Humanising Mental Health Care in Australia


Book Description

Humanising Mental Health Care in Australia is a unique and innovative contribution to the healthcare literature that outlines the trauma-informed approaches necessary to provide a more compassionate model of care for those who suffer with mental illness. The impact of abuse and trauma is frequently overlooked in this population, to the detriment of both individual and society. This work highlights the importance of recognising such a history and responding humanely. The book explores the trauma-informed perspective across four sections. The first outlines theory, constructs and effects of abuse and trauma. The second section addresses the effects of abuse and trauma on specific populations. The third section outlines a diverse range of individual treatment approaches. The final section takes a broader perspective, examining the importance of culture and training as well as the organisation and delivery of services. Written in an accessible style by a diverse group of national and international experts, Humanising Mental Health Care in Australia is an invaluable resource for mental health clinicians, the community managed and primary health sectors, policy makers and researchers, and will be a helpful reference for people who have experienced trauma and those who care for them.




Mental Health in Australia


Book Description

This fully updated overview of mental health in Australia, presents contributions from consumers, carers, managers, researchers and clinicians. This indispensable reference offers a diverse range of perspectives on the rich and challenging task of working in the interest of those with mental health problems. Australian authors.




Mental Health and Work: Australia


Book Description

This report on Australia is the ninth and last in a series of reports looking at how the broader education, health, social and labour market policy challenges identified in Sick on the Job? Myths and Realities about Mental Health and Work (OECD, 2012) are being tackled in a number of OECD countries.




The Image of Madness


Book Description

Negative moral judgements seem to have been a constant fixture in the way societies and cultures have regarded groups displaying deviant behavior. This is particularly true of the mentally ill. Stereotypes are most ingrained for mental pathologies with heightened visibility in society, such as schizophrenia. Preconceived notions about danger, occult powers and mysterious malevolence which hover over the illness, contribute to the total debasement of the patient. Persons suffering from other forms of mental illness are stigmatized to a lesser degree. But the threat is real that labeling will extend to every endeavor linked to mental illness: care facilities, professionals, therapies in general and psychotropic medication in particular. Lay belief in the existence of important side-effects to this medication and public fears about the risk of addiction form the basis of very restricted, or even hostile, attitudes towards it and result in weak compliance. Inversely, psychotherapy now seems widely accepted and different forms of intervention have contributed to de-stigmatizing psychiatric illness and to stop the exclusion of patients. This book is of interest not only to psychiatrists, but also to mental health workers, psychologists, social scientists and social workers who wish to alter common precepts and prejudices regarding psychiatric disorders.




Human Rights and Mental Illness


Book Description

Report examines the existing social, legal, medical and institutional frameworks; deals with evidence concerning psychiatric care and treatment; examines the position of vulnerable or particularly disadvantaged groups; addresses the importance of prevention and early intervention services; presents findings and recommendations for change; Chapter 23 examines the position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; findings include lack of knowledge by health professionals, inadequate and culturally inappropriate services and problems and negative impacts due to geographic isolation, social and economic disadvantage, removal of children and removal from remote communities for treatment; recommendations focus on the need for consultation and an Aboriginal community based and controlled approach to services.




Brief Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Non-Underweight Patients


Book Description

Most people with eating disorders struggle to find an effective therapy that they can access quickly. Brief Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Non-Underweight Patients: CBT-T for Eating Disorders presents a new form of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) that is brief and effective, allowing more patients to get the help that they need. CBT is a strongly supported therapy for all adults and many adolescents with eating disorders. This 10-session approach to CBT (CBT-T) is suitable for all eating disorder patients who are not severely underweight, helping adults and young adults to overcome their eating disorder. Using CBT-T with patients will allow clinicians to treat people in less time, shorten waiting lists, and see patients more quickly when they need help. It is a flexible protocol, which fits to the patient rather than making the patient fit to the therapy. Brief Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Non-Underweight Patients provides an evidence-based protocol that can be delivered by junior or senior clinicians, helping patients to recover and go on to live a healthy life. This book will appeal to clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, dietitians, nurses, and other professionals working with eating disorders.




The Mental Health of Australians


Book Description

National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Report 2.




Mental Health in Australia


Book Description




Mental Health and Higher Education in Australia


Book Description

This book addresses a broad range of issues related to mental health in higher education in Australia, with specific reference to student and staff well-being. It examines the challenges of creating and sustaining more resilient cultures within higher education and the community. Showcasing some of Australia's unique experiences, the authors present a multidisciplinary perspective of mental health supports and services relevant to the higher education landscape. This book examines the different ways Australian higher education institutions responded/are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, with reference to domestic and international students. Through the exploration of practice and research, the authors add to the rich discourses on well-being in the higher education.




Out of the Madhouse


Book Description

2020 Victorian Community History Award Winner Larundel Psychiatric Hospital was ‘the madhouse on the edge of town’ – until the 1990s, a Melbourne cultural icon shrouded in mystery in the outer suburb of Bundoora. What was it really like inside this madhouse? This story takes us into the heart of Larundel through the voices of former inmates and staff, exposing the best and worst aspects of the mental institutions of the times. It shows the shifts in psychiatric treatments, the social forces at play, and changes driving mental health policy. It explores what de-institutionalisation and ‘care in the community’ actually meant for those suffering mental illness, as well as for those treating, and caring for them. What did we lose with Larundel’s closure in 1999 and the move to acute psychiatric wards in general hospitals? The notion of asylum? Is the more recent notion of ‘recovery’ a hopeful signpost towards a brave new world for mental health? The authors are Sandy Jeffs, a former inmate of Larundel, who became an advocate for her ‘mad’ comrades and is now a poet of distinction; and Margaret Leggatt, sociologist, occupational therapist and activist for the friends and families of mentally ill people. ‘A significant and lively contribution to the history of mental health services in Australia, offering vital insights for the progress we must work for.’ – Jack Heath, CEO, SANE Australia