‘Push on through’:Children’s perspectives on the narratives of resilience in schools identified for intensive mental health promotion

Child mental health is a growing concern for policymakers across the global north. Schools have become a key site for mental health interventions, with new programmes aimed at promoting ‘resilience’, through which children may maintain or regain mental health during adversity. As one of the first studies to explore the early impact of intensive mental health promotion in schools from children’s perspectives, we adopt a governmentality approach to consider the logic and techniques of such programmes with a specific focus on England. An innovative visual methodology was used to focus on student perspectives of mental health interventions in school. Young peoples’ photo representations of mental health were collected and used to stimulate focus group discussions with 65 students aged 12–14, across seven schools. ‘Resilience’ was seen to be the key organising concept for mental health interventions in schools. The concept was viewed as narrowly focused on attitude towards—and performance in—school work, with individuals being encouraged to ‘push on through’ difficulties to achieve success. Young people were critical of this approach, suggesting several alternatives. These included increased access to independent mental health professionals, safe spaces within schools and mental health education that addressed the social and affective dimensions of mental health difficulties

Models of mental health problems: a quasi-systematic review of theoretical approaches

Background: Mental health and mental illness have been contested concepts for decades, with a wide variety of models being proposed. To date, there has been no exhaustive review that provides an overview of existing models. Aim: To conduct a quasi-systematic review of theoretical models of mental health problems. Methods: We searched academic databases, reference lists, and an electronic bookshop for literature that proposed, endorsed, reviewed, or critiqued such models. Papers, book chapters, and books were included with material by researchers, clinicians, non-medical professions, and service users writing between 2000 to June 2020 being considered. The study was registered with the Open Science Framework (No. osf.io/r3tjx). Results: Based on 110 publications, we identified 34 different models which were grouped into five broader categories. Many models bridged two or more categories. Biological and psychological approaches had the largest number of models while social, consumer and cultural models were less diversified. Due to the non-empirical nature of the publications, several limitations in terms of search and quality appraisal apply. Conclusions: We conclude that mental health care needs to acknowledge the diversity of theoretical models on mental health problems

Problematising ‘Recovery’ in Drug Policy within Great Britain: A Comparative Policy Analysis between England, Wales and Scotland

Drug strategies in the United Kingdom emphasize the notion of recovery, with the concept being central in England, Wales and Scotland. There are however tensions, with recovery being defined differently across jurisdictions. In this study we aim to address this dilemma by critically interrogating how the term recovery is represented, how these presentations are shaped and what effects are subsequently had. We applied an adapted version of Bacchi’s (2009) What’s the Problem Represented to Be? (WPR) poststructuralist approach to policy analysis to the latest English, Welsh and Scottish drug strategies. We identified three dominant themes: a) recovery as ‘a problem of goals and ambitions’, underpinned by notions of service user responsibility; b) recovery as ‘a problem of product quality’, shaped by the implicit notion of service provider responsibility and the disease model of addiction; c) recovery as ‘a problem of service collaboration and teamwork’, underpinned by the bio-psycho-social model of addiction. We conclude that the problematisations found in the UK’s current drug policies have the ability to shape the drug policy-making process which may limit mainstream knowledge of recovery, and thereby unintentionally contribute to a narrow understanding of how to effectively support the service user community in their recovery from problematic drug use

Problematising ‘Recovery’ in Drug Policy within Great Britain: A Comparative Policy Analysis between England, Wales and Scotland

Drug strategies in Great Britain emphasize the notion of recovery, with the concept being central in England, Wales and Scotland. There are however tensions, with recovery being defined differently across jurisdictions. In this study we address this dilemma by critically interrogating how the term recovery is represented, how these presentations are shaped and what effects are subsequently had. We applied an adapted version of Bacchi's What's the Problem Represented to Be? (WPR) policy analysis approach to the 2017 UK Drug Strategy, the 2008–2018 Welsh Drug Strategy and the 2008 Scottish Drug Strategy notions of service user responsibility; (b) recovery as ‘a problem of product quality’, shaped by the implicit notion of service provider responsibility and the disease model of addiction; (c) recovery as ‘a problem of service collaboration and teamwork’, underpinned by the bio-psycho-social model of addiction. We conclude that the problematisations found in GB’s current drug policies have the ability to shape the drug policy-making process which may limit mainstream knowledge of recovery, and thereby unintentionally contribute to a narrow understanding of how to effectively support the service user community in their recovery from problematic drug use

