Mental Health and Policies

This document provides an overview of mental health and policies. It discusses the history and current context of mental health, key issues and the impact of political, economic, and social factors on mental health services, major theories underpinning work in mental health services, and an overview of current policy and practices in mental health services. It also emphasizes the importance of social workers and care givers in delivering effective treatment services to patients.

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

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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

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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.

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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

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from mental health problems (Koslowski et al., 2016). Furthermore, because of the different
regulations of the national government like anti-discrimination, equality and others, the
discrimination and other kinds of evils faced by the patients suffering from various mental
health issues had reduced and this in turn encourages them not only to seek professional help
but at the same time to lead a normal life as well (Brijnath, Protheroe, Mahtani & Antoniades,
2016). Lastly, the national government is also offering different kinds of financial aids to the
mental health patients and have also established government sponsored clinics wherein these
patients can avail cost effective high quality mental health treatment services (Aihw.gov.au,
2019). These are in short some of the factors which impact the mental health services that are
being offered to the patients and have at the same time lead to their improvement as well.
The different social workers while delivering treatment services to the patients
suffering from mental health issues would have to take into account these factors or issues. I
personally believe that the social workers need to make the patients understand that there is
no shame in having a mental health issue and thus they should not only report them but also
seek effective treatment as well. I would also say that the social workers should try to reduce
the discrimination and other kinds of evils that these patients had to suffer and taking the help
of the recent developments in political, economic and social spheres should try to offer the
best quality treatment services to these patients.
Answer 3: Brief discussion of the major theories underpinning work in mental health
services
Olfson, Druss and Marcus (2015) have articulated the viewpoint that the prominence
gained by the problem of mental health issues becomes apparent from the fact that over the
years a large number of theories or models have been formulated which try to give an
explanation of the different mental health issues faced by the individuals. In this regard, some
of the most important ones are the Behavioural theories, Cognitive theories, Social theories,

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Developmental theories and others (Thornicroft et al., 2016). The development theories offer
an insight into the thoughts or the actions of the individuals through the specific lens of the
factors which affected their growth, development, learning and other aspects of their lives
(Clement et al., 2015). This is important because of the fact that it is often seen that the
different mental health issues faced by the individuals are the net result of the issues or the
problems that they faced during their various developmental phases. On the other hand, the
cognitive theories that focuses on the different mental processes of the individuals and takes
the help of the concepts of neuroscience, linguistics and philosophy for understanding the
different mental health problems faced by the individuals (Meadows et al., 2015). This theory
is important because of the fact that it offers an insight to the healthcare professionals
regarding the manner in which the diverse events, actions or others have affected the thought
process or the mental processes of the individuals and thereby contributed towards the mental
problems faced by them.
The behavioural theory focuses on the idea that “behaviours are acquired through
conditioning” and thereby enables the therapists or the healthcare professionals to not only
identify the root causes of the problems or issues faced by the patients but also helps them to
make the patients learn skills or behaviour that will in turn resolve the mental health
problems (Petrakis, Stirling & Higgins, 2018). It is pertinent to note that in the recent times
this theory had emerged as one of the most important ones which is being used by the
different therapists and healthcare professionals to help the patients recover from the mental
health problems that they face. Lastly, the social theories try to find out the major social
factors like abuse, discrimination, social perception and others which have contributed
towards the mental health issues faced by the patients (Clement et al., 2015). This theory is
important because of the fact that by helping the healthcare professionals to find out the root
causes of the mental health issues faced by the patients it offers them the opportunity to

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provide person-centric care or treatment to the patients on the basis of their individual needs
or requirements (Thornicroft et al., 2016).
I personally believe that the social workers or the care givers while attending to the
patients suffering from different kinds of mental health issues need to take into account these
theories. Furthermore, I am of the viewpoint that through the effective usage of these theories
the healthcare professionals would be able to deliver the best quality treatment to the patients.
This is important because of the fact that challenges or the problems faced by each of the
patients is different and thus their treatment needs are also diverse. Thus, it becomes all the
more important for the social workers to take into account the factors which have contributed
towards the mental health issues and offer treatment services on the basis of that.
Answer 4: Overview of current policy and practices in mental health services
Thomas, Wakerman and Humphreys (2015) are of the viewpoint that until recently
the patients suffering from different kinds of mental health issues did not have access to
adequate treatment services and also had to face discrimination, segregation and other kinds
of evils within the societal framework. However, in the present times it is seen that the
Australian government itself is taking various kinds of initiatives for addressing the situation
and the different anti-discrimination, equality and other similar acts can be seen as the
initiatives of the national government to reduce the societal evils faced by the mental health
patients. More importantly, the national government over the years had also formulated
different kinds of healthcare policies like “National Mental Health Policy” (2008), “Fifth
National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan” and others with the intention of not
only improving the treatment facilities which are available to patients but also for the offering
new better-quality treatment facilities (Health.gov.au, 2019). Furthermore, it is seen that
unlike the earlier times, the Australian government had given strict mandates for the
minimum qualification requirements of the healthcare professionals so that they can treat the

