scholarly journals Young offenders with mental health problems in transition

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 232-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Campbell ◽  
Stephen Abbott ◽  
Alan Simpson

Purpose – Disproportionately high numbers of young people in the British criminal justice system also have mental health problems. Relevant services often struggle to meet such complex needs, particularly as children become adults. The purpose of this paper is to discover the qualities of services valued by such young offenders. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews with 15 young offenders with mental health problems. Findings – The young people valued continuity and sufficient time to develop trust in staff. From staff who showed concern and respect, and whose approach was informal, young people could accept help, advice and, when necessary, confrontation. They gained insight into themselves and how to modify their behaviour; knowledge about opportunities for work and education; and help with life skills. Research limitations/implications – The sample was small and likely to have been skewed towards those who are readiest to engage with services. Young people's views were not compared with their histories or actual service use. Practical implications – Other research indicates that helping relationships that demonstrate the qualities that client's value have more successful outcomes than those primarily reflecting professionals’ values. In a time of resource constraints, it seems unlikely that staff will be able to provide more contact and continuity than at present. This would be a precondition of working in accordance with the values of the young people reported here, especially when bridging the discontinuities between children's and adult services. Originality/value – Young offenders with mental health problems are rarely given a voice, particularly their views of what helps them.

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeleine Claire Valibhoy ◽  
Josef Szwarc ◽  
Ida Kaplan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine barriers to accessing mental health services, from the perspective of young people of refugee background who have been service users, and to suggest strategies to improve access to mental health services. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was conducted with 16 young people (aged 18-25), who had been refugees and who had attended mental health professionals in Australia. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically to examine participants’ perspectives on what hinders initial access to mental health services. Findings Stigma about mental health problems was particularly prominent. Many believed a high level of disturbance was the threshold for entering services, and for some there was no knowledge of such services’ existence. Options for assistance other than mental health services were often preferred, according to young people’s explanatory models. Apprehension was expressed that sessions would be uncomfortable, distressing or ineffective. The desire to be self-reliant functioned as a further barrier. Finally, structural obstacles and social exclusion deterred some young refugees from accessing services. Practical implications Implications include the need for service providers to be equipped to provide culturally sensitive, responsive services that ideally offer both practical and psychological assistance. Potential referrers, including health professionals and community leaders, could facilitate increased access if trained to recognise and address barriers. Finally, findings indicate potential content for awareness-raising initiatives for young refugees about mental health problems and services. Originality/value This paper is original in its sample, method, topic and findings; being drawn from the first known qualitative research exploring views of young mental health service users who have been refugees about barriers to accessing mental health services.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Lindsay Straiton ◽  
Anne Reneflot ◽  
Esperanza Diaz

Purpose – High socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with better health and lower use of health care services in the general population. Among immigrants, the relationship appears less consistent. The purpose of this paper is to determine if the relationship between income level (a proxy for SES) and use of primary health care services for mental health problems differs for natives and five immigrant groups in Norway. It also explores the moderating effect of length of stay (LoS) among immigrants. Design/methodology/approach – Using data from two registers with national-level coverage, logistic regression analyses with interactions were carried out to determine the association between income level and having used primary health care services for mental health problems. Findings – For Norwegian men and women there was a clear negative relationship between income and service use. Interaction analyses suggested that the relationship differed for all immigrant groups compared with Norwegians. When stratifying by LoS, income was not associated with service use among recently arrived immigrants but was negatively associated among immigrants staying more than two years (with the exception of Pakistani and Iraqi women). Research limitations/implications – Country of origin and LoS should be considered when applying measures of SES in immigrant health research. Social implications – There may be an initial transition period for recently arrived immigrants where competing factors mask the association between SES and service use. Originality/value – This study benefits from nationwide coverage, eliminating self-selection biases. It demonstrates the complexity of the relationship between SES and health care use.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 221-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Cockersell

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider evidence for the effectiveness of the psychologically informed environments (PIEs) approach to working with homeless people in the five years since the national guidance was published. Design/methodology/approach The author reviewed the intended outcomes of the original guidance and then looked at a range of data from evaluations of current PIE services in UK and Ireland. Findings The findings were that the PIE approach is effective in meeting the outcomes suggested by the original guidance; in reducing social exclusion and improving the mental health of homeless people; and in improving staff morale and interactions. Research limitations/implications This is a practice-based evidence. There needs to be more practice-based evidence gathered, and it would be useful if there were some standardised measures, as long as these did not limit the richness of the data which suggests that PIEs have a wide, not narrow, impact. Practical implications The implications are that homelessness services should use the PIE approach, and that they should be supported by clinically trained psychotherapists or psychologists; and that wider mental health services should look at the PIE approach in terms of working effectively with socially excluded people with complex needs/mental health problems. Social implications PIEs are an effective way of working with socially excluded people with mental health problems/complex needs, enabling the reduction of social exclusion among this very excluded client group. Originality/value This is the first review of evidence, much of it so far unpublished, for the effectiveness of PIEs, despite the fact that this approach has been increasingly adopted by both providers and commissioners in the homelessness sector.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0250367
Author(s):  
Ada Hui ◽  
Stefan Rennick-Egglestone ◽  
Donna Franklin ◽  
Rianna Walcott ◽  
Joy Llewellyn-Beardsley ◽  
...  

