Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health care"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 2 of 2
Cultural consultation: a narrative approach to holistic care
- Author:
- DE JONGH Bertine
- Journal article citation:
- Open Mind, 171, March 2012, pp.20-21.
- Publisher:
- MIND
In the current context of financial restraint, there is a danger that cultural approaches to care are at risk of being diluted. This article argues that understanding how culture shapes experiences and expressions of mental health problems is fundamental to providing good care. For the past year, the Cultural Consultation Service (CCS) in Tower Hamlets has piloted an alternative approach to mental health care. With cultural consultation at its heart, a more holistic care process is facilitated by working with service users’ stories and analysing issues of complexity surrounding their care. Culture is not seen as something that is fixed, but is fluid, dynamically changing over time as it responds to a group or an individual’s experiences. Using this more complex understanding of culture, CCS develops policy and research on multiple levels, including individuals, teams, organisations and social systems. The article argues that it is more cost-effective to provide a holistic approach to care that is more closely linked to the needs of service users.
What’s your story?
- Author:
- DE JONGH Bertine
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Today, March 2012, pp.10-11.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
The Cultural Consultation Service (CCS) provides cultural consultation, training, research and policy in order to address inequalities in mental health services. Cultural consultation requires understanding how culture shapes a service user’s experience and expressions of mental illness as well as their personal understanding of recovery. During the past year, the CCS has piloted a new holistic approach by working with service users’ stories and analysing issues of complexity surrounding all levels of their care. This approach has improved the recovery and experiences for service users, reduced reliance on services, and improved the ability of mental health professionals to engage with the cultural aspects of care. The approach looks not only at the culture and narrative of individual service users, but also at those of clinicians, teams and organisations. This article discusses how putting cultural considerations at the forefront of care can provide benefits for service users and clinicians. Not only can it help to identify more effective treatment plans for service users, it also works at all levels within an organisation.