Brandon Hospital School of Nursing - Ego Yearbook (Brandon, Manitoba Canada)

Page 7 text:

THE OUT-PATIENT AND CHILD-GUIDANCE DEPARTMENT By William Forster, M.B., B.S., DTJM. Mental ill-health is a problem of vast magnitude. The necessity of its prevention or early treatment is obvious. The out-patient and child-guidance department of the Brandon Hospital for Mental Diseases has been established to help meet the problem: to deal with childhood disturbances which might lead to adult neurosis or psychosis, and to treat both adults and children short of hospital admission. The clinic is housed in a cottage in the hospital grounds, and staffed by a psychia¬ trist, psychologist, social worker and secretary. Adults are seen in consultation with the family doctor; but children may be referred from any source provided the parents give consent. Children are referred mainly by family doctors, parents, teachers, health units, welfare bodies, and occasionally the juvenile courts. The most frequent problems met with in children are backwardness at school; personality difficulties such as excessive shyness; aggressiveness; speech disorders; anxiety states; enuresis; encopresis; and all types of behaviour disorder. Epileptic states, organic cerebral conditions and juvenile psychoses make up the remainder. Adults present with neuroses, early psychoses, and various difficulties in adjustment to themselves, to mar¬ riage or to society. Examination of each child takes around two to three hours, and includes routine Electroencephalogram, investigation of the family by the social worker of P.H.N., administration of ' a battery of ability and personality tests by the psychologist, and formal psychiatric examination. A staff conference follows in order to outline treat¬ ment. This may range from simply advising the parents or teacher how to handle the problem, to remedial training for a reading disability or play therapy or psychotherapy over several months for more serious disturbances. In addition to work in Brandon and district the clinic visits Neepawa, Virden, Rivers, Dauphin, Swan River, and Flin Flon. Here its-role is diagnostic and advisory, and suggestions may be given to the doctor, P.H.N., parents or teacher on handling the problems they submit. Routine intelligence tests (last year over 1600) are carried out in the schools to assist teachers in assessing their pupils. Similar tests of ability, designed for in¬ fants, are performed to assist the Children’s Aid Society assess their cases for adoption. The majority of adults attending the clinic are suffering from some form of neurosis. They are treated by psychotherapy for the most part, efforts being directed towards helping them understand themselves so that they can deal with their problems realistically. The majority suffer from an anxiety state—probably the commonest chronic ailment of modern times. Early depressions form another relatively large group attending the clinic. They are treated by electro-shock on an out-patient basis, either from home or the Brandon General Hospital. The aim of the clinic is essentially prevention : prevention of childhood disturb- ances from turning into adult ' disease, and prevention of adult neuroses or early psy¬ choses from progressing to hospital admission. The graph which shows the number of cases seen in the clinic is taking a steady upward course. We like to feel that this is not only the result of the reputation of the psychiatric work of the hospital as a whole but also of a more enlightened attitude of the public towards psychiatric disorders.

Page 6 text:

THE MEDICAL STAFF BACK ROW, Left to Right: Doctor Martin, Doctor Cziller, Doctor Schlichter. FRONT ROW, Left to Right: Doctor Tyndel, Doctor Gill, Doctor Trotter. MISSING FROM PICTURE: Doctor Schultz, Doc¬ tor Bristow, Doctor Forster. To us they have given: M edical advice E ducation D irection I nspiration C orrection A ssistance L oyalty S upervision T houghtfulness A cceptance F acts F un Doctor Grossman, Doctor Lapko

Page 8 text:

The Teaching Department Miss Patricia Beecher Director of Education TO THE TEACHING DEPARTMENT Learning is like mercury, one of the most powerful and excellent things in the world in skillful hands: in the unskillful, the most mischievious.” —POPE— Miss M. Turner Science Instructress Mrs. L. McDonald Nursing Arts Instructress Mrs. I. Barrington Psychiatric Nursing Instructress