Leaving Lake Wobegon: firearm-related education and training for medical and mental health professionals is an essential competence

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianni Pirelli ◽  
Liza Gold
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Gun Violence ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Average Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Training

Purpose Firearm-involved violence and suicide in the USA, often collectively referred to as “gun violence,” has been labeled a public health problem and an epidemic, and even an endemic by some. Many lawmakers, community groups, mainstream media outlets and professional organizations regularly address gun-related issues and frequently associate firearm violence with mental health. As a result, these groups often set forth positions, engage in discussions and promote policies that are at least partially based on the widely held but incorrect assumption that medical and mental health professionals are either inherently equipped or professionally trained to intervene with their patients and reduce gun deaths. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach Furthermore, notable proportions of medical and mental health professionals self-report a level of comfort engaging in firearm-specific interventions that is often disproportionate to their actual education and training in the area. This type of overconfidence bias has been referred to as the Lake Wobegon Effect, illusory superiority, the above average effect, the better-than average effect or the false uniqueness bias. While medical and mental health professionals need to serve on the front line of firearm-involved violence and suicide prevention initiatives, the vast majority have not actually received systematic, formal training on firearm-specific issues. Findings Therefore, many lack the professional and cultural competence to meet current and potential future in regard to addressing gun violence. In this paper, the authors discuss empirical studies that illustrate this reality and a novel model (i.e. the Know, Ask, Do framework) that medical and mental health professionals can use when firearm-related issues arise. In addition, the authors set forth considerations for clinicians to develop and maintain their professional and cultural competence related to firearms and firearm-related subcultures. Originality/value This paper provides empirical and conceptual support for medical and mental health programs to develop formal education and training related to guns, gun safety and gun culture. A framework is provided that can also assist medical and mental health professionals to develop and maintain their own professional and cultural competence.

Values and ethics in mental-health education and training: a different perspective

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riya Elizabeth George ◽  
Nisha Dogra ◽  
Bill Fulford
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Diversity Training ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Mental Health Education ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Training

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the challenges of teaching values and ethics in mental-health, explore the differing perspectives of the key stakeholders and stimulate further questions for debate in this area; leading to a proposal of an alternative approach to educating mental-health professionals on values and ethics. Originality/value – In current mental-health care settings, very few professionals work with homogeneous populations. It is imperative that mental-health education and training ensures health professionals are competent to practice in diverse settings; where ethics and values are bound to differ. Establishing professional practice not only involves considering concepts such as values and ethics, but also equality, diversity and culture. Incorporating values-based practice and cultural diversity training holds promise to education and training, that is truly reflective of the complexity of clinical decision making in mental-health. Further research is needed as to how these two frameworks can be unified and taught.

Firearms and cultural competence: considerations for mental health professionals

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianni Pirelli ◽  
Philip Witt
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Forensic Practice ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Health Practitioners

Purpose Although cultural competence is gaining increased attention among mental health practitioners, such primarily has centered on race, religion, ethnicity, language, and nationality. Thus far, there has been relatively little recognition of specific socialized subcultures aside from the aforementioned groups, and virtually no discussion regarding those associated with various firearm-related subcultures. This topic is particularly relevant to mental health practitioners, as positions on firearm use and ownership frequently split across political party lines, and mental health professionals and academics are more likely to espouse liberal rather than conservative views. It follows that practitioners may understand little about firearms culture and, therefore, are at increased risk for biased decision making when working with clients for whom firearms have relevance. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This paper takes a conceptual approach to reviewing potential areas of bias in both clinical and clinical-forensic practice in the US context. Findings The authors detail the prevalence of firearm-related issues in the USA, contextualize firearm-related issues in forensic treatment and evaluation scenarios, delineate a number of firearm subgroups, and recommend considerations for mental health professionals to develop cultural competence as it relates to firearms and associated subcultures. Originality/value This is an original conceptual study of cultural competence and various firearm-related subcultures.

Now they’re listening: involvement in clinical psychology training

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-29
Author(s):  
Laura Lea ◽  
Sue Holttum ◽  
Victoria Butters ◽  
Diana Byrne ◽  
Helen Cable ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Clinical Psychology ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Service User ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Psychology Training ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Clinical Psychology Training ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThe 2014/2015 UK requirement for involvement of service users and carers in training mental health professionals has prompted the authors to review the work of involvement in clinical psychology training in the university programme. Have the voices of service users and carers been heard? The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe authors update the paper of 2011 in which the authors described the challenges of inclusion and the specific approaches the authors take to involvement. The authors do this in the context of the recent change to UK standards for service user and carer involvement, and recent developments in relation to partnership working and co-production in mental healthcare. The authors describe the work carried out by the authors – members of a service user involvement group at a UK university – to ensure the voices of people affected by mental health difficulties are included in all aspects of training.FindingsCareful work and the need for dedicated time is required to enable inclusive, effective and comprehensive participation in a mental health training programme. It is apparent that there is a group of service users whose voice is less heard: those who are training to be mental health workers.Social implicationsFor some people, involvement has increased. Trainee mental health professionals’ own experience of distress may need more recognition and valuing.Originality/valueThe authors are in a unique position to review a service-user-led project, which has run for 12 years, whose aim has been to embed involvement in training. The authors can identify both achievements and challenges.

