The Psychiatry Clinic is made up of the Inpatient Treatment Centre with its 8 departments, and the Psychiatric Outpatients Clinic which also includes the Mental Health Centre.
The clinic provides outpatient and inpatient psychiatric care as well as day treatment for patients from all over Estonia. Due to its location, most of the outpatient patients come from Northern Estonia. The clinic provides inpatient assistance mainly to Harju County, Lääne County, islands, Rapla County and Lääne-Viru County. The number of Southern Estonian patients is relatively small compared to other regions.
The Inpatient Treatment Centre of Psychiatry Clinic consists of 8 departments which have 226 beds altogether: department of non-psychotic crisis (Department 2), two departments for patients with acute chronic psychotic disorders (Departments 3 and 4), department of acute psychiatry (Department 5), day-care department for dual diagnosis patients (Department 6), department of child and adolescent psychiatry (Department 7), department of general psychiatry (Department 8) and department of integrated treatment of first onset psychosis (Department 9).
The department of integrated treatment of first onset psychosis also provides outpatient assistance for patients with initial psychosis within five years from the first psychotic episode. The inpatient treatment centre guarantees 24h psychiatric assistance which is available for all persons in need of emergency psychiatric care. Also forensic psychiatric examinations are conducted at inpatient treatment centre; these are usually complex expertises which involve several experts.
Psychiatry Clinic values team work
We have contributed to the development of staff – year by year, the relative importance of psychiatry nurses, psychologists and creative and occupational therapists in providing psychiatric assistance has increased. Also, we have improved the substance of our services.
Last year we implemented neuropsychological training program CogPack, which enables us to improve cognitive functions of patients with severe mental disorders by using specially targeted tasks. CogPack program was localized by Harri Küünarpuu, the psychologist of Psychiatric Clinic of North Estonia Medical Centre. Due to this program, we are the only psychiatric clinic in Estonia which is able to provide this form of therapy. Psychotherapy is also increasingly becoming more part of the therapy.
The Psychiatry Clinic with its research partner Tallinn University of Technology’s Biomedical Engineering Centre has been granted an international patent for the studies of depression assessment methods. The long-term purpose of the research is to ensure sufficient number of employees with academic degree. At the moment, Dr. Ülle Võhma is obtaining M.D. degree under the supervision of Eduard Maron, Head of Mental Health Centre.
Cooperation projects
In order to provide better rehabilitation services, doctors and social workers of the Psychiatry Clinic have had tight cooperation with Tallinn Mental Health Centre and since 2010 the clinic has been continuously cooperating with the Estonian Psychosocial Rehabilitation Association (EPRÜ). In addition, a new project "Personal choices in labour market" was launched in 2011 in cooperation with EPRÜ and European Social Fund. The project is designed for providing practical training and employment for unemployed persons with long-term mental disorders through case management and mentoring.
Improving the availability of rehabilitation services is especially essential for persons with severe mental disorders, on order to ensure better social coping. Institutions that provide psychiatric assistance play an important role in bringing together the providers of rehabilitation services (because it is not a part of active therapy), and persons who need these services, i.e. psychiatric patients.
The Psychiatry Clinic of North Estonia Medical Centre acts as a training base for future psychiatrists, psychologists and nurses.
History
The Psychiatry Clinic has operated since 1903 on the lands of the historical Seewaldi summer manor. The owner, Baroness Marie Girard de Saucanton, bestowed the manor upon the Estonian Provincial Association for the Care of the Infirm in 1898, and construction of the hospital began, largely through donations, the same year.
Ernst von Kügelgen, MD became the hospital’s first general practitioner. The first hospital buildings were completed at the end of 1903. At the time of its inauguration it was one of Europe’s most modern psychiatric hospitals. Today, more than a century later, the clinic forms part of the North Estonia Medical Centre and we have reached a point where we must be able to bring this valuable heritage into line with the standards of modern-day Europe.