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patients suffering from various mental health issues along with the quality as well as
treatment parameters that they need to follow while administering treatment. Needless to say,
these policies of the national government had significantly improved the quality of mental
health treatment services which are being offered to the patients.
As opined by Petrakis, Stirling and Higgins (2018), along with the changes in the
governmental policies the treatment practices within the particular genre of mental health
have also undergone a significant amount of change in the present times. As a matter of fact,
it is seen that unlike the earlier times when traditional method and equipment where being
used in the present times the field of mental health services is dominated not only by the
usage of different kinds of innovative practices but also modern ‘state of the art’ equipment
as well. In this regard, some of the most important practices which are being used by the
healthcare professionals for offering mental health services to the patients are trauma
informed care, collaborative practices and others (Briskman, 2016). In addition to this,
different tools like Mental State Examination (MSE) and others are being used by the
healthcare professionals for effectively monitoring the mental state of the patients and if
required refer them to the specialised authorities for treatment with which they are in
collaboration (Brownson, Colditz & Proctor, 2018). Another important treatment practice that
is used by the different healthcare organisations for offering mental health services to the
patients is the fact they often work with multi-disciplinary teams which consists of not only
psychiatrists, counsellors, therapists, registered nurses but also art therapists, drama therapists
and others who take the help of arts, drama and others for providing treatment to the patients
(Thornicroft et al., 2016).
I am of the viewpoint that a social worker or a care giver while administering mental
health services to the patients suffering from the same would have to take into account not
only the different governmental policies but also the diverse treatment practices which are

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being used by the healthcare professionals. I firmly believe that the primary purpose of these
governmental policies and new practices which are being used by the healthcare professionals
is to improve the quality of treatment services as well as care that is being given to the
patients.
Answer 5: Critique of the policies and practices and their impact on the patients
Koslowski et al. (2016) are of the viewpoint that the governmental policies and also
the different new mental health service practices have benefited the patients suffering from
mental health issues in a positive manner by improving the quality of treatment services as
well care that is available to them. Furthermore, because of the intervention of the national
government and also the establishment of different government sponsored clinics the cost that
the patients in the present times had to bear for mental health services is much lower than that
of the earlier. More importantly, the different legislations or the stipulations of the national
government have significantly reduced the societal evils like discrimination, segregation and
others the mental health patients had to suffer in the earlier times and thereby have improved
the quality of life that they lead (Brijnath & Antoniades, 2016). In addition to these, the usage
of innovative treatment practices had enabled the healthcare professionals to offer
personalised treatment services to the patients taking into account the problems that they face,
the factors which have contributed towards the same and others and thereby offer the best
quality treatment to them. Needless to say, the patients have benefited in a significant manner
through these governmental policies and also the different treatment practices used by the
healthcare professionals for delivering high quality treatment services.
The primary strength point of the current policies as well as practices is the fact that
they have been designed with the intention to improve the quality or the kind of treatment
facilities which are available to the patients suffering from mental health issues (Rickwood,
Mazzer & Telford, 2015). Secondly, these policies as well as practices have been greatly

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instrumental in reducing the discrimination, isolation, segregation and other kinds of societal
evils that the patients suffering from mental health issues had to face in the societal
framework and thereby is helping them to live their lives in an adequate manner
(Aihw.gov.au, 2019). Thirdly, they have significantly reduced the cost that the mental health
patients in the earlier times needed to spend for their treatment. However, at the same time it
is seen that there are various weaknesses of these governmental policies or practices as well.
For example, although the national government had formulated different kinds of policies yet
at the same time it is seen that no effective implementation plan had been devised by the
national government for the implementation of the same (Petrakis, Stirling & Higgins, 2018).
This in turn had led to the ineffective usage of these policies or practices and thus there are
many people who are not getting benefits of these policies or practices. Furthermore, in order
to avail the benefits offered by these governmental policies or practices, the patients have to
undergone different kinds of formalities and others which many patients are not being able to
complete because of their delicate mental condition and thus are not being able to enjoy the
benefits offered by these policies or practices (Olfson, Druss & Marcus, 2015).
I believe that the social workers while taking the help of the different governmental
policies and also treatment practices need to take into account both the strengths and
weaknesses of the same. Thus, they would have to use the strengths of these governmental
policies and also treatment practices to improve the quality of treatment that they provide to
the patients and also help the patients in an effective manner to overcome the weaknesses of
governmental policies and also treatment practices.

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