Background Institutional injustice refers to structures that create disparities in resources, opportunities and representation. Marginalised people experience institutional injustice, inequalities and discrimination through intersecting personal characteristics and social circumstances. This study aimed to investigate sources of institutional injustice and their effects on marginalised people with experience of mental health problems. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 77 individuals from marginalised groups with experience of mental health problems, including psychosis, Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) populations, complex needs and lived experience as a work requirement. These were analysed inductively enabling sensitising concepts to emerge. Findings Three processes of institutional injustice were identified: not being believed because of social status and personal backgrounds; not being heard where narratives did not align with dominant discourses, and not being acknowledged where aspects of identity were disregarded. Harmful outcomes included disengagement from formal institutions through fear and mistrust, tensions and reduced affiliation with informal institutions when trying to consolidate new ways of being, and damaging impacts on mental health and wellbeing through multiple oppression. Conclusions Institutional injustice perpetuates health inequalities and marginalised status. Master status, arising from dominant discourses and heuristic bias, overshadow the narratives and experiences of marginalised people. Cultural competency has the potential to improve heuristic availability through social understandings of narrative and experience, whilst coproduction and narrative development through approaches such as communities of practice might offer meaningful avenues for authentic expression.


2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 207-214
Author(s):  
Naomi Russell ◽  
Jennifer Taylor

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the work of the Children and Young People's Programme of Time to Change, which is England's biggest campaign to end the stigma and discrimination that surrounds mental health. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws upon research into the nature and effects of mental health stigma and discrimination on young people and also outlines the strategy of the Time to Change campaign and its initial outcomes. Findings – The paper includes testimonies from young people with lived experience of mental health problems about the stigma and discrimination they have faced. It also outlines the aims, objectives and stages of implementation of the Time to Change Children and Young People's Programme. The paper particularly focuses on the campaign work undertaken in secondary schools, the social leadership programme for young people with lived experience of mental health problems and the process of designing effective campaign messaging for social media. Originality/value – Time to Change is England's biggest campaign to end the stigma and discrimination that surrounds mental health. This paper provides a unique insight into the process of developing and rolling out an anti-stigma campaign for young people.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Cooke ◽  
Janine King ◽  
Kathryn Greenwood

Purpose – Stigma towards people with mental health problems is a significant problem and appears trenchant despite recent anti-stigma campaigns. Attitudes develop in young children, and may be stronger and less malleable in adolescence. Early intervention may be important for mental health education and stigma prevention. Theory, evidence and practical considerations all suggest that teachers’ involvement is key. By exploring communication about mental health between teachers and young children, it will be possible to elaborate how stigma develops and may be ameliorated. The purpose of this paper is to explore teachers’ accounts of this communication and the factors that influence it. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews with 15 primary school teachers were transcribed and analysed using a grounded theory approach. Findings – Discussions about mental health were largely absent from the classroom, due to teachers’ anxiety. Teachers felt the need to protect children from exposure to people with mental health problems and even from information about the topic, believed they lacked the necessary expertise, worried that such discussions were outside their remit and were anxious about parents’ reactions. Originality/value – This was the first study to interview teachers on this topic and suggests that a significant opportunity to address fear and stigma is being missed. Teachers’ silence may reinforce that mental health problems are taboo, and prevent children from developing knowledge and a language to talk about mental health. The inclusion of teachers in early mental health education and could promote better understanding and more inclusive attitudes, especially if supported by educational policy and curriculum.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian Roberts ◽  
Angela Donkin ◽  
Michael Marmot

Purpose – Poor mental health and well-being disproportionately affects vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – The focus of this paper is socioeconomic inequalities in perinatal, child and adolescent mental health. Findings – Children and young people in the poorest British households are up to three times more likely to develop mental health problems than their more advantaged peers (Green et al., 2005). The pattern can also be observed in the opposite direction, with poor mental health known to contribute to socioeconomic and other health problems (McCulloch and Goldie, 2010, Parckar, 2008). At a larger scale, the higher the level of inequality within developed countries, the higher the rate of child and adolescent mental health problems (Pickett et al., 2006). Social implications – Mechanisms posited as underlying such inequalities include family investment and stress processes. These factors have been taken into account when developing the economic case for investing in perinatal, child and adolescent mental health. Originality/value – Illustrative examples of progressive universal strategies and policies to help reduce socioeconomic inequalities in mental health, include: action to address the inequality gap in the UK; early intervention to improve mental health; investing in sustainable and evidence-based mental health services; ensuring parity of esteem, and; using appropriately designed social media and online sources to support children’s mental health.


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