The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1937-11-25
REGULATIONS LISTED FOR
MENTAL HYGIENE CLINICS
These Are Conducted In Oakland
Second Monday of Each Month

The County Health officer has re-
ceived a letter from DIR. Ira A. Darl-
ing, Superintendent of the Springfield
State Hospital, giving the following
regulations for the mental hygiene
clinics, which will be conducted by the
hospital attaches at the Health De-
partment in Oakland each month.
1. Clinics will be held on the second
Monday of each month.
2. Five new cases will be seen at
each clinic.
8. A social history and report of
physical examination must be secured
on each case and presented to the
health officer two weeks prior to the
date of the following clinic, except in
emergencies, when case may be pre-
scented by a physician who will be re-
sponsible for securing necessary in
formation.
a. Returned cases, with interval
note, will be seen as requested by ply
sician or agency.
5. Patients on parole from Spring
field State Hospital will be seen by the
psychiatrist.
6. Relatives of patients at Spring
field may consult the psychiatrist re-
garding them, by appointment made
sufficiently ahead of time to insure the
psychiatrist's having the desired in
formation.
Regulation number 8, requiring the
investigation of the circumstances and
family surrounding the patient and a
physical examination to see if there is
any disease of the body present, is
necessary because patients hobits
and mental activities are so infiu-
enced by these things that the PSYCHE
artist usually cannot decide about him
unless the information has been Sc
cured. Of course, a physician acquain-
ted with the family and physical con-
dition of his patient is always well
come to bring the patient to the clinic
for consultation with the specialist
there.
Regulation number 6 means that
relatives of patient now at Spring
field may have personal conversation
with the doctor from there about their
conditions, if they will give notice
ahead of time so that the physician
coming to Garrett county will have
time to see the patient before leaving
the hospital. AS there are over 1000
patients in the hospital, it is impossi-
bit that any one doctor should remem-
Der all the details about each one.
The next clinic will be conducted on
Monday, December 10. These clinics
are not intended especially for people
who are definitely insane or children
who are plainly mentally deficient, al
though such cases will be examined IN
order to make it easier to arrange
their admission to State hospitals
when necessary. The doctors would
much prefer to see cases of problem
children or other patients who have
slightly abnormal mental conditions.
In the past clinics these have included
one child who was subject to bad
dreams and fear of kidnapping; an
other child who had the hibit OF pick
ing up and chewing small pieces OF
rubber; another child who bit her fin
ger nails excessively and several chill
dren who had peculiar inability to
make certain sounds in words clearly
In any such problem, advice from a
psychiatrist, tina tbs, doctor especl-
ally trained in mental diseases, is the
best which can be had, although the
heredity or environment of the pa
tient may be so bad that complete cure
is impossible.