The big picture unfolds: Using photovoice to study user participation in mental health services

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (8) ◽  
pp. 696-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Pui-Shan Tang ◽  
Samson Tse ◽  
Larry Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
User Participation ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Gradual Process

Background: User participation is advocated on the basis that consumers know their own needs better than anyone else. Photovoice is a participatory research method that empowers the grass-root population to give voice on concerned issues for eliciting social change. Aim: This study explores the experience and impact of user participation in mental health services (MHS) in Hong Kong through photovoice. It also examines the effects of this method in studying user participation. Method: In this qualitative inquiry, authors, two peer researchers and three participants were involved in the various stages of research design, data collection and data analysis. Participants took photos showing their perception and experiences of being involved in different MHS systems. They shared their narratives through these images and reflected on the participatory experience of photovoice. Results: User participation was experienced as a gradual process of assuming control that involved personal responsibility, connection with peers, collaboration with staff, redefinition of boundaries and social inclusion. Meaningful participation gave rise to a sense of contribution, interpersonal connection and self-worth and transformed one’s identity. Participants enjoyed the mutual interaction and derived benefit from the photovoice process. Issues such as consent and confidentiality arose in implementation. Conclusion: Participation entails partnership among service users, providers and peers. Photovoice opens up new space for unfolding expert knowledge. Further application of this participatory approach with the local community is suggested in order to develop person-centered care.

scholarly journals Choice in mental health: myths and possibilities

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koravangattu Menon Valsraj ◽  
Nichola Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Healthcare Model ◽  
The Government

The government in England and Wales is promoting policies and initiatives to offer patients choice across all healthcare specialties. This has raised concerns in mental healthcare, particularly if the physical healthcare model of implementation is imposed. However, the ‘choice agenda’ is an opportunity for mental health services to be innovative and act as beacons to other disciplines in healthcare. The south-east London programme introducing choice in mental health services is offered as an example here. There already exists an ‘ethos of choice’ within mental health services, but current practices may require a focused approach and structuring to fit in with national policy. This also might be necessary to influence policy makers to take a different perspective on choice in mental health. The principle of choice goes hand in hand with the drive towards greater social inclusion for people with mental health problems.

Recovery in Hong Kong: Service user participation in mental health services

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samson Tse ◽  
Eric Cheung ◽  
Alice Kan ◽  
Roger Ng ◽  
Sania Yau
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Service User ◽  
User Participation

scholarly journals Psykisk helsearbeid på internett: konsekvenser for normalitets- og identitetsdannelse hos ungdom

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Johan W. Andersen ◽  
Tommy Svensson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Young People ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
English Summary ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Font Size

