Schoolchildren's perspectives on the meaning of mental health

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadzeya Svirydzenka ◽  
Claire Bone ◽  
Nisha Dogra
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Personal Attributes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Meaning ◽  
Bright Futures ◽  
Definition Of

Purpose – Mental health of children and young people is often discussed in terms of mental illness, however, such an approach is limited. The purpose of this paper is to explore young people's views of what mental health is and how to stay mentally healthy. Design/methodology/approach – The paper investigated young people's views on these two issues through a series of workshops. In total 218, 13-year-old schoolchildren produced posters with their impressions of the issues. Themes that young people identified were then discussed with them in terms of the existing Bright Futures definition of mental health. Poster responses were subsequently transcribed and thematically analysed. Findings – The paper identified a number of themes for each question. Mental health was viewed in terms of personal attributes of an individual, illness, ability for personal management and establishing social relations. Young people saw mental health maintained through a combination of lifestyle choices, personal attributes, management of self and environment, social support and relationships, as well as treatment of illness. These themes corresponded to the ones identified by the Bright Futures. Research limitations/implications – This study highlights the complexity of young people's views on the meaning of mental health. They were also more positive, open and competent in discussing mental health than previously suggested. However, a more systematic investigation of views and attitudes is necessary, including younger children. Additionally, health care professionals are likely to benefit from young people's engagement in planning and implementing strategies for better mental health. Originality/value – This paper is one of the few to investigate the positive meaning of mental health with young people.

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.

Rethinking mental health provision in the secure estate for children and young people: a framework for integrated care (SECURE STAIRS)

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Taylor ◽  
Lisa Shostak ◽  
Andrew Rogers ◽  
Paul Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Record Keeping ◽  
Care Plans ◽  
Trauma Informed Care ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Trauma Informed

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline the challenges to achieving positive outcomes for young people within the secure estate in England, and introduces a psychologically informed framework, SECURE STAIRS (SS), aimed at improving outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The paper argues that there is a need for a fundamental shift in the way care and intervention for young people within the secure estate is delivered. It gives an overview of current challenges and needs and summarises the theoretical concepts and evidence base which can guide practice and form the foundations of the SS framework. Findings The framework recommends that intervention shift from focussing primarily on individual assessment and treatment to a greater emphasis on supporting the work of the wider system of care. Recommendations include promoting trauma-informed care, a focus on the system dynamics within institutions and how these impact on the care young people receive, and on the collaborative development with residential staff and young people of formulation-led care plans that include a focus on issues of sustainability after leaving the secure estate. Practical implications These include the establishment of discrete residential groupings with truly integrated and trauma-informed work across residential, mental health, education and criminal justice agencies. This involves addressing governance issues around shared record keeping, and challenges to sustainability and the accompanying need for local implementation plans for each establishment alongside central support at a strategic level. Originality/value This paper describes a new and innovative way of working within secure settings to ensure children and young people’s needs are better met.

More than just characters in a story: effective and meaningful involvement of young people in mental health research

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niamh MacSweeney ◽  
Sarah Bowman ◽  
Clare Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Advisory Groups ◽  
Meaningful Involvement ◽  
Youth Involvement

Purpose The story of youth mental health remains poorly understood. To truly progress our understanding of youth mental health, we must shift our focus from one in which young people are the subjects, or “characters”, of research efforts to one in which they are active agents, or “authors”. This change in dynamic falls under the banner of public and patient involvement (PPI), a growing movement that emphasises the meaningful involvement of the public in health research. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Here, the authors aim to stimulate this shift in focus by describing emerging practices of youth involvement in paediatric research and outlining how such practices can be extended to the domain of youth mental health. In particular, the authors highlight Young Persons’ Advisory Groups (YPAG), through which young people can be involved in an active, meaningful and mutually beneficial manner, at each step in the research life cycle. Findings A YPAG comprises young people who act as research partners, providing guidance on a range of activities. In the health domain, YPAGs have provided fresh perspectives, generated valuable knowledge and changed attitudes about youth involvement in research. Moreover, they provide young people with genuine opportunities to shape research so that it addresses issues they encounter in their everyday lives. Originality/value The establishment of youth mental health YPAGs will enhance the authors’ research questions, design, delivery and impact. The authors outline how researchers can embrace PPI and work together with young people to tell a different story of youth mental health.

