outcome so that the treatment setting might be specifically applied and to ascertain the cost-effectiveness of day hospital treatment compared to conventional inpatient treatment. The study utilises a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) design with repeated measures at a maximum of six time points: at admission (t1), one week after admission (t2), four weeks after admission (t3), discharge (t4), three months after discharge (t5), and 12 months after discharge (t6). A combination of well-established standardised assessment instruments and open questions is used in 6 time periods. If the findings accept the main hypothesis of the study, some practical consequences could be inevitable: at a mental health policy level, these results could lead to an increase in the capacity of day hospitals; at the clinical level clinicians could redefine their concepts of care to consider the day hospital as an alternative to conventional inpatient treatment; from economic point of view could lead to reduction of treatment costs.

The aim of this paper is to present comparison of clinical diagnoses and SCAN (Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry, version 2.1) diagnoses of patients treated in day care and inpatients wards. SCAN was translated at Medical University of Wrocław according to WHO permission. It is a part of multicenter study evaluating effectiveness of treatment in conventional psychiatric hospital and day hospital for acute psychiatric patients. Clinical diagnoses were made using ICD-10 classification system. Till now 56 patients were examined, 15 men and 39 women in age from 21 to 65 years old, median age 45 years old. Among them 31 patients were treated in day care wards, and 25 patients were treated in inpatients wards. During standard medical procedure diagnoses of 25 patients were classified into the block F2, and 19 patients into the block F3 of ICD-10 classification. Schizophrenia were diagnosed in 16 patients of, 19 patients had diagnosis of depressive disorder, and 21--of other mental disorders. Clinical diagnoses were in most of the cases single one; there were only 6 cases with double (comorbid) diagnoses. SCAN diagnoses were multiple, ranged from 1 to 12 (median 3) for one patient. Many concomitant SCAN diagnoses referred to tobacco use, sleep disorders, and somatoform disorders. Cohen's kappa coefficient for the block F2 was 0.78, for schizophrenia--0.62, for the block F3--0.42, and for depression--0.36. Results showed low agreement between clinical and SCAN diagnoses, particularly for mood disorders. The explanations of such discrepancies could be: no strict compliance with rules of ICD-10 by clinicians and avoidance of comorbid diagnoses by clinicians or errors in the SCAN coding algorithms. Further analyses are needed to characterize more precisely the sources of discrepancies.

The paper presents an instrument for estimation of social functioning Groningen Social Disabilities Schedule (GSDS). Analysis of reliability in patients' social disability assessment made by research assistants during the GSDS training in research project EDEN was also described.

Background: This article presents a case study of a 32-year-old Polish male patient clinically diagnosed with the MELAS syndrome, the second such patient reported in this country., Case Report: The patient presents with a long history of neurological episodes, consisting of acute neurological deficits suggestive of CVA with no evidence of focal lesion and very rapid remission of symptoms. These episodes began when the patient was 19 years old and have recurred since that time at intervals of 1-5 years. A recent psychiatric episode with unusual visual hallucinations brought the case to the attention of the present authors, who initiated further diagnostic testing. A muscle biopsy revealed ragged red fibers., Conclusions: The features in this case meet the diagnostic criteria for a clinical diagnosis of MELAS, pending confirmation of a pathogenic mutation.

