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Work issues for young people with psychosis: barriers to employment
- Authors:
- BASSETT Jo, LLOYD Chris, BASSETT Hazel
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 64(2), February 2001, pp.66-72.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Young people who have had a mental illness face significant barriers to both gaining and maintaining employment. This Australian study uses a qualitative design consisting of two focus groups, to identify the issues experienced by young people diagnosed with psychosis wanting to gain employment. The themes identified in this study concern loss, low self-confidence and self-esteem, stigma, treatment issues, the need for support, and difficulties in identifying and achieving goals.
Educating for mental health practice: results of a survey of mental health content in Bachelor of Social Work curricula in Australian schools of social work
- Authors:
- SHEEHAN Rosemary, RYAN Martin
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Education (The International Journal), 20(3), June 2001, pp.351-361.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Health problems are amongst the most pressing encountered by social workers in practice. Health policy, largely through deinstitutionalisation, has placed mental health problems in the mainstream of health practice. One in 25 Australians will require professional assistance with mental health problems. Moreover, other professions are increasingly claiming that mental health is their area of expertise. Social work needs to reclaim this area as their own and hence it is incumbent on social work education to prepare students to practice in this area. As the second of a two-part survey of health and mental health curricula in Australian schools of social work, the findings of the survey on mental health curricula conducted in 1997 are presented in this article. Based on responses from 95% of the schools, nine of the 20 respondent schools were found to offer a separate mental health unit. The remaining 11 schools' coverage ranged from no coverage at all through to integration in other subjects. Overall it was concluded that the majority of students received a significant amount of input on mental health. A number of recommendations are made to improve mental health input including more skill development, greater local contextualisation, more attention to an anti-oppressive agenda, and more explicit links to field education.
Creating identities: mental health consumer to citizen?
- Authors:
- BOLZAN Natalie, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work, 1(3), December 2001, pp.317-328.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Support groups for people with a mental illness have been in existence for over 40 years. The current consumerist agenda constructs people with a mental illness as consumers of mental health services such as support groups. To explore the range and type of support groups in New South Wales, Australia, an empirical study based upon interviews with a purposive sample of respondents with experience of using support groups and a postal questionnaire was conducted. From the study it became apparent that (so-called) consumers were challenging the construction of themselves as consumers of services. Instead they were asserting that their contribution to the treatment and management of their illness was closer to that of 'expert' than of consumer. From the findings, the authors argue that this reconstruction of their self-perceptions suggests that people with a mental illness are challenging the consumerist agenda and acting as social citizens. This change in self-perception by mentally ill people should be addressed by policymakers and practitioners in all forms of social work practice.