scholarly journals Reflecting on lived experience: Suicide prevention and the importance of social work in mental health

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 6-18
Author(s):  
Behiye Ali ◽  
Barbara Staniforth ◽  
Carole Adamson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Psychosocial Interventions ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Holistic Model ◽  
Prevention And Intervention ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand

INTRODUCTION: National suicide prevention strategies and action plans have, historically, been written without input from consumers/current users of mental health services. People who could arguably be seen as experts in this area are rarely asked for their knowledge regarding the efficacy of suicide prevention and intervention efforts. The aims of this study were to gain further insight into the effectiveness of suicide prevention intervention in Aotearoa New Zealand by asking service users “What works?” and to promote lived experience as a valid form of evidence. This article focuses on the importance of a holistic model of health and wellbeing and highlights the role played by social workers, both currently and in the future, regarding suicide prevention and intervention efforts.METHODS: Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals with lived experience of suicidal ideation and/or attempt.FINDINGS: Using thematic analysis, a variety of interventions were identified which participants found effective, including exercise, addressing physical health needs, practising mindfulness, use of medications and spirituality. These interventions, and others, are presented as themes within a framework of people, body, mind and spirit.CONCLUSIONS: It is important to view health holistically, and social workers can make an important contribution towards wellbeing through the provision of psychosocial interventions. Also, it is crucial to involve individuals with lived experience within research that informs policy and practice, and within collaborative treatment decisions.

scholarly journals In search of ‘home’ for wellness: Mental health social workers’ views on homelessness in mental health

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-78
Author(s):  
Shoichi Isogai
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Health Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mental Health Practice ◽  
Community Factors ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand

INTRODUCTION: There is a lack of acknowledgement of the homelessness crisis for tāngata whaiora (all people who have lived experience of mental illness and/or are users of mental health services, including Māori) in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This article reports the findings from an exploratory study of how mental health social workers perceive the challenge of homelessness amongst tāngata whaiora in urban Auckland.METHOD: This small exploratory qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with mental health social workers to discover their views about the issue of homelessness among tāngata whaiora in urban Auckland.FINDINGS: The research illustrates that homelessness is prevalent among tāngata whaiora in urban Auckland, and the cyclical nature of this problem presents a serious obstacle for their recovery. This study also found that the lives of tāngata whaiora are affected by iterative homelessness. Participants were clear that tāngata whaiora do not choose to be homeless; rather individual, structural and community factors cause them to be homeless.CONCLUSION: The policy and mental health practice implications of these findings are discussed.

The impact of COVID-19 quarantine measures on the mental health of families

2021 ◽  
pp. 146801732110117
Author(s):  
Fakir Al Gharaibeh ◽  
Laura Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Strong Shock ◽  
Psychosocial Interventions ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
The Impact

Summary COVID-19 is shaping all aspects of life throughout the world. The unexpected number of people who have been infected with and died from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is evidence that the pandemic has affected families and societies. The strong shock wave that has resulted in the international response has focused more on medical rather than psychosocial interventions. Little has been written or studied about the impact of COVID-19 on families. This article explores the impact of the COVID-19 quarantine on the mental health of families. We conducted 20 in-depth interviews with Jordanian families through snowball sampling. Findings The results show that 20 interviewees described varied and new experiences. Many of the families we interviewed displayed symptoms of mental health problems, including disrupted sleep patterns, changes in eating habits, excessive digital media use, anxiety, depression, excessive smoking, stomach aches, bedwetting among children, and persistent headaches. The study also demonstrated the psychological stress partners felt during the lockdown due to their worries about job security. They also communicated their hope that renewed family commitments might bring more stability to their relationships. During the lockdown, family members spent more time together, and it became harder to conceal any issues from each other. Applications The findings of this research demonstrate a critical need for social workers, and it is hoped that future legislation will include a role for social workers in various fields of crisis. Moreover, social workers should encourage families to ask for intervention to overcome the long-term effects that may result from COVID-19.