The transition between mental health services in Scotland

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliette van der Kamp
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Organisational Development ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Experience Difficulty

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the barriers and facilitators to an effective transition from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS). It also presents a new entry into considering how the transition can be improved. Design/methodology/approach Insights into the transition from CAMHS to AMHS were gathered through eight semi-structured interviews with mental health professionals. Two methods of data analysis were employed to explore the emerging themes in the data and the observed deficit approach to organisational development. Findings The findings identified a vast volume of barriers in comparison to facilitators to the transition. Adolescents who transition from CAMHS to AMHS initially experience difficulty adapting to the differences in the services due to the short duration of the transition period. However, despite the established barriers to the transition, adolescents tend to adapt to the differences between the services. Findings also showed a negative framing towards the transition amongst the mental health professionals which resembles a deficit approach to organisational development. Originality/value This paper explores mental health professionals’ perspectives regarding the transition in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The transition is increasingly recognised as an area in health care that requires improvement. This research provides a new way to consider the transition by exploring the perceived deficit approach to organisational development in the services.

Work challenges negatively affecting the job satisfaction of early career community mental health professionals working in rural Australia: findings from a qualitative study

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Cosgrave ◽  
Myfanwy Maple ◽  
Rafat Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Physical Geography ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Time Critical

Purpose Some of Australia’s most severe and protracted workforce shortages are in public sector community mental health (CMH) services. Research identifying the factors affecting staff turnover of this workforce has been limited. The purpose of this paper is to identify work factors negatively affecting the job satisfaction of early career health professionals working in rural Australia’s public sector CMH services. Design/methodology/approach In total, 25 health professionals working in rural and remote CMH services in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, for NSW Health participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Findings The study identified five work-related challenges negatively affecting job satisfaction: developing a profession-specific identity; providing quality multidisciplinary care; working in a resource-constrained service environment; working with a demanding client group; and managing personal and professional boundaries. Practical implications These findings highlight the need to provide time-critical supports to address the challenges facing rural-based CMH professionals in their early career years in order to maximise job satisfaction and reduce avoidable turnover. Originality/value Overall, the study found that the factors negatively affecting the job satisfaction of early career rural-based CMH professionals affects all professionals working in rural CMH, and these negative effects increase with service remoteness. For those in early career, having to simultaneously deal with significant rural health and sector-specific constraints and professional challenges has a negative multiplier effect on their job satisfaction. It is this phenomenon that likely explains the high levels of job dissatisfaction and turnover found among Australia’s rural-based early career CMH professionals. By understanding these multiple and simultaneous pressures on rural-based early career CMH professionals, public health services and governments involved in addressing rural mental health workforce issues will be better able to identify and implement time-critical supports for this cohort of workers. These findings and proposed strategies potentially have relevance beyond Australia’s rural CMH workforce to Australia’s broader early career nursing and allied health rural workforce as well as internationally for other countries that have a similar physical geography and health system.

Professionals harnessing experiential knowledge in Dutch mental health settings

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Karbouniaris ◽  
Alie Weerman ◽  
Bea Dunnewind ◽  
Jean Pierre Wilken ◽  
Tineke A. Abma
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Experiential Knowledge ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Action Research Approach ◽  
Mental Health Settings ◽  
Four Levels

Purpose This study aims to explore the perspectives of mental health professionals who are in a process of integrating their own experiential knowledge in their professional role. This study considers implications for identity, dilemmas and challenges within the broader organization, when bringing experiential knowledge to practice. Design/methodology/approach As part of a participatory action research approach, qualitative methods have been used, such as in-depth interviews, discussions and observations during training and project team. Findings The actual use of experiential knowledge by mental health care professionals in their work affected four levels: their personal–professional development; the relation with service users; the relation with colleagues; and their position in the organization. Research limitations/implications Because of its limited context, this study may lack generalisability and further research with regard to psychologists and psychiatrists, as well as perceptions from users, is desirable. Social implications According to this study, social change starts from a bottom-up movement and synchronously should be facilitated by top-down policy. A dialogue with academic mental health professionals seems crucial to integrate this source of knowledge. Active collaboration with peer workers and supervisors is desired as well. Originality/value Professionals with lived experiences play an important role in working recovery-oriented, demonstrating bravery and resilience. Having dealt with mental health distress, they risked stigma and rejections when introducing this as a type of knowledge in current mental health service culture. Next to trainings to facilitate the personal–professional process, investments in the entire organization are needed to transform governance, policy and ethics.