scholarly journals The familiar stranger of mental health

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 237-247
Author(s):  
Matthew Sydney Long
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Health Facility ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Service User ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Mental Health Facility ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to contribute to the debate about the closure of institutional mental health-care facilities, from an experiential perspective of a former mental health inpatient, ongoing service user and campaigner for retention of such facilities. It argues that auto-ethnographic accounts of mental illness by those with multiple social identities can have a greater role in terms of future training of mental health-care professionals. Design/methodology/approach The paper offers an experiential account of the impact of mental health facility bed closures as a patient admitted to institutional mental health facilities; as a mental health campaigner, fighting for the provision of both places of safety and “safe space” within his own local community; and as an ongoing service user. The research is in the interpretivist tradition of social science in taking an auto-ethnographical methodological stance. Findings This paper is underpinned by two key theoretical notions. Firstly, Stuart Hall’s concept of the Familiar Stranger (2017) is used to explore the tensions of self-identity as the author SHIFTS uncomfortably between his three-fold statuses. Secondly, the notion of “ontological insecurity” offered by Giddens (1991) is used with the paper exploring the paradox that admission to a mental health facility so-called “place of safety” is in fact itself a disorientating experience for both patient and carer(s). Research limitations/implications No positivistic claims to reliability, representativeness or generalisability can be made. It is the authenticity of the account which the reader feels should be afforded primacy in terms of its original contribution to knowledge. Practical implications This paper should have practical use for those tasked with developing educational and training curriculums for professionals across the mental health-care sector. Social implications This paper implicitly assesses the political wisdom of the policy of mental health bed closures within the wider context of the deinstitutionalisation movement. Originality/value This paper is underpinned by original experiential accounts from the author as patient, campaigner for places of safety and onging service-user of mental health care provision.

All of us? An exploration of the concept of mental health literacy based on young people’s responses to fictional mental health vignettes

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Chambers ◽  
F. Murphy ◽  
H. S. Keeley
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Young People ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Mental Health Policy ◽  
Current Definition ◽  
Definition Of

ObjectivesMental health literacy is increasingly referenced as a goal of mental health policy. However, the current definition of this concept has a relatively narrow focus on mental disorders. The objectives of this study were to explore mental health literacy through the use of vignettes and to begin to articulate a broader definition.MethodsSix groups of young people (n=42) aged between 16 and 25 years old responded to open-ended questions about vignettes depicting fictional characters with diagnosable mental health problems. The responses were analysed using Foucault’s governmentality theory.ResultsThe responses to the vignettes highlighted a range of determinants of our mental health. The young people suggested informal mental health-promoting techniques and highlighted the importance of talking. Ambiguity was reported in relation to the types of knowledge that are important in responding to mental health need. Finally, the responses were reflective of young people who are empathetic and view mental health from the perspective of our shared humanity, rather than as a marginal issue.ConclusionsAs mental health literacy is increasingly becoming a goal of mental health policy, it is timely that a shared understanding of this important concept is articulated. The current definition of mental health literacy is narrow in its focus on the recognition of mental disorders. A more broad-based definition of mental health literacy should be adopted by policy makers, reflecting the full range of determinants of mental health and recognising the importance of mental wellbeing.

Young service users from refugee backgrounds: their perspectives on barriers to accessing Australian mental health services

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeleine Claire Valibhoy ◽  
Josef Szwarc ◽  
Ida Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Young People ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Explanatory Models ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Content Type

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.

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards: complexity, confusion and case law – a commentary

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 245-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Lennard
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Literature Search ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Definition Of

Purpose – As a healthcare professional caring for people who lack capacity, the author has noted a wide variation in knowledge and awareness by staff of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The purpose of this paper is to examine the DoLS and the background to their coming into being, describes their operation and qualifying requirements, and the continuing problems with their application nationwide. Design/methodology/approach – Utilising a literature search of government papers, official reports of statutory bodies, and critical studies, it examines the central criticisms of DoLS, particularly the lack of a clear statutory definition of deprivation of liberty, and reports on the wide variation in knowledge of the legislation by staff in health and social care, and uneven application of the safeguards nationwide. Findings – It cites evidence from studies showing that even professionals with high levels of expertise in the field find the legislation confusing, and presents testimony from legal experts that case law has failed to clarify the issues for professionals. Originality/value – Finally, it argues that the legislation is now too complex to successfully amend, and tentatively suggests that, pending a government review to make the process more understandable, health care professionals make ‘precautionary’ applications for DoLS. The author argues that, notwithstanding its faults, the process is a worthwhile exercise in care planning and ensuring that people's care is in their best interests and the least restrictive available.

