A person must have been this way for over a month, as, sometimes another problem could be the cause, such as severe stress or a medical condition. A person showing these signs should be helped to see a doctor or psychiatrist as soon as possible. Causes of psychosis As with many mental disorders, there may be several different causes of psychosis. Most commonly, psychosis is a medical condition that manifests itself in some families. If a parent or other close relative has psychosis, there is a greater chance that another family member will have it. Sometimes, a stressful event will trigger the psychosis. Medication and family support can help people cope with this condition. SCREENING TOOLS (Mini lecture, group exercise) Self-reporting questionnaire 8 (SRQ8) This is a psychiatric screening instrument which investigates eight common symptoms experienced in the past week. It was proved to reliably detect common mental disorders, mainly depression and anxiety. It was derived from the SRQ 20, which was developed in 1980 by the World Health Organization (WHO). The SRQ 20 has been used in Zimbabwe in a number of studies on the effects of organised violence and torture. The SRQ8 was developed in Zimbabwe in 1996 by Dr Patel and a group of other doctors. The research was carried out at primaryhealth clinics. The results were compared with the clinical screening and were found to be the same. It is used to screen patients with more severe symptoms so that they are given priority. Scores of five or higher are considered to be significant and in need of immediate attention. Anyone who answers ‘Yes’ to suicidal ideation is also given priority, even if the score is lower than five. Either the patient or the health worker can complete the form; and there are challenges in administering the questionnaire, such as illiteracy, lack of understanding, etc. Note that completion of the following is not conclusive; patients still need to go for further testing. 1. In the past week, did you sometimes fail to sleep or lose sleep? 2. In the past week, were there moments when you felt life was so tough that you felt like crying? 3. In the past week, did you feel run down or tired? 4. In the past week, did you at times feel like committing suicide? 5. In the past week, were you generally unhappy with things you were doing daily? 6. In the past week, was your work lagging behind? 7. In the past week, did you have problems in deciding what to do? 8. In the past week, were you unable to play a useful part in your life? Answering ‘Yes’ to five or more of these questions is an indication of the presence of depression. Further direct questions should then be asked. 116 Community Healing: A training manual for Zimbabwe