Mass Violence and Early Mental Health Intervention: A Proposed Application of Best Practice Guidelines to Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Attacks

With the implementation of the European Green Paper on Mental Health, and the development of the Mental Health Pact, the strategic importance of Mental Health promotion and illness reduction as keystones of a European mental health policy and practice has never been greater.The PROMISE project is a EU project and is financed by the European Commission, Directorate General for Health and Consumers, DG Sanco. It aims to develop and disseminate guidelines for generic training and education with respect to Mental Health Promotion and Illness Reduction. The best practice guidelines will specifically focus on the prevention of suicide, depression, and alcohol and drug abuse, and the promotion of healthy living.A specific innovation is the involvement of mental health service users as non-traditional actors by developing multi-disciplinary training guidelines and training programs with a special emphasis on positive mental health, healthy living, diet and exercise project.Project partners are all ‘multiplier’ organizations from 8 different European countries and have extensive previous expertise in their designated roles.The role of Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona PROMISE is: Identify best practice media guidelines for engaging press and media with the mental health promotion agenda through the use of positive role models. Monitor the implementation of the best practice guidelines through the design and development of local case studies in 7 sites across Europe.Outcomes are an integrated and comprehensive set of training guidelines and model training programs accessed through an interactive website, endorsed by European level professional body and university networks.

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Consensus Among International Ethical Guidelines for the Provision of Videoconferencing-Based Mental Health Treatments

JMIR Mental Health ◽

10.2196/mental.5481 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. e17 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Ursula M Sansom-Daly ◽

Claire E Wakefield ◽

Brittany C McGill ◽

Helen L Wilson ◽

Pandora Patterson

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

Practice Guidelines ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Best Practice ◽

Professional Organizations ◽

Special Populations ◽

International Consensus ◽

Best Practice Guidelines ◽

Mental Health Treatments

Background Online technologies may reduce barriers to evidence-based mental health care, yet they also create numerous ethical challenges. Recently, numerous professional organizations and expert groups have produced best-practice guidelines to assist mental health professionals in delivering online interventions in an ethically and clinically sound manner. However, there has been little critical examination of these international best-practice guidelines regarding appropriate electronic mental health (e-mental health) service delivery via technologies such as videoconferencing (including Skype), particularly for specific, vulnerable populations. Further, the extent to which concordance exists between these guidelines remains unclear. Synthesizing this literature to provide clear guidance to both mental health professionals and researchers is critical to ensure continued progress in the field of e-mental health. Objective This study aims to review all currently available ethical and best-practice guidelines relating to videoconferencing-delivered mental health treatments in order to ascertain the recommendations for which international consensus could be found. Additionally, this review examines the extent to which each set of guidance addresses several key special populations, including children and young people, and populations living with illness. Methods This systematic review examined guidelines using a two-armed search strategy, examining (1) professional organizations’ published guidance; and (2) MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and EMBASE for the past ten years. In order to determine consensus for best-practice, a recommendation was considered "firm" if 50% or more of the reviewed guidelines endorsed it and "tentative" if recommended by fewer guidelines than these. The professional guidelines were also scored by two raters using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE-II) criteria. Results In the study, 19 guidelines were included, yielding 11 specific "firm" and a further 123 "tentative-level" recommendations regarding the appropriateness of e-mental health, competence, legal and regulatory issues, confidentiality, consent, professional boundaries, and crisis management. International consensus yielded firm guidance across almost all areas except professional boundaries and some aspects of determining the appropriateness of e-mental health. Few guidelines specifically addressed special populations. Overall guideline quality varied; however, 42% (8/19) of the guidelines scored at least 5 out of 7. Conclusions This synthesis of guidelines provides a foundation for clinicians and researchers utilizing e-mental health worldwide. The lack of specific guidance relating to special populations is an area warranting further attention in order to strengthen mental health professionals’ and researchers’ capacity to ethically and effectively tailor e-mental health interventions to these groups.

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