In Graduate School, I Learned What I Need to Know About Running a Successful Practice

2019 ◽  
pp. 3-6
Author(s):  
Jeffrey E. Barnett ◽  
Jeffrey Zimmerman
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Graduate School ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Private Practice ◽  
Clinical Skills ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Financial Issues ◽  
And Training

Although most mental health professionals receive excellent education and training that helps them to become competent and highly effective clinicians, graduate school tends not to provide training in the business side of practice that is needed for success in private practice. Many trainees and early-career clinicians may think they learned in graduate school all they need to know to be successful in the business of practice. Unfortunately, this is generally not true and many of those who enter private practice are poorly prepared for planning, establishing, and running a successful private practice. This chapter addresses the key issues every mental health clinician should know about when contemplating opening a private practice. Business and financial issues are addressed, including developing a business plan and utilizing various consultants. This chapter addresses the myth that excellent clinical skills are sufficient for success in the business of private mental health practice.

Indonesian clinical psychologists’ perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine research and knowledge: a content analysis study

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 164-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrian Liem
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Alternative Medicine ◽  
Complementary And Alternative Medicine ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Clinical Psychologists ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Complementary And Alternative

Purpose As part of a nationwide research about knowledge, attitude, experiences and educational needs towards complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among Indonesian clinical psychologists (CPs), the purpose of this paper is to explore CPs’ perceptions of CAM research and their interest in learning CAM. Design/methodology/approach A link to an online survey was e-mailed to all 1,045 CPs across Indonesia. At the end of the survey, two open-ended questions were asked: “What do you think about CAM research in Indonesia?” and “Why are you interested in learning about CAM?”, which were responded to by 127 participants (87 per cent of females; Mage=36.67, SD=9.02). Participants’ responses were analysed using inductive qualitative content analysis. Findings It was found that two global themes for CPs’ perceptions of CAM were to improve participants’ professionalism and as part of continuing education and development for mental health professionals. The favourable responses in this study may reflect participants’ willingness to be involved in collaborative CAM research and education. Moreover, CAM was perceived as part of Indonesian culture and participants viewed CAM research and knowledge as a chance to promote Indonesian local wisdom to complement conventional psychotherapy. Research limitations/implications These findings might call for stakeholders to integrate CAM knowledge into psychology education, facilitate CAM research in psychology settings and encourage collaborative CAM research. However, self-selection bias may limit the findings of this study. Originality/value This study explored perceptions of CAM research and interest in learning CAM that have rarely been investigated among mental health professionals and particularly, until now, have not been investigated in Indonesia.

Perinatal mental health cultural responsiveness training – an evaluation

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberley Wriedt ◽  
Daryl Oehm ◽  
Brendon Moss ◽  
Prem Chopra
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Online Training ◽  
Cultural Responsiveness ◽  
Perinatal Mental Health ◽  
Maternal Child Health ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face

Purpose – Women from culturally and linguistically diverse communities face barriers to accessing perinatal mental health care. Victorian Transcultural Mental Health (VTMH) is a state-wide service in Victoria, Australia, that supports specialist mental health service providers to improve cultural responsiveness. VTMH provided training for perinatal health professionals in cultural responsiveness. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – A curriculum was specifically developed based on a literature review, consultation forum, and input from members of an industry-based reference group. An Evaluation Tool was designed to collect participants’ feedback regarding the perceived relevance of the training content and its impact on practice. Responses were analysed using quantitative techniques and thematic analysis. Findings – Nine face-to-face training sessions were provided, in metropolitan and rural regions. In all, 174 professionals of various backgrounds (including midwives, mental health professionals, and maternal child health nurses) attended. In all, 161 completed evaluations were received and responses indicated that the training was of high relevance to the target workforce, that the training would have implications for their practice, and support was given for further training to be delivered using online methods. Research limitations/implications – First, an assessment of the cultural competence of participants prior to enrolment in the course was not conducted, and no matched control group was available for comparison with the participants. Second, generalisability of these findings to other settings requires further investigation. Third, the sustainability of the project is an area for further study in the future. Fourth, other methods including direct interviews of focus groups with participants may have yielded more detailed qualitative feedback regarding the effectiveness of the programme. Practical implications – To facilitate the sustainability of the project, following the face-to-face training, an online training module and a resource portal were developed, offering links to relevant web sites and resources for health professionals working in this field. Originality/value – The training addressed a significant unmet need for cultural responsiveness training for a diverse range of practitioners in the field of perinatal mental health. Online training can be adapted from face-to-face training and it is anticipated that online training will facilitate the sustainability of this initiative.

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