Adaptation: the key to community psychiatric practice in the rural setting

Psychiatric practice in the rural community mental health center can be arduous and challenging. Faced with limited resources, the full-time psychiatrist practicing in this setting must learn to be innovative and creative in order to adequately address the needs of this special population. Additionally, the social problems of poverty, domestic violence, and the lack of formal education impact on psychiatric treatment in rural centers to a very large degree. Clinicians must carefully consider ways in which they can interface with existing institutions and other community caregivers in providing mental health services. This paper discusses one clinician's experience in providing psychiatric services to patients in rural Kentucky.