The Mental Health Context

This introductory module describes the current global context of mental health. Beginning with an outline of the current burden of mental disorders the module sets the stage by describing the historical background to the current situation and summarising recent developments in the understanding treatment and care of people with mental disorders. An analysis is provided of trends in global health reform and their implications for mental health. To illustrate how these global trends can be addressed by governments and to introduce the reader to the guidance package a summary is then provided of the modules in the guidance package. This module will enable readers to gain an understanding of the global context of mental health and to select which modules will be useful to them in their particular situations. Also available: 14-module package: WHO Mental Health Policy and Service Guidance Package - 14 modules Other modules included in the package: Improving Access and Use of Psychotropic Medicines Child and Adolescent Mental Health Policies and Plans Mental Health Policy Plans and Programmes. Updated version Mental Health Context Mental Health Financing Advocacy for Mental Health Quality Improvement for Mental Health Organization of Services for Mental Health Planning and Budgeting to Deliver Services for Mental Health Mental Health Legislation and Human Rights Mental Health Policies and Programmes in the Workplace Mental Health Information Systems Human Resources and Training in Mental Health Monitoring and Evaluation of Mental Health Policies and Plans

The problem of media representations about mental health is now a global issue with health agencies expressing concern about produced stigma and its outcomes, specifically social exclusion. In many countries, the statistic of one in four people experiencing a mental health condition prevails, making it essential that more is known about how to improve media portrayals. With a globally projected increase in mental health conditions Mediating Mental Health offers a detailed critical analysis of media representations in two phases looking closely at genre form. The book looks across fictional and factual genres in film, television and radio examining media constructions of mental health identity. It also questions the opinions of journalists, mental healthcare professionals and people with conditions with regard to mediated mental health meanings. Finally, as a result of a production project, people with conditions develop new images making critical contrasts with dominant media portrayals. Thus, useful and practical recommendations for developing media practice ensue. As such, this book will appeal to mental health professionals, people with conditions, journalists, sociologists, students and scholars of media and cultural studies, practitioners in applied theatre, and anyone interested in media representations of social groups.

The second edition of A Handbook for the Study of Mental Health provides a comprehensive review of the sociology of mental health. Chapters by leading scholars and researchers present an overview of historical, social and institutional frameworks. Part I examines social factors that shape psychiatric diagnosis and the measurement of mental health and illness, theories that explain the definition and treatment of mental disorders and cultural variability. Part II investigates effects of social context, considering class, gender, race and age, and the critical role played by stress, marriage, work and social support. Part III focuses on the organization, delivery and evaluation of mental health services, including the criminalization of mental illness, the challenges posed by HIV, and the importance of stigma. This is a key research reference source that will be useful to both undergraduates and graduate students studying mental health and illness from any number of disciplines.

Specifically designed to meet professional practice needs, Introduction to Mental Health for Child and Youth Care encourages practitioners to participate fully in integrated mental health teams; knowledgeably advocate for accessible and quality care; and understand mental health from different perspectives, including Indigenous wellness, attachment theory, resilience, trauma-informed care, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The first half examines the practitioner’s role in mental health care, Indigenous perspectives on wellness and cultural safety, the epidemiology of mental disorders, the brain and its functions, the ascertainment of diagnoses, and suicide intervention. The second half explores symptoms and interventions of various disorders common in child and adolescent populations, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, feeding and eating disorders, psychotic disorders, and autism spectrum disorders. Additionally, the text features links to additional readings and online videos, questions for reflection, and activities. Recognizing the importance of mental health literacy in the child and youth care field, this pedagogically rich and practical resource is essential for students and practitioners in child and youth care as well as human services and social work.