<span style="font-size: x-small; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="font-size: x-small; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><p align="left">Psykisk helsearbeid på internett øker i omfang, og verdsettes på grunn av bekvemmelighet, lave kostnader og muligheter for anonymitet. Artikkelen bygger på en kartlegging av norske og svenske nettbaserte eposttjenester for ungdom og unge voksne, og viser at det var 24 nettsteder som tilbød slike tjenester i 2009. Tjenestene hadde opphav i både offentlig og frivillig sektor. Flesteparten av sidene fra offentlig sektor tok utgangspunkt i eksisterende tjenestetilbud, og var en videreutvikling av tjenestene for å styrke tilgjengeligheten av psykisk helsetjenester. Andre sider oppsto som en konsekvens av FNs konvensjon av barns rettigheter. Størsteparten av sidene fra frivillig sektor ble utviklet som følge av et personlig og/eller fagpolitisk engasjement. Fire hovedtema for e-posttjenestene ble identifisert: 1) Kropp, kjønn og seksuell helse; 2) Informasjon og kontakt med voksne; 3) Rus og rusmidler; 4) Psykiske problemer. Studien viser at nettjenestene argumenterer for at det er viktig for ungdoms psykiske helse at de blir inkludert og akseptert i et fellesskap og at de opplever å bli respektert på egne premisser. Samtidig videreføres et ideal om det uavhengige og autonome mennesket, og nettjenestene formidler samlet sett et spenningsfylt budskap om at ungdom er avhengige av andre for å bli og forbli uavhengige individer. Psykisk helsearbeid på internett framstår som en måte å håndtere denne spenningen på, og muliggjør at ungdom kan håndtere en identitet som både avhengige og uavhengige mennesker. Studien viser forskjeller knyttet til begrepsforståelse, og peker på viktigheten av å utforske meningsinnholdet i psykisk helse nærmere.</p><p align="left">Mental health services on the Internet.<br />ENGLISH SUMMARY: The demand for Internet-based mental health services are increasing. The services are valued for their convenience, low cost and opportunities for anonymity. This article is based on a survey of Norwegian and Swedish Internet-based email services for adolescents and young adults. The objective was to explore the ways in which these services mould young people's view on normality and identity and how they contribute to mental health. 24 websites were systematically reviewed. Most of the sites from public sector derived from existing services and can best be understood as an attempt to enhance the availability of the same services for adolescents and young adults. Other sites were closely connected to the UN Convention of children’s rights. A majority of the services from voluntary sector were developed as a result of initiatives taken by professionals or private persons. The email services focused different issues. A qualitative content analysis identified four main themes: 1) Body, gender and sexual health, 2) Information and contact with adults, 3) Drugs and substance abuse, 4) Mental problems.<br />In order to contribute to mental health amongst adolescents and young adults the services emphasise the importance of social inclusion and acceptation. At the same time the services maintain an ideal of the independent and autonomous human being. The services send out a message stating that young people are dependent on others to become and remain independent persons. Internet-based mental health services<br />enables young people to deal with an identity as both dependent and independent. The study reveals differences regarding the concept of mental health, and emphasise the importance of exploring the concept and meaning of mental health more closely.</p></span></span>

scholarly journals Evaluation of a novel consultant psychiatric clinic in general practices and its effects on secondary mental health contact and the general practitioners’ perspectives

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S59-S59
Author(s):  
Daniel Whitney ◽  
Daniel Whitney ◽  
Guy Brookes
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Secondary Care ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Direct Access ◽  
Psychiatric Clinic ◽  
P Value ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
The Mean

AimsTo assess whether direct access to a 45 minute screen appointment in a Consultant Psychiatric clinic, based in General Practice, affects; the number of contacts patients have with secondary care pre and post being seen; whether the General Practitioner (GP) would have referred to secondary services if the clinic had not been in operation; the GPs’ views on how helpful the clinic was in understanding the patients’ problems and managing the problems outside of secondary care.BackgroundA Consultant Psychiatrist in Leeds offered bespoke 45 minute screening appointment clinics in three sister GP practices, accepting direct referrals from GPs without requiring referrals to the local Community Mental Health Team (CMHT). This model was created to reduce the number of patients moving repeatedly between GP and secondary mental health services as this was leading to patient dissatisfaction and increased GP and CMHT workloads.MethodWe compared the number of mental health contacts (per month), for each of the 57 patients who had been referred to the clinic, in the months pre and post being seen in the clinic. We also asked the involved GPs to complete a brief survey for each patient who had been referred to determine whether, they would otherwise have been referred to the CMHT and whether the clinic has helped with their understanding and management of the patients’ problems.ResultThe mean number of contacts with secondary services before being seen in clinic was 3.30 per month compared to 0.44 after being seen. The mean difference of 2.86 is statistically significant on a paired-test with a P Value of 0.0149 (95% confidence intervals of 0.58 to 5.13). We received 22 survey responses from GPs of patients referred to the clinic including for patients who did not attend. All 22 responses indicated that the patient would have been referred to the CMHT if the clinic had not been available. 95% were rated as being very helpful or moderately helpful in understanding the patient's problems. 91% were rated as very helpful or moderately helpful in managing the patients’ problems outside secondary care.ConclusionOur evaluation has demonstrated that a model of direct access for GPs to a Consultant Psychiatric clinic can reduce referrals and patient contacts with secondary mental health services. GPs have found this model helpful in understanding patients’ problems and managing the problems outside of secondary care.