The Professional Identity of Social Workers in Mental Health Services:A Scoping Review

Recent research into the role of mental health social work has identified a need for increased critical engagement with accounts of professional role and identity. Notably, a number of studies have found that social workers struggle to articulate their role within mental health teams and services. This study aimed to identify the ways in which social workers in mental health settings defined their professional identity and role. An international scoping review utilizing Arksey and O’Malley’s method was conducted, identifying 35 papers published between 1997 and 2022. A thematic analysis grouped the findings into three predominant themes: (i) distinct social work approaches to mental health, (ii) organizational negotiations for mental health social workers, and (iii) professional negotiations for mental health social workers. These thematic findings are discussed in relation to existing research and critical perspectives, with particular emphasis on accounts of the bureaucratic and ideological functioning of professionalism in mental health services, as well as the global direction of mental health policy. This review finds that mental health social work embodies a coherent identity that aligns with international mental health policy agendas but faces significant challenges in developing and expressing this identity within mental health services

Risk at the Boundaries of Social Work: An Editorial

In this editorial we introduce a special thematic collection of articles which focus on how risk operates, or is conceptualised, at the boundaries of social work practice. The collection includes theoretical, empirical, and practice-oriented articles, each of which critically engages with contemporary debates about risk and social work and its complex intersections with boundary making in diverse fields. These fields include social work with older people, child sexual abuse and exploitation, and people with learning disabilities. We begin the editorial with a brief account of how social work can be defined and the competing ideological traditions that underpin differing forms of social work in practice, policy, and research. We also point to the contrasting nature of risk studies in relation to social work, ranging from the pragmatic concern with measuring and managing risk, to critical analysis of how and why risk is conceptualised and socially constructed in particular ways. We provide an overview of each of the five articles that comprise the special issue, their intersecting themes, and how they animate in different ways the idea of boundaries and boundary making. In the final section of the editorial, we consider the possibilities for the future direction of theoretical and empirical work in this field

The Professional Identity of Social Workers in Mental Health Services:A Scoping Review

Recent research into the role of mental health social work has identified a need for increased critical engagement with accounts of professional role and identity. Notably, a number of studies have found that social workers struggle to articulate their role within mental health teams and services. This study aimed to identify the ways in which social workers in mental health settings defined their professional identity and role. An international scoping review utilizing Arksey and O’Malley’s method was conducted, identifying 35 papers published between 1997 and 2022. A thematic analysis grouped the findings into three predominant themes: (i) distinct social work approaches to mental health, (ii) organizational negotiations for mental health social workers, and (iii) professional negotiations for mental health social workers. These thematic findings are discussed in relation to existing research and critical perspectives, with particular emphasis on accounts of the bureaucratic and ideological functioning of professionalism in mental health services, as well as the global direction of mental health policy. This review finds that mental health social work embodies a coherent identity that aligns with international mental health policy agendas but faces significant challenges in developing and expressing this identity within mental health services.</p

Multiple relapses into opiate and crack misuse among people in recovery:An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Relapsing multiple times back into opiate and crack cocaine misuse significantly increases the risk for overdose death, of which rates continue to soar worldwide. This study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of opiate and crack relapse from the lived experience perspectives of people in recovery from substance misuse. Semi-structured interviews were held, and interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings revealed two superordinate themes which highlighted the impact of relapse on an individual's sense of self, their conceptualizations of relapse, and their approach to recovery thereafter. The study offers implications and future directions for mental health authorities and addiction professionals