Psychiatric Home Care: Important Info

However, psychiatric Spitex does not only offer professional help for dementia that occurs with age. In some cases, mental illnesses occur much earlier or have been with the patient all their life.

Clients struggle with psychosis, schizophrenia, borderline or other illnesses. Clients with these illnesses often find themselves in a completely different world. They increasingly lose touch with reality, are afraid to go outside or tend to self-harm.

Psychiatric Spitex offers them the support they so urgently need. But in what form do they receive it, and how do you find an organization that meets your relative's individual needs? We explain all this and much more below.

What mental disorders does psychiatric Spitex help with?

Psychiatric Spitex offers support for various types of mental illness. For example, it helps clients suffering from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or borderline syndrome.

People affected by schizophrenia often have a disturbed relationship with reality. This often manifests itself in the form of delusions or hallucinations. Exactly how these manifest themselves can vary from person to person. Some sufferers describe hearing one or more voices in their surroundings, even though no one is present.

The voices comment on what the affected person is doing, sometimes making derisive comments or inciting them to violence. These are often directed at themselves. These are all acoustic hallucinations.

Visual hallucinations, on the other hand, allow those affected to see people or things that are not there. For them, however, all of this is real and makes sense. Particularly intense delusions can also cause schizophrenics to become megalomaniacal, which can often be frightening for relatives.

However, schizophrenia is not always so clearly recognizable. Another symptom that can indicate this mental illness is an impaired ability to think. Thought processes are abruptly interrupted or slowed down.

In addition, those affected often appear to be mentally absent, which also makes it difficult for them to show their feelings. However, not only thought processes but also movement patterns can change. Schizophrenics suddenly become either very active or their movements are restricted. They may also freeze in their movements.

How and why schizophrenia develops is still not fully understood. It is assumed that the life history and personality of those affected play an important role. Other possible influences include biological disorders and a genetic predisposition within the family.

Bipolar disorder primarily affects the emotional world. Those affected repeatedly experience strong mood swings, usually without a trigger. They go through euphoric phases, in which they are full of energy, and depressive, listless phases. Hypomanic and mixed phases also occur.

In a euphoric, manic phase, those affected are emotionally excited. They talk a lot and quickly, appear unfocused and increasingly seek social contact. They often act impulsively, overestimate themselves and repeatedly take reckless risks. Increased creativity is also typical of a manic phase.

Today, it is even believed that great artists such as George Frideric Handel or Vincent van Gogh experienced manic episodes. Hypomanic phases are considered a milder form. Here, it is not so much racing thoughts that occur, but rather concentration problems. However, strong, sometimes dangerous overconfidence and a drop in social inhibitions often persist.

The depressive phase is characterized by a lack of drive and a negative mood. Those affected lose interest in things that otherwise give them pleasure and are haunted by unfounded self-doubt and feelings of guilt. Concentration is difficult and even everyday tasks become a challenge. This also includes holding conversations.

Those affected have problems following the conversation attentively. They need some time to give answers and often only speak very quietly. Physical symptoms can also occur. The psyche often has a strong impact on the body, which is why depressive phases can be accompanied by diffuse pain.

Headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, digestive problems and loss of appetite are also possible. The latter often occurs in combination with noticeable weight loss. Mixed episodes are characterized by an abrupt change between manic and depressive phases. This change can take place within a few hours. This quickly intimidates those around people with bipolar disorder, making them more inclined to keep their distance.

Impulsiveness, emotional instability, black-and-white thinking - all of this characterizes borderline syndrome. This personality disorder is often caused by traumatic events in childhood. Within a very short time, the world of thoughts and feelings changes, causing those affected to suffer greatly. They quickly become aggressive and also have problems building relationships.

The latter is partly due to black-and-white thinking. Those affected often idealize or belittle the other person. In addition, they are often afraid of being abandoned, but are also afraid of emotional closeness. Controlling their own feelings is another point with which borderline sufferers have problems.