scholarly journals Resilience in children and young people with intellectual disabilities: a review of literature

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 86-97
Author(s):  
Raghu Raghavan ◽  
Edward Griffin
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Personal Attributes ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
On Line ◽  
Poor Outcomes ◽  
The Individual

Purpose Building the resilience of children with intellectual disabilities (ChID) can help reduce the personal, social and economic costs associated with mental ill health among such children. The purpose of this paper is to review the research evidence on resilience in ChID and to suggest areas for further research. Design/methodology/approach Journal articles published in the last 20 years were searched in on-line databases to find potential papers for this review. The inclusion criteria were to search for published journal articles covering the theme of resilience in ChID and their families. All identified titles and abstracts were screened which resulted in 50 articles. These were scrutinised more thoroughly and 34 remaining articles were selected for review. Findings Resilience is a dynamic process involving interactions between various risk and protective processes both internal and external to the individual that act to mediate the influences of adverse life events. Five key themes were identified within the literature which helped to form a picture of the current understanding of resilience among ChID and their careers. These were increased risk factors associated with ID, the role of personal attributes on resilience, family and resilience, schooling and resilience, and cultural factors which enhance resilience. Originality/value Despite the consistency with which poor outcomes for ChID have been reported there is little investigation of the specific causes, contributory factors and processes that might improve them. This paper contributes to greater understanding of resilience factors for children and young people with ID and provides areas for further research.

scholarly journals Student Well-being: A Systematic Literature Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Farah Aulia ◽  
Thomas Dicky Hastjarjo ◽  
Diana Setiyawati ◽  
Bhina Patria
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
School Context ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Satisfaction ◽  
School Evaluation ◽  
Definition Of

Research on well-being in adults has developed quite rapidly in recent years, but not on research in child well-being particularly within school context. This article aimed to review: (a) the definition of student well-being and b) measurement of student well-being. The review involved articles published in 2007-2017. The conclusions of this literature review are (a) the definitions used to explain student well-being are based on several approaches, namely mental health, hedonistic and eudaimonic, (b) several aspects that construct the student well-being at school namely dominant positive emotions, school satisfaction, negative emotions, social relations and engagement to school. These findings can provide recommendations for measurement construction and school evaluation related to student well-being.

scholarly journals Compassion in mental health: a literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-228
Author(s):  
Joy M. Rooney
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Biomedical Model ◽  
Academic Researcher ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper aims to systematically review the current literature on compassion in mental health from a historical, service user and carer (SUAC)/academic researcher perspective with respect to the current paradigm/biomedical model. Design/methodology/approach Searches were conducted in CIANHL Complete, Academic Search Complete, British Education Index, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycArticles, Scorpus, Proquest Central using a simplified PRISM approach. Findings In the UK, the SUAC-movement facilitated the adoption of more compassionate mental health in statutory services. Across the world, compassion-based approaches may be viewed as beneficial, especially to those experiencing a biomedical model “treatment”. Health-care workers, suffering burnout and fatigue during neoliberal economics, benefit from compassion training, both in their practice and personally. Randomised control trials (RCTs) demonstrate compassion-type interventions are effective, given sufficient intervention timing, duration and design methodology. Psychology creates outcome measures of adequacies and deficiencies in compassion, demonstrating their importance statistically, with reservations. The effective protection of mental health by self-compassion in both SUACs and health care professionals is evident. It is clear from qualitative research that SUACs prefer compassionate mental health. It also makes a large difference to mental health in general populations. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are given, including a necessity to fund RCTs comparing compassionate mental health interventions with the biomedical model. Unless statutory mental health services adopt this emerging evidence base, medics and their SUACs will continue to rely on pharmaceuticals. Originality/value This is the first integrated literature review of compassion in mental health from a historical, SUAC/academic researcher viewpoint using all research methodologies.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document