Resolving the paradox of increased mental health expenditure and stable prevalence.

A doubling of Australian expenditure on mental health services over two decades, inflation-adjusted, has reduced prevalence of neither psychological distress nor mental disorders. Low rates of help-seeking, and inadequate and inequitable delivery of effective care may explain this partially, but not fully. Focusing on depressive disorders, drawing initially on ideas from the work of philosopher and socio-cultural critic Ivan Illich, we use evidence-based medicine statistics and simulation modelling approaches to develop testable hypotheses as to how iatrogenic influences on the course of depression may help explain this seeming paradox. Combined psychological treatment and antidepressant medication may be available, and beneficial, for depressed people in socioeconomically advantaged areas. But more Australians with depression live in disadvantaged areas where antidepressant medication provision without formal psychotherapy is more typical; there also are urban/non-urban disparities. Depressed people often engage in self-help strategies consistent with psychological treatments, probably often with some benefit to these people. We propose then, if people are encouraged to rely heavily on antidepressant medication only, and if they consequently reduce spontaneous self-help activity, that the benefits of the antidepressant medication may be more than offset by reductions in beneficial effects as a consequence of reduced self-help activity. While in advantaged areas, more comprehensive service delivery may result in observed prevalence lower than it would be without services, in less well-serviced areas, observed prevalence may be higher than it would otherwise be. Overall, then, we see no change. If the hypotheses receive support from the proposed research, then implications for service prioritisation and delivery could include a case for wider application of recovery-oriented practice. Critically, it would strengthen the case for action to correct inequities in the delivery of psychological treatments for depression in Australia so that combined psychological therapy and antidepressant medication, accessible and administered within an empowering framework, should be a nationally implemented standard

Randomised controlled trial of a digitally assisted low intensity intervention to promote personal recovery in persisting psychosis: SMART-Therapy study protocol

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial interventions have an important role in promoting recovery in people with persisting psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. Readily available, digital technology provides a means of developing therapeutic resources for use together by practitioners and mental health service users. As part of the Self-Management and Recovery Technology (SMART) research program, we have developed an online resource providing materials on illness self-management and personal recovery based on the Connectedness-Hope-Identity-Meaning-Empowerment (CHIME) framework. Content is communicated using videos featuring persons with lived experience of psychosis discussing how they have navigated issues in their own recovery. This was developed to be suitable for use on a tablet computer during sessions with a mental health worker to promote discussion about recovery. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a rater-blinded randomised controlled trial comparing a low intensity recovery intervention of eight one-to-one face-to-face sessions with a mental health worker using the SMART website alongside routine care, versus an eight-session comparison condition, befriending. The recruitment target is 148 participants with a schizophrenia-related disorder or mood disorder with a history of psychosis, recruited from mental health services in Victoria, Australia. Following baseline assessment, participants are randomised to intervention, and complete follow up assessments at 3, 6 and 9 months post-baseline. The primary outcome is personal recovery measured using the Process of Recovery Questionnaire (QPR). Secondary outcomes include positive and negative symptoms assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, subjective experiences of psychosis, emotional symptoms, quality of life and resource use. Mechanisms of change via effects on self-stigma and self-efficacy will be examined. DISCUSSION: This protocol describes a novel intervention which tests new therapeutic methods including in-session tablet computer use and video-based peer modelling. It also informs a possible low intensity intervention model potentially viable for delivery across the mental health workforce

The PULSAR Specialist Care protocol: a stepped-wedge cluster randomized control trial a training intervention for community mental health teams in recovery-oriented practice

Background: Recovery features strongly in Australian mental health policy; however, evidence is limited for the efficacy of recovery-oriented practice at the service level. This paper describes the Principles Unite Local Services Assisting Recovery (PULSAR) Specialist Care trial protocol for a recovery-oriented practice training intervention delivered to specialist mental health services staff. The primary aim is to evaluate whether adult consumers accessing services where staff have received the intervention report superior recovery outcomes compared to adult consumers accessing services where staff have not yet received the intervention. A qualitative sub-study aims to examine staff and consumer views on implementing recovery-oriented practice. A process evaluation sub-study aims to articulate important explanatory variables affecting the interventions rollout and outcomes. Methods: The mixed methods design incorporates a two-step stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) examining cross-sectional data from three phases, and nested qualitative and process evaluation sub-studies. Participating specialist mental health care services in Melbourne, Victoria are divided into 14 clusters with half randomly allocated to receive the staff training in year one and half in year two. Research participants are consumers aged 18-75 years who attended the cluster within a previous three-month period either at baseline, 12 (step 1) or 24 months (step 2). In the two nested sub-studies, participation extends to cluster staff. The primary outcome is the Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery collected from 756 consumers (252 each at baseline, step 1, step 2). Secondary and other outcomes measuring well-being, service satisfaction and health economic impact are collected from a subset of 252 consumers (63 at baseline; 126 at step 1; 63 at step 2) via interviews. Interview based longitudinal data are also collected 12 months apart from 88 consumers with a psychotic disorder diagnosis (44 at baseline, step 1; 44 at step 1, step 2). cRCT data will be analyzed using multilevel mixed-effects modelling to account for clustering and some repeated measures, supplemented by thematic analysis of qualitative interview data. The process evaluation will draw on qualitative, quantitative and documentary data. Discussion: Findings will provide an evidence-base for the continued transformation of Australian mental health service frameworks toward recovery