Harmonious conversations quickly degenerate into arguments and aggressive feelings boil over. Especially when they are prevented from following their impulses, those affected are prone to outbursts of anger. These strong emotional fluctuations determine the everyday life of borderline patients.

The reason for this is that they quickly feel under pressure or overwhelmed. They are often unable to process the information that comes their way quickly enough. The situation becomes too much for them. As a result, a strong inner restlessness arises, which continues even after the emotional outbursts have already passed.

Those affected try to relieve this considerable tension in various ways. This takes the form of increased activity or trembling, for example. Some borderline patients tend to inflict injuries on themselves, which can take on life-threatening proportions. Excessive consumption of alcohol or drugs is also possible.

The self-harming lifestyle can also manifest itself in dangerous speeding in traffic or the urge to engage in dangerous leisure activities. It is not uncommon for such behavior to look like suicide attempts to outsiders. In fact, they are attempts to tame the agonizing inner turmoil.

Borderline patients in depressive phases and the feeling of inner emptiness

Anyone suffering from borderline syndrome may fall into a depression that can take on very dangerous dimensions. The aforementioned attempts to get a grip on their inner restlessness through dangerous behavior may then degenerate. If the restlessness cannot be alleviated, those affected feel increasingly unwell and look for ever more drastic measures.

In severe cases, this can lead to suicidal thoughts or even suicide attempts. The more pronounced the impulsive behavior, the higher the risk of suicide. This makes it all the more important to provide comprehensive psychiatric care - including from the trained staff of Spitex organizations.

However, it is not only the strong inner restlessness that is a stressful aspect that some borderline patients try to alleviate with all their might. There is also the feeling of inner emptiness. On the one hand, this can be linked to the aforementioned fear of attachment, which makes it difficult to establish close contact.

On the other hand, difficulties with one's own identity also play a role. People suffering from borderline syndrome are often unclear about what is good for them and what is bad for them. Those affected feel unstable because they often lack an overriding goal in life that they can pursue.

There is also often a lack of personal desires. Those affected repeatedly question the meaning of their actions and are unsure what exactly drives them in life. They lack clear lines and structures to guide them in everyday life and provide them with support.

How psychiatric Spitex works

Spitex helps the client to continue to cope with everyday life despite the mental illness. Forgetfulness and confusion, panic attacks and detachment from reality present him with enormous challenges.

These can hardly be compared to the problems associated with physical illnesses. Returning to everyday life is not only difficult because physical limitations simply do not allow some activities. The psyche also puts up a barrier that seems insurmountable.

The client not only needs help to carry out certain everyday tasks, take medication or change bandages. Above all, they need support when it comes to perceiving their environment in real terms, interacting with other people and maintaining respect for themselves and their own body.

The first steps

In an initial consultation, you will clarify in detail with your relative and the hospital staff which services are urgently required. They will also discuss in what form and to what extent they will be provided in future. The individual problems of your relative are taken into account and the result is a care plan that is optimally tailored to their needs.

Thanks to Spitex, no hospitalization is necessary and your relative remains in their familiar surroundings. Care is provided in their own home, which makes it much easier to return to everyday life. This means that the patient's own spatial conditions are optimally incorporated and they do not have to project what they have learned onto a different environment.

The patient's own perception

In psychiatric Spitex, the focus is on the person as a thinking individual. Competent psychological care therefore forms the basis. If the illness is accompanied by physical problems, the nursing staff will of course also take care of these. For example, the patient may be bedridden, have a tendency to self-harm or have problems perceiving certain things realistically.

People with mental illness often isolate themselves and increasingly lose touch with other people and public life itself. It is therefore important to maintain or restore not only a psychological but also a social balance. Psychiatric Spitex supports the people involved in this process of adjustment and offers support.

Support and structure

If the mental health problems are not accompanied by enormous physical limitations, the carer does not completely relieve the client of various tasks, but supports them in coping with them themselves.

In this way, they help them not to become increasingly dependent on others, but to regain control of the situation themselves. The psychiatric Spitex staff give the day a structure to which the client can orientate himself and find support. The carer regularly makes them aware of the situation they are in through intensive discussions.