This new edition of Mental Health Social Work in Context continues to be an authoritative, evidence based introduction to an area of specialism chosen by many social work students. Grounded in the social models of mental health particularly relevant to qualifying social workers, but also familiarising students with social aspects of medical perspectives, this core text helps to prepare students for practice and to develop their knowledge around: promoting the social inclusion of people with mental health problems the changing context of multidisciplinary mental health services an integrated evidence base for practice working with people with mental health problems across the life course. In this new edition the author has reflected on the impact of the global recession and austerity policies, both on the mental health of the population but also the much sharper conditions and reduced services within which social workers are now operating. This fully updated 2nd edition is an essential textbook for all social work students taking undergraduate and postgraduate qualifying degrees, and will also be invaluable for practitioners undertaking post-qualifying awards in mental health social work.

The issue of the mental health consequences of disasters is always timely, but, at present, its consideration serves a pressing need if one takes into account the great number of co-existing and super-imposed disasters occurring throughout the world. Taking Greece as an example, on top of the economic disaster that has produced serious mental health problems, the country is faced with a serious refugee problem produced by human-made disasters that have occurred elsewhere and produce serious mental health problems to the refugees and the host population alike. This volume deals with the mental health consequences of Natural Disasters, Human-made Disasters, and a third category, Economic Disasters. This volume will help contribute to more efficient management and mitigation of the mental health effects of such disasters.

Anyone who has ever had a job has probably experienced work-related stress at some point or another. For many workers, however, job-related stress is experienced every day and reaches more extreme levels. Four in ten American workers say that their jobs are “very” or “extremely” stressful. Job stress is recognized as an epidemic in the workplace, and its economic and health care costs are staggering: by some estimates over $ 1 billion per year in lost productivity, absenteeism and worker turnover, and at least that much in treating its health effects, ranging from anxiety and psychological depression to cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Why are so many American workers so stressed out by their jobs? Many psychologists say stress is the result of a mismatch between the characteristics of a job and the personality of the worker. Many management consultants propose reducing stress by “redesigning” jobs and developing better individual strategies for “coping” with their stress. But, these explanations are not the whole story. They don’t explain why some jobs and some occupations are more stressful than other jobs and occupations, regardless of the personalities and “coping strategies” of individual workers. Why do auto assembly line workers and air traffic controllers report more job stress than university professors, self-employed business owners, or corporate managers (yes, managers!)? The authors of Work and Mental Health in Social Context take a different approach to understanding the causes of job stress. Job stress is systematically created by the characteristics of the jobs themselves: by the workers’ occupation, the organizations in which they work, their placements in different labor markets, and by broader social, economic and institutional structures, processes and events. And disparities in job stress are systematically determined in much the same way as are other disparities in health, income, and mobility opportunities. In taking this approach, the authors draw on the observations and insights from a diverse field of sociological and economic theories and research. These go back to the nineteenth century writings of Marx, Weber and Durkheim on the relationship between work and well-being. They also include the more contemporary work in organizational sociology, structural labor market research from sociology and economics, research on unemployment and economic cycles, and research on institutional environments. This has allowed the authors to develop a unified framework that extends sociological models of income inequality and “status” attainment (or allocation) to the explanation of non-economic, health-related outcomes of work. Using a multi-level structural model, this timely and comprehensive volume explores what is stressful about work, and why; specifically address these and questions and more: -What characteristics of jobs are the most stressful; what characteristics reduce stress? -Why do work organizations structure some jobs to be highly stressful and some jobs to be much less stressful? Is work in a bureaucracy really more stressful? -How is occupational “status” occupational “power” and “authority” related to the stressfulness of work? -How does the “segmentation” of labor markets by occupation, industry, race, gender, and citizenship maintain disparities in job stress? - Why is unemployment stressful to workers who don’t lose their jobs? -How do public policies on employment status, collective bargaining, overtime affect job stress? -Is work in the current “Post (neo) Fordist” era of work more or less stressful than work during the “Fordist” era? In addition to providing a new way to understand the sociological causes of job stress and mental health, the model that the authors provide has broad applications to further study of this important area of research. This volume will be of key interest to sociologists and other researchers studying social stratification, public health, political economy, institutional and organizational theory.