Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Mental health and art
- Author:
- SECKER Jenny
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Today, May 2011, pp.21-22.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
Drawing on the findings from research conducted at Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Central Lancashire 2007, the author discusses how art and artistic expression can help to improve mental health. As part of the study case studies were carried out with six diverse projects. Eight processes that were found to benefit participants in the six projects were identified. These were: getting motivated; focusing on art; connecting with others; rebuilding identities; expanding horizons; self-expression; connecting with abilities; and having time out.
Mental health, social exclusion and social inclusion
- Author:
- SECKER Jenny
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Review Journal, 14(4), December 2009, pp.4-11.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Based on a comparison of ways of defining social exclusion within the mental health literature, this article outlines the social systems approach to understanding social exclusion (where social exclusion is seen as a concept encompassing processes that involve the failure of one or more of 4 systems on which the sense of belonging in society depends: the democratic and legal system, the labour market, the welfare state system, and the family and community system), and uses it to examine the position of people with mental health needs in the UK. It looks at the relationship between exclusion and inclusion and provides a critique of the inclusion imperative in mental health. From the evidence reviewed, the author concludes that there is a need for policy initiatives to focus on tackling the structural barriers that work to exclude people with mental health needs as well as on challenging deep-rooted prejudice and stigmatisation that reinforce those barriers, and a need to be mindful of the context in which inclusion policies are implemented, the assumptions implicit within these policies, and the possible consequences of their adoption.
Development of a measure of social inclusion for arts and mental health project participants
- Authors:
- SECKER Jenny, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Mental Health, 18(1), February 2009, pp.65-72.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- London
This paper aimed to develop a social inclusion measure for use in a study assessing the outcomes of arts participation for people with mental health needs. Methods used were concept and question development based on literature review, national and European surveys and results of a survey of arts and mental health projects. Measure piloted with 23 arts participants/service user researchers and field tested with 88 arts project participants returning questionnaires including the social inclusion measure, a measure of empowerment and the CORE mental health measure. Three scales were constructed measuring social acceptance, social isolation and social relations. Internal consistency was good for the individual scales and for the measure as a whole. Correlations with empowerment and CORE scores indicate reasonable predictive power for the population. Tests to date indicate the measure is acceptable and measures relevant concepts with good internal consistency. Test-retest reliability and construct validity are not established and replication is required to confirm internal consistency and establish a normative profile for the population.
Empowerment and arts participation for people with mental health needs
- Authors:
- SECKER Jenny, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Public Mental Health, 6(4), December 2007, pp.14-23.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This article describes an evaluation of arts participation for people with mental health needs that both measured empowerment outcomes and explored the processes by which positive outcomes were achieved, through six qualitative case studies. For the outcomes study, 62 arts and mental health project participants returned a questionnaire soon after joining the project, and six months later. Six diverse arts and mental health projects took part in case studies. Results from the outcomes study showed significant improvements in empowerment and were suggestive of a strong causal link with arts participation. Analysis of the case study interviews revealed five processes through which benefits relating to empowerment were brought about. It is argued that psychological empowerment is in itself important for people with mental health needs. In addition, the case studies indicate that some arts and mental health projects do empower participants at a social as well as individual level.