Mental Health and Policies

Running head: MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK
Mental Health and Policies
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK
Answer 1: History and current context of Mental Health
As opined by Thornicroft et al. (2016), mental health can be defined as the absence of
different kinds of mental illnesses or problems as a psychological state of well-being wherein
there is a satisfactory functioning of the emotions as well as the behaviour of the individuals.
As per Becker et al. (2015), adequate mental health includes “subjective well-being,
perceived self-efficacy, autonomy.....emotional potential, among others”. Clement et al.
(2015) are of the viewpoint that there are various factors like stress, physical environment,
trauma, genetics, substance abuse and others which often adversely affect the mental health
of the individuals and thereby significantly affect their ability to lead a normal life. As a
matter of fact, it has been seen that the number of people suffering from different kinds of
mental health issues have increased over the years and in the nation of Australia itself more
than 53.9% experience or have experienced one form of mental illness or the other
(Aihw.gov.au, 2019). In this regard, it needs to be said that depression and anxiety are the
two most commonly faced mental health issues in Australia and it is seen that 90% of the
people suffering from the problem of anxiety develop depression in the later stages
(Health.gov.au, 2019).
According to Rickwood et al. (2015), over the years it had been seen that a strict
demarcation is being made between the different forms of mental illnesses and the other
forms of physical illnesses. For example, one of the most commonly held opinions about the
different kinds of mental health issues is the that they are a curse or a punishment from the
Almighty because of the sins that the concerned individuals. Furthermore, it is seen that not
all the individuals suffering from the problem of mental illnesses lose their ability to think
clearly or for that matter their cognitive abilities however they are being labelled as mad or
mentally challenged irrespective of the kind of mental illness that they suffering (Thomas,
Wakerman & Humphreys, 2015). It is on the score of these facts that the people suffering

2MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK
from different kinds of mental illnesses over the years had to face a significant amount of
discrimination, oppression, segregation and other kinds of evils within the framework of the
society.
In the present times it has been seen that a remarkable change in the outlook of the
people towards the people suffering from different kinds of mental health issues had taken
place because of the improvements in the governmental policies and the advancements in the
field of science (Rickwood, Mazzer & Telford, 2015). For example, in the present times the
healthcare professionals have been able to show that the different kinds of mental health
issues faced by the individuals are just like the other kinds of health issues that they suffer
from (Petrakis, Stirling & Higgins, 2018). Furthermore, in order to stop the discrimination
and other kinds of evils faced by the mental health patients the Australian government had
not only passed anti-discrimination laws but at the same time the different policies of the
national government like “National Mental Health Policy” (2008), “Fifth National Mental
Health and Suicide Prevention Plan” and others so as to ensure the fact that quality and
effective treatment services are available to the patients suffering from mental health
problems (Health.gov.au, 2019).
I personally believe that these are some of the most basic aspects that the different
social workers and also the care givers need to take into account while delivering mental
health services to the patients suffering from the mental health issues. More importantly, I
would say that these policies or stipulations are important because the effective usage of them
is going to enhance the quality of treatment services which are being offered to the mental
health patients but also would enable the care givers or the social workers to treat the patients
with respect and dignity.

3MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK
Answer 2: Key issues and political, economic and social issues impacting mental health
services
There are various key issues as well as political, economic or social issues which
impact the kind of mental health services that are being offered to the patients suffering from
the same. Meadows et al. (2015) have articulated the viewpoint that one of the key issues in
this regard is the fact that the patients suffering from the different kinds of mental health
problems either refute and thereby think them to be meaningless or are hesitant to come
forward because of the discrimination, segregation and other evils that they would have to
face. Another important key issue is the fact that even in the 21st century when it is seen a
significant amount of the entire population of Australia is suffering from one form or mental
illness or the other the quality of treatment services which are available to the patients is
below par (Briskman, 2016). In addition to this, it is seen that the quality of the treatment
services offered by the government sponsored clinics is substandard and although the private
clinics offer high standard of treatment services yet the prices charged by them is exorbitant
(Brijnath & Antoniades, 2016). However, because of the limited economic means and also in
the light of the fact that it is very difficult for the individuals suffering from different kinds of
mental to fully concentrate on their jobs they are often unable to afford the expensive mental
health treatment services offered by the private healthcare organisations.
As opined by Brownson, Colditz and Proctor (2018), in the present times the people
are increasingly becoming aware of their healthcare rights and this in turn is putting a
significant amount of political pressure on the Australian government to provide cost
effective high quality mental healthcare services to the patients suffering from the same. The
resultant effect of this is that the services offered by the different government sponsored
healthcare clinics particularly those related to the mental health have improved in a
substantial manner in conjunction with the needs or the requirements of the patients suffering