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4.2 Essential shared capabilities for mental health While professional groups will be expected to retain their distinctive roles to some extent, the demand for change is increasingly strong. Professionals are increasingly expected to focus on the range of elements of good practice which they share, many of which have been historically associated with social work. One important example of the demand for change in this direction can be found in the introduction in England of The Ten Essential Shared Capabilities: A Framework for the Whole of
4.1 Mental health specialists Social workers are often regarded as the chief proponents of the social model of mental health. Because of the value-base of social work, they are also often seen as being in a strong position to challenge inequality and address the consequences of stigma and discrimination in mental health. In this section you will see how other professionals are increasingly expected to emphasise similar goals in The Ten Essential Shared Capabilities for mental health professionals. As well as
3.2 Racism in mental health services Research has shown that people from particular minority ethnic groups are over-represented in some psychiatric diagnostic categories compared with others. One of the most hotly debated issues concerns what appears to be the relatively high number of African-Caribbean men who receive a diagnosis of schizophrenia, compared with white or other minority ethnic groups. Given what you have seen about the difficulties in defining mental health and illness, it will be no surprise to learn that
3.1 Understanding stigma In the first half of Section 3, the focus is on the nature of the stigmatisation and discrimination which can be experienced by people with mental health problems. The section then turns to consider racism in mental health services and the impact this has on black service users. The ‘stigma’ of mental illness and distress refers to the idea that such experiences are a disgrace or an embarrassment, not only to the person concerned, but also to those around them. To be mentally distre
2 Social work skills: empowerment and advocacy Qualified social workers are expected to have the necessary skills to empower service users to participate in assessments and decision making and also to ensure that service users have access to advocacy services if they are unable to represent their own views. The requirement for these skills can be found in the key role ‘Support, representation and advocacy’. Both empowerment and advocacy are concerned with power and the ways in which it is distributed between people. Empowerment and ad
1.4 A community resource centre in action It is clear that the well-being of communities and the well-being of the individuals within them are intrinsically linked. The Orchard Centre is a community resource centre for people with mental health problems in Bonnyrigg in Midlothian, Scotland. 1.2 Boundaries between mental health and illness What do you think it means if someone is described as ‘mentally healthy’? Think of all the different ways of describing ‘mental he Learning outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to: distinguish between mental health and mental illness; give examples of how community resource centres can benefit the well being of individuals and communities in terms of mental health. Introduction This unit explores a number of issues relating to mental health practice. It starts by helping you define and understand the difference between mental health and mental illness. It also explores the discrimination that can arise when people experience some form of mental distress. You will look at how professionals working within the community can counter some of the effects of discrimination and stigma and contribute to the well-being of the wider community, as well as those who use their se References Revision questions Drinking alcohol produces a complex set of effects on a number of body systems. (a) On which system are the main acute effects most likely to lead to sudden death, and why? Summary The main acute effects of ethanol are on the nervous system, causing characteristic changes in behaviour and judgement. There are particular issues with regard to driving, with different countries setting various ‘safe’ limits for blood-ethanol concentration. Very high blood-ethanol concentrations can be fatal. Hangovers are unpleasant and are poorly understood. Various mechanisms have been proposed including direct effects of ethanol o 1.6.2 Treating alcohol-related liver disorders Although considerable progress has been made in the treatment of many other chronic medical conditions, scant progress has been made in the treatment of cirrhosis. In over 8000 people admitted to hospitals in the Oxford region of the UK with liver cirrhosis during a 30-year observation period, 34 per cent had died one year after their admission and this death rate remained more or less constant (Roberts et al., 2005). The largely pessimistic view of the failure of treatment of liver dam 1.5 Fetal alcohol syndrome There are a range of disorders associated with maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy which are collectively known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, FASDs. The best characterised is fetal alcohol syndrome, FAS. FAS is defined by four criteria, the first of which is excessive maternal alcohol intake during pregnancy, the other three being: a characteristic pattern of minor facial abnormalities and other malformations (in particu 1.4 Nervous-system damage Chronic consumption of high levels of alcohol can cause irreversible damage to the nervous system. The majority of people with chronic alcoholism have some degree of dementia, which is a general loss of intellectual abilities including memory, judgement and abstract thinking, as well as personality changes. The general effect seems to be a shrinkage of brain tissue, as revealed by brain imaging techniques (Author(s): 1.2.3 Chemical factors Ethanol metabolites The suggestion that acetaldehyde accumulation is involved in hangovers is largely due to the observation that high concentrations of acetaldehyde in the blood give rise to toxic effects which resemble hangovers (rapid pulse, sweating, nausea, etc.). 1.2.2 Psychological and sleep disturbances The severity of hangover symptoms has also been associated with particular personality traits. For example, some research has indicated that individuals with personality traits that predispose them to a risk of alcoholism, experience more severe hangover symptoms than other people. Although alcohol acts as a sedative, the sleep it induces can be of poorer quality and shorter duration than normal. Ethanol interferes with the action of key neurotransmitters, in particular GABA and glutama 1.2.1 Physical disturbances Dehydration How can drinking alcohol result in dehydration? Ethanol 1.2 Hangovers ‘Beer is the reason I get up every afternoon.’ In certain cultures, an evening of heavy drinking is a regular social activity and the ill-effects suffered the following morning are accepted as an inevitable part of life. The economic cost of alcohol-related absence is frequently caused by workers experiencing symptoms of ‘hangover’. This is the term used to describe the collection
Activity 1: What is mental ‘health’?
Question 1
Answer