Recovery colleges: long-term impact and mechanisms of change

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Thompson ◽  
Laura Simonds ◽  
Sylvie Barr ◽  
Sara Meddings
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
College Attendance ◽  
Personal Recovery ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Educational Paradigm ◽  
Long Term Impact

Purpose Recovery Colleges are an innovative approach which adopt an educational paradigm and use clinician and lived experience to support students with their personal recovery. They demonstrate recovery-orientated practice and their transformative role has been evidenced within mental health services. The purpose of this study is to explore how past students understand the influence of the Recovery College on their on-going recovery journey. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory, qualitative design was used and semi-structured interviews took place with 15 participants. Data was analysed using the “framework method” and inductive processes. Findings All participants discussed gains made following Recovery College attendance that were sustained at one year follow-up. Three themes emerged from the data: Ethos of recovery and equality; Springboard to opportunities; and Intrapersonal changes. Originality/value This research explores students’ experiences a year after attendance. This contrasts to most research which is completed immediately post course. This study contributes to the emergent evidence base highlighting the longitudinal positive impact of Recovery Colleges. This study is of value to those interested in recovery-oriented models within mental health. Recovery Colleges are gaining traction nationally and internationally and this research highlights processes underlying this intervention which is of importance to those developing new Recovery Colleges.

How to increase the role of social workers in suicide preventive interventions

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 186-195
Author(s):  
Joshua Levine ◽  
Leo Sher
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Preventive Interventions ◽  
Suicide Risk Factors ◽  
Suicidal Patients

AbstractObjective:Suicide is a serious public health issue that affects individuals, families and societies all over the world. International studies provide consistent evidence that the presence of psychiatrists in a region is associated with lesser suicide rates. However, many psychiatric patients including suicidal patients do not have access to psychiatrists. This indicates that mental health and non-mental health social workers need to be involved in suicide prevention efforts. This paper is the first comprehensive work that discusses how to increase the role of social workers in the area of suicide prevention.Methods:A review of the relevant literature.Results:Increasing the role of social workers in suicide prevention efforts may reduce suicide risk in groups and people at elevated risk for suicide, as well as the general population.Conclusion:Recommendations are provided for how the social work profession can improve upon suicide prevention while incorporating universal, selective and indicated suicide preventive interventions. Social work research efforts should focus on how to increase the role of social workers in suicide prevention and the management of suicidal patients. Social work education programmes should modify their curricula and increase their attention on suicide prevention. Mental health social workers need to educate the patient and their family on suicide risk factors. Furthermore, mental health and non-mental health social workers need to educate the general public on suicide risk factors.

Managing Risk in the Pro-Empowerment Era of Mental Health Care: A Cross-Cultural Study of Social Work Perspectives in Hong Kong and Sydney

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jialiang Cui ◽  
Limin Mao ◽  
Christy E Newman ◽  
Chi Kin Kwan ◽  
Kari Lancaster
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Assessment Guidelines

Abstract Risk management and empowerment have become key features of social work practice. Despite their increasing salience, relatively little is known about the perspectives of mental health social workers regarding how they navigate competing risk management approaches in modern practice that supports empowerment. The socio-cultural influences on risk management have also received insufficient attention in social work research. Focusing on these issues, this paper explored the perspectives of social workers in two geographically and culturally distinctive settings (i.e., Hong Kong and Sydney). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with frontline social workers and were analysed using thematic analysis. Similar views were expressed by participants in both settings regarding assessment of clients’ readiness for risk-taking. Differences were identified in their practices of negotiating the perspectives of other key stakeholders and can be attributed to the influences of distinctive cultural and socio-political contexts. These insights may contribute to the development of more systematic, localised and practice-based risk assessment guidelines for mental health practitioners working towards the empowerment of clients.

scholarly journals How much 'lived experience' is enough? Understanding mental health lived experience work from a management perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 898
Author(s):  
Helena Roennfeldt ◽  
Louise Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Role Clarity ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Management Perspective ◽  
Management Roles ◽  
Need For Support

