Psychiatric consultation and teaching in a home for the aged

An outpatient psychiatric department of a medical center was organized as a community psychiatry team to provide direct services, consultation and education, and preventive programs for high-risk groups. By successfully handling requests for service from a home for the aged, the team established a consultative relationship and then a six-month teaching program centered on problems presented by the home's staff in group sessions. Results included a drop in requests for direct service, the establishment of group programs for residents, and an increase in the home's willingness to accept and deal with disturbed behavior without resort to hospitalization.