COPE: A Systematic Approach to Moving Chronic Patients Into the Community
John P. Waldeck M.S.W.1,
Sheila Emerson M.A.2, and
Barry Edelstein PH.D.3
1 FMRS Mental Health Council, Inc. Beckley, West Virginia
2 Alcohol and Drug Program Shawnee Hills Community Health Center Charleston, West Virginia
3 Department of Psychology West Virginia University Morgantown, West Virginia
COPE, a program designed to help chronic psychiatric patients make the transition from institutionalization to independent living in the community, emphasizes both in-hospital training and systematic aftercare as two points on a continuum of treatment. The program includes four training phases, with each phase based upon the skills acquired in the preceding one. The residents are thereby assured of having the necessary skills for progressing to more complex tasks as they proceed through the program. During the last phase, support by the mental health system is gradually replaced by help from community support systems.