Life coaching for mental health recovery: the emerging practice of recovery coaching

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 459-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rani Bora ◽  
Saija Leaning ◽  
Alison Moores ◽  
Glenn Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Mental Health Recovery ◽  
Life Coaching ◽  
Personal Recovery ◽  
Inclusive Practice ◽  
Support Recovery

SummaryMental health services are increasingly expected to engage in a process of cultural change to fulfil guiding values and hopes for choice, personalisation, self-determination, social inclusion and personal recovery. It is unclear how this will be achieved. This transformational agenda also engages with an ambition for progressive change in practice across mental health professions to support people in self-care and self-management, based on a new relationship between practitioners and users of mental health services. There is little consistent guidance on the content of recovery-oriented and socially inclusive practice and what may be the new competencies and skills that would most effectively support recovery outcomes. Life coaching to support recovery for people with mental health needs is emerging as a creative possibility with considerable potential to support this ambition. This is an exploratory article which offers an overview of experience so far, suggests further routes for development and, in line with the College's Fair Deal campaign, underlines the need for evaluation.

scholarly journals Nature for Mental Health and Social Inclusion

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin P. Bishop
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Community Integration ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Professional Community ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Illnesses

<p>In the United States there remains an effort for mental health services to provide holistic options that improve symptomatology while improving social belonging for people diagnosed with serious and persistent mental illnesses.&nbsp; Consequently, the mental healthcare delivery system appears to create community-<em>situated</em> users of services rather than people who are active members of their communities.&nbsp; This article reports on literature associated with the use of horticulture and gardening for mental health recovery and embraces the use of these services to generate enduring and genuine community integration outcomes through professional-community relationships. &nbsp;Conclusions are that mental health services should engage Nature-related programing to provide opportunities that enhance multiple aspects of health and well-being, increase constructive interpersonal relationships that lead to a more authentic social inclusion, and support the destigmatization of mental illnesses.</p><p><em>Keywords:</em><strong> </strong>mental health; integration; Nature, gardening, social and therapeutic horticulture; eco-therapy&nbsp;<strong></strong></p>

scholarly journals Trust in pathways? Professionals’ sensemaking of patient pathways in Norwegian mental health services

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tine Nesbø Tørseth ◽  
Marian Ådnanes
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Patient Flow ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
User Participation ◽  
Patient Pathway ◽  
Patient Pathways

Abstract Background: In January 2019, the official launch of new guidelines within specialist mental health services and substance abuse treatment in Norway took place, with treatment organized according to structured patient pathways. The pathway system introduced maximum lengths for assessment, treatment, and evaluation and the coding of the different steps. The system was based on overall goals to improve services by focusing on user participation, coordinated patient flow, avoidance of unnecessary waiting time, more equal services independent of geographic location, and greater emphasis on somatic health and lifestyle. The purpose of our study was to examine the implementation of patient pathways within mental health services, and more specifically how trust emerges and influences the final outcome. Methods: Our study included four outpatient clinics for adults in four community health centres in different parts of Norway. The informants consisted of treatment personnel, leaders, and pathway coordinators, and data were collected through qualitative group and individual interviews. Results: The results indicated four distinct themes or reactions towards the patient pathway system. These themes were unclarity regarding the overall goals and content of the patient pathway; increased coding, registration and administrative work, which professionals experienced as stressors; an IT and journal system that did not correspond with the coding of the patient pathway; and an unrealistic distinction between assessment and treatment. All of the above encouraged health professionals to reduce the importance of patient pathways, as well as increase their resistance towards health authorities. Conclusions: To understand how and why health professionals made sense of the patient pathway, theory on trust can be used to show how professionals within health care interpret the implementation of patient pathways as a desire to control more areas and work practices within mental health care, leading to their distrust towards the new system Trial registration: Not neccessary

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