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore management understanding of the lived experience required for designated lived experience or peer roles within mental health. MethodThis qualitative study used semi-structured interviews and one focus group with 29 participants employed in diverse management roles from the public and not-for-profit health and community sector in Queensland, Australia. ResultsThe findings indicate a lack of consensus in defining ‘lived experience’, including what lived experience is required to be eligible for designated roles. Although some participants were clear on what designated roles added to the workforce, uncertainty and attempts to avoid stigma led to some participants questioning the need for designated roles. ConclusionThis study suggests the ongoing expansion of the lived experience workforce is affected by challenges in defining ‘lived experience’ as a requirement for designated roles and fears regarding stigmatised identities. What is known about the topic?In the mental health sector, opportunities and challenges exist in attempting to effectively incorporate the emerging lived experience or peer workforce. Research has highlighted the need for support from senior management, the need for role clarity and the risk of ‘othering’ for the lived experience workforce. What does this paper add?This paper responds to the gap in existing research on the experiences of management in defining and articulating their understanding of lived experience and potential impact of uncertainty and inconsistency in understanding for the lived experience workforce. What are the implications for practitioners?This study identifies the need to strengthen management understanding of lived experience to facilitate ongoing development of lived experience roles.

scholarly journals Participation in creative workshops supports mental health consumers to share their stories of recovery: A one-year qualitative follow-up study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0243284
Author(s):  
Maddy Slattery ◽  
Hayley Attard ◽  
Victoria Stewart ◽  
Helena Roennfeldt ◽  
Amanda J. Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Group Setting ◽  
People With Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Consumers ◽  
Health Consumers ◽  
One Year

Participation in creative activities has been linked with positive outcomes for people with mental illness. This longitudinal qualitative study is a one-year follow-up of eight mental health consumers who participated in a series of creative workshops in Brisbane, Australia that aimed to increase participants’ capacity and skills in sharing their stories of recovery with others. It also sought to understand successful factors of the creative workshops to inform future workshops. Semi-structured interviews gathered information regarding participants’ memories of the workshops and how they had shared their stories with others over the preceding 12 months. Interpretative phenomenological analysis identified that participants’ enjoyed being engaged in a range of creative mediums in a group setting; that peer mentor support was highly valued; and that participants’ recovery stories had become more positive and were shared more often and openly with others. Overall, participation in the creative workshops had long-lasting benefits for participants with respect to improved confidence and understanding about their illness. Future creative workshops should consider the inclusion of peer mentors with lived experience as a support for participants to reauthor their recovery story.

‘Maybe a Maverick, Maybe a Parent, but Definitely Not an Honorary Nurse’: Social Worker Perspectives on the Role and Nature of Social Work in Mental Health Care

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Tucker ◽  
Martin Webber
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Health Service Delivery ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Uk

Abstract In many places in the UK, social work is integral to mental health service delivery. Significant role erosion, however, has left the profession unclear about where it fits within modern mental health services. The 2016 Social Work for Better Mental Health initiative outlines five key mental health roles and has been adopted into national policy in England to combat this uncertainty, but the influence of this has not been explored. This study aimed to develop an understanding of how mental health social workers perceive and explain their role. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with seven social workers based within one English National Health Service mental health trust covering a large geographical area and their responses analysed using Ritchie, Spencer and O’Connor’s Framework thematic model. Findings indicated that social workers only superficially engaged with the aspirational policy roles, instead presenting their own framework for what makes mental health social work distinctive. This was constructed around the context and intentions of practice, rather than around proscribed tasks and responsibilities. This study has significance for individual social workers and for organisations providing and planning mental health services in the UK and beyond, given the influence that practitioner perceptions can have on how they undertake their roles.

Occupational health in mental health services: a qualitative study

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-44
Author(s):  
Jennifer Oates ◽  
Rasiha Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore occupational health (OH) clinicians’ perspectives on employee mental health in the mental health workplace in the English National Health Service. Design/methodology/approach Thematic analysis of data from seven semi-structured interviews is performed in this paper. Findings Three themes emerged under the core theme of “Situating OH services”: “the Uniqueness of the mental health service setting”, “the Limitations of OH services” and “the Meaning of mental health at work”. An important finding came from the first theme that management referrals in mental health may be due to disputes about workers’ fitness to face violence and aggression, a common feature of their working environment. Research limitations/implications This was a small scale study of a previously unresearched population. Practical implications These findings should be used to refine and standardise OH provision for mental healthcare workers, with a particular focus on exposure to violence and workers’ potential “lived experience” of mental illness as features of the mental health care workplace. Originality/value This is the first study to explore OH clinicians’ perspectives on the mental health service working environment.

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