They also encourage the client to actively deal with this and to recognize that they themselves are also making a contribution to their own well-being. It is particularly important that the client is always aware that they have a mental illness that needs to be treated. Only then will they understand why they are receiving care of this kind and that no one wants to intrude on their private life, but merely provide the necessary help.

The right action at the right time

Professional hospital staff recognize crisis situations such as self-harm or even suicidal thoughts immediately and act accordingly. To prevent these situations, they offer intensive discussions and relaxation exercises, among other things. As a relative, you are always actively involved in the treatment so that you also know exactly what to do if the home care nurse is not present. If you wish, you can also take over some of the care yourself.

Help with household chores and medical care

If the mental illness is accompanied by severe physical limitations, the caregiver will of course also provide assistance. This includes, for example, doing the shopping, cooking meals and personal hygiene.

The nursing staff also ensure that the client takes their medication correctly, if prescribed. They also help them to learn how to take care of themselves. The carer motivates him to attend his medical appointments and makes him understand the importance of these appointments.

How to find the ideal psychiatric Spitex

If one of your relatives needs psychiatric support, psychiatric Spitex offers valuable help. However, it is precisely when problems of this kind are present that a particularly sensitive approach is required. So how do you find a suitable home care agency whose staff you can trust completely and where you can be sure that your relative will always receive the care they need?

We at OPAN® have made it our mission to actively support you on this journey. With the help of our platforms, you yourself, but also the treating doctors' practices and hospitals, have the opportunity to register patients with a Spitex. We see ourselves as a network that connects different parts of the healthcare system with each other and thus enables all essential data to be forwarded particularly quickly and, above all, correctly.

This means that any healthcare institutions, as well as private individuals, forward information directly to the relevant Spitex. The protection of your data is of course our top priority. We treat all information as strictly confidential and never pass it on to third parties without your consent.

What OPAN® offers

You can expect these services from us:

• Find the right Spitex for each client without registration;
• Fastest possible data transfer directly to the Spitex, even outside business hours;
• Feedback within a few hours;secure and fast forwarding of documents.

Registration via OPAN®

If you would like help finding the right psychiatric Spitex for your relative, OPAN® is the right place for you. You can register them yourself with just a few clicks or leave this task to the doctor's surgery or hospital.

All you need is the client's personal details, the name of the health insurance company and the family doctor. Once you have sent this data, it will be checked as quickly as possible. A member of staff will then contact you to clarify the next steps.

Who covers the costs of psychiatric Spitex?

When it comes to caring for a relative, it is primarily relevant what services Spitex provides and whether you can leave the care in their hands with a clear conscience. Nevertheless, sooner or later the question arises as to how the whole thing will be financed. You will also discuss this with the competent specialist staff in an initial consultation.

The decisive factor is which services you make use of. Only measures that are urgent from a medical point of view are covered by health insurance. To clarify this, a needs assessment is carried out, as required by the Health Insurance Act. The attending doctor signs it and sends it to the patient's health insurance company.

All services provided that are part of the nursing care service prescription are then covered by the health insurance company within the scope of this same prescription. As a rule, the client pays ten percent of the costs incurred. They also pay a co-payment for each day of use, which varies from canton to canton.

In addition, there is the deductible that every policyholder has to pay annually. If you have taken out disability or other supplementary insurance, you will receive benefits in the home care sector on a pro rata basis or even in full. You can find out exactly which benefits are covered by your relative's health insurance from your contact person there.

The optimal treatment for your relative

Special circumstances require special treatment. If one of your relatives suffers from a psychiatric illness and needs both mental and physical care to get back to everyday life, we at OPAN® are here to help.

On our platform, we bring together patients and Spitex organizations with and without an obligation to provide care. We ensure that data is transferred quickly and easily to the relevant organization so that they can find help quickly.

Regardless of whether the future client only needs temporary or permanent support - you will find the right partner here. Once you have decided on Spitex, discuss your relative's exact needs and how the caregivers should proceed at the first appointment. Fill out our registration form and we will be happy to initiate the rest of the process.