Community work as part of the psychiatric services of Nacka

In psychiatry we often meet people presenting psychiatric symptoms rooted in social or psycho-social problems. Traditional treatment methods often fail, leading to a sense of failure in the therapist and an experience of being misunderstood or being "a hopeless case" in the patient. There is a need for developing new methods for problems belonging to the "grey zone", that is the area bordering on or covered by the three major care systems in our society: the social welfare, the primary care system and psychiatry. These methods should necessarily take into account the specific needs expressed in the symptoms and guarantee a more holistic perspective of the patient and his situation. The author gives some practical examples of work with immigrant women, an Information Bureau and a Cafe especially intended for chronically ill psychiatric patients.