A home but how to connect with others? A qualitative meta-synthesis of experiences of people with mental illness living in supported housing

Supported housing principles emphasise the importance of decent, stable and affordable housing, and the provision of individualised support to enable people experiencing mental illness to live in their preferred communities, and to recover. This study sought to synthesise qualitative research addressing the question: how does living in supported housing facilitate social connections and participation from the viewpoints of people living with mental illness? Three databases (CINAHL, PsycINFO, Medline) were systematically searched to identify 19 peer-reviewed reports on 17 studies published during 2001-2016, in which the views and experiences of supported housing residents with mental illness were reported. Most studies were informed by grounded theory and used interview methods. Appraisal indicated the reports were of varying quality, but all met the inclusion criterion of reporting qualitative data relevant to the research question. Constant comparative methods were used to synthesise the reported data, and to identify themes across the studies. There were four overarching themes regarding the lived experience of supported housing for people with mental illness: (a) living in supported housing gave individuals privacy, a sense of control, stability and security; (b) stable housing supported residents' confidence to rebuild an identity and meaning in life, (c) there is a delicate balance between appreciating privacy and dealing with loneliness, and (d) opportunities and support to reconnect with families, friends and community are valued. The meta-synthesis findings highlight that supported housing residents face challenges of protecting their privacy and being lonely when on their own. Individualised support approaches need to attend to personal preferences for social participation and their varied meanings and significance. Further research is required to better understand how individualised forms of support can enable supported housing residents to connect with family, friends and community in their preferred ways

Housing and Support Narratives of People Experiencing Mental Health Issues:Making My Place, My Home

Background: Choice, control, privacy, and security are widely reported housing preferences of mental health consumers, are associated with improved well-being and greater housing satisfaction, and are important for recovery. This paper describes housing and neighborhood experiences from a larger qualitative study that sought to learn with people experiencing mental health issues about their everyday lives in an Australian urban community. Methods: A participatory approach to health research informed this study. A participatory reference group, including four people with consumer perspective knowledge and experience of mental health issues and four mental health practitioners with service provider and researcher perspectives, worked together to design and implement this study over a 4-year period. Thirty-nine participants were recruited, including 18 women and 21 men living in metropolitan Melbourne and receiving community mental health care for ongoing mental health issues related mainly to either psychotic or affective disorders. Participants each took part in one to three interviews or a focus group. The data were transcribed and analyzed using narrative and thematic analytic strategies, underpinned by reflective discussions with the participatory reference group. Findings: Participants' experiences of their housing and neighborhoods emphasized qualities that either contributed to or challenged their sense of being "at home." Identifying with a place as home was transformative, especially when supported by friendly neighborhood interactions, safety, and accessibility of local amenities. Unsatisfactory housing situations and limited income worked against participants' efforts to regain a sense of well-being and improve their situations. When being home was challenging, strategies used to counteract this included getting a pet and getting out as a means of resisting isolation at home. Differing views and ways of using the available support workers were described, suggesting tensions between seeking to be self-sufficient and valuing support. Conclusions: Social housing locations and housing-related support should explicitly attend to safety and security concerns. Collaborative care planning and outreach support should attend to supports for navigating issues with neighbors, housing, harnessing natural supports, and opportunities for being in others' company, as well as recognizing the importance of pets in people's lives. Understanding the strategies that mental health consumers find helpful in creating a sense of being at home, and the role of "place" in recovery merit further consideration in research and practice

A grounded theory of intuition among occupational therapists in mental health practice

Objectives: This study aimed to explore occupational therapists&rsquo; understanding and use of intuition in mental health practice.Method: Using a grounded theory approach, a theoretical sample of nine occupational therapists practising in mental health settings participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using the constant comparative method. Findings: Intuition was found to be embedded within clinical reasoning. From the data, intuition was defined as knowledge without conscious awareness of reasoning. The participants viewed intuition as elusive and underground, and suggested that professional experience led to a more comfortable use of intuition. Using intuition relied on therapists&rsquo; understanding of their own and others&rsquo; emotions, and intuition partnered analysis within their clinical reasoning. A grounded theory of the use of intuition in mental health settings is proposed.Conclusion: Occupational therapists practising in mental health settings understand intuition to be an instinctive understanding of situations, resulting from their professional experience and the understanding of emotions.<br /

Relationship between intuition and emotional intelligence in occupational therapists in mental health practice

Objective:&nbsp;Clinical reasoning studies have acknowledged tacit aspects of practice, and recent research&nbsp;suggests that clinical reasoning contains intuition informed by tacit knowledge. Intuition also appears to be&nbsp;influenced by awareness and understanding of emotions. This study investigated the relationship between&nbsp;intuition and emotional intelligence among occupational therapists in mental health practice.Method:&nbsp;We mailed a survey containing measures of cognitive style and of use of emotional competencies&nbsp;at work and demographic questions to 400 members of the national occupational therapy association;&nbsp;134 occupational therapists responded.Results:&nbsp;A moderate relationship was found between intuitive cognitive style and emotional intelligence.&nbsp;Experienced therapists scored higher on the use of emotional competencies at work and reported a preference&nbsp;for an intuitive cognitive style to a greater extent than novices.Conclusion:&nbsp; This study represents the first attempt to explore occupational therapists&rsquo; preferred&nbsp;cognitive style and self-reported emotional intelligence. Findings suggest that exploring emotions through&nbsp;reflective practice could enhance intuitive aspects of clinical reasoning.</div