Aripiprazole, cariprazine and brexpiprazole are antipsychotic drugs (APD) whose action is associated with partial agonism at the dopamine D2/D3 receptors. They are increasingly more widely used in clinical practice, also off-label. The aim of this article is to present the current state of knowledge on the use of these drugs in the treatment of mental disorders. The position statement was developed by the panel of experts appointed by the Executive Board of the Polish Psychiatric Association, consisting of individuals with many years of experience in treating patients with mental disorders. The evaluation included the analysis of literature databases (Medline, Embase, Cochrane) and information obtained from meta-analyses and summaries of product characteristics. A key property of D2/D3 partial agonists is that they display diverse effects on dopamine pathways: (a) blockade of mesolimbic signalling that is overactive in the acute phase of schizophrenia and mania, (b) stimulation of mesocortical pathways with an improvement (or at least with no deterioration) of cognitive functions and negative symptoms, (c) no blockade of the tuberoinfundibular pathway and, consequently, low risk of increased prolactin secretion, (d) no blockade of nigrostriatal pathway and, consequently, low risk of extrapyramidal symptoms. Selective profile of action and intrinsic activity at dopamine D2 (aripiprazole > brexpiprazole) and D3 (cariprazine) receptors in combination with the lack of antihistamine and anticholinergic properties make aripiprazole, brexpiprazole and cariprazine different form other APD in terms of their safety and tolerability. This is the reason for the increasing use of these drugs in the treatment of schizophrenia and mood disorders, and in the case of aripiprazole also in obsessive-compulsive, autism-spectrum and tic disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current progress of basic and clinical science creates background for new therapeutic appliances of brain stimulation methods in disorders of central nervous system. This review describes present state of knowledge regarding practical aspects of one of those methods - transcranial magnetic stimulation, TMS. The review was based on contemporary literature on use of transcranial magnetic stimulation in various diseases, particularly including present recommendations and guidelines as well as systematic reviews, published after year 2000. TMS is a quite novel, non-invasive, well tolerated treatment method with a low amount of transient adverse effects and complications. Development of new therapeutic protocols makes it possible to introduce this procedure in new groups of patients, including a wide range of mental disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, also cognitive function disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder. In Poland it is still hardly available, though more and more clinical centers start to perform this kind of therapy, providing proper equipment and trained personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate the public perception of mentally ill people, stigma of the mentally ill and distance towards them in Poland. Method. The study group was composed of 1,309 respondents who were interviewed using an authors' own survey, which was spread with the use of online media. Results. The results indicate a high level of stigma of psychiatric patients in the subjective assessment of their appearance, intellect as well as respondents' sense of superiority over the patients. The stigma of a psychiatric patient is also resolutely demonstrated in the economic aspect, which results from respondents' unwillingness to employ, or even work with people affected by a disorder from the mental illness group. Conclusions. Undoubtedly, the fight against the phenomenon of stigma and discrimination against people affected by mental health problems is becoming one of the priorities in the field of mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of the project was to assess changes of occupational and relational functioning within 2 years period of ambulatory treatment of persons suffering from different mental disorders. Material and method: Outpatients (n=184) at the age of 18-54 from five diagnostic groups - according to ICD-10: psychotic disorders (F2), affective disorders (F3), anxiety disorders (F4), eating disorders (F5) and personality disorders (F6) were enrolled in the prospective study with 6, 12 and 24 months follow-up assessments. Functioning was evaluated by the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS) and the Global Assessment of Relational Functioning (GARF). Results: In the whole group occupational and relational functioning improved during the two-year follow-up. At the time of recruitment to study the worst occupational functioning (SOFAS) was observed within the group schizophrenic patients and the best within neurotic group. In each diagnostic group SOFAS scores have improved over time. However, the groups F2 and F6 difference between the baseline and 24.months follow-up measurements was irrelevant statistically, whereas in the case of the other groups (F3, F4, F5) a significant increase were observed. In all diagnostic groups except F6 the relational functioning has improved. Taking into account the results of the entire cohort, there was no association between occupa- tional functioning and relationships and age, sex. The occupational and relational functioning was, however, strongly associated with the presence of negative and depressive symptoms, number of days on sick leave and level of education. Conclusions: The results warrant further research, in-depth discussion on the recognition of occupational dysfunction, disability of social coping in relationships among people with mental disorders. The next step will be the introduction of appropriate after-effect in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Psychiatria Polska is the property of Editorial Committee of Polish Psychiatric Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychiatria Polska is the property of Editorial Committee of Polish Psychiatric Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychiatria Polska is the property of Editorial Committee of Polish Psychiatric Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychiatria Polska is the property of Editorial Committee of Polish Psychiatric Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychiatria Polska is the property of Editorial Committee of Polish Psychiatric Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)