Bridget Hamilton

Uses and abuses of recovery: implementing recovery‐oriented practices in mental health systems

An understanding of recovery as a personal and subjective experience has emerged within mental health systems. This meaning of recovery now underpins mental health policy in many countries. Developing a focus on this type of recovery will involve transformation within mental health systems. Human systems do not easily transform. In this paper, we identify seven mis‐uses (“abuses”) of the concept of recovery: recovery is the latest model; recovery does not apply to “my” patients; services can make people recover through effective treatment; compulsory detention and treatment aid recovery; a recovery orientation means closing services; recovery is about making people independent and normal; and contributing to society happens only after the person is recovered. We then identify ten empirically‐validated interventions which support recovery, by targeting key recovery processes of connectedness, hope, identity, meaning and empowerment (the CHIME framework). The ten interventions are peer support workers, advance directives, wellness recovery action planning, illness management and recovery, REFOCUS, strengths model, recovery colleges or recovery education programs, individual placement and support, supported housing, and mental health trialogues. Finally, three scientific challenges are identified: broadening cultural understandings of recovery, implementing organizational transformation, and promoting citizenship.

Fidelity to clinical guidelines using a care pathway in the treatment of first episode psychosis.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the implementation of clinical practice guidelines in the initial stages of treatment of first episode psychosis, through use of a care pathway within one area mental health service. METHODS A fidelity audit was undertaken using data from local Early Psychosis Care Pathway documents, completed for the cohort of clients with early psychosis seen in the first 2 years of an integrated early psychosis programme model, at St Vincents Mental Health Service, Melbourne, Australia. RESULTS The utilisation of a care pathway greatly supported both the documentation of clinical process and fidelity to clinical guidelines in early psychosis treatment. Excellent adherence (over 80%) was achieved for therapeutic alliance with the client, conducting a comprehensive bio-psychosocial assessment, medical investigations, reduction of client trauma and increased orientation to the service and the mental health systems of care, and for contact with family. Good adherence (over 70%) was achieved for client re-integration to the community and promotion of carer well-being; the service plans to focus on these areas in future service improvement initiatives, along with a focus on physical health assessment and enhancing primary care liaison. CONCLUSIONS The process of formally operationalizing and implementing clinical guidelines utilizing a care pathway within an area mental health service has proved to be an effective way to ensure fidelity with standard agency practices and protocols. The integrated approach, supported by quality assurance initiatives, provides an excellent goodness-of-fit within an established area mental health service.

Implementation of the Strengths Model at an area mental health service.

Objective: The objectives of this paper are to provide an overview of recovery-focused models of care and discuss the implementation of the Strengths Model at St. Vincents Mental Health Melbourne (SVMH), Victoria, Australia. Conclusions: The implementation of the Strengths Model at SVMH is discussed with particular emphasis on the process of implementation, service implications, practical challenges and dilemmas that have arisen, and proposed evaluation. Recovery-focused care is feasible and can enhance current practice of mental health services.

Attitudes towards seclusion and restraint in mental health settings: findings from a large, community-based survey of consumers, carers and mental health professionals

Aims. There are growing calls to reduce, and where possible eliminate, the use of seclusion and restraint in mental health settings, but the attitudes and beliefs of consumers, carers and mental health professionals towards these practices are not well understood. The aim of this study was to compare the attitudes of mental health service consumers, carers and mental health professionals towards seclusion and restraint in mental health settings. In particular, it aimed to explore beliefs regarding whether elimination of seclusion and restraint was desirable and possible. Methods. In 2014, an online survey was developed and widely advertised in Australia via the National Mental Health Commission and through mental health networks. The survey adopted a mixed-methods design, including both quantitative and qualitative questions concerning participants’ demographic details, the use of seclusion and restraint in practice and their views on strategies for reducing and eliminating these practices. Results. In total 1150 survey responses were analysed. A large majority of participants believed that seclusion and restraint practices were likely to cause harm, breach human rights, compromise trust and potentially cause or trigger past trauma. Consumers were more likely than professionals to view these practices as harmful. The vast majority of participants believed that it was both desirable and feasible to eliminate mechanical restraint. Many participants, particularly professionals, believed that seclusion and some forms of restraint were likely to produce some benefits, including increasing consumer safety, increasing the safety of staff and others and setting behavioural boundaries. Conclusions. There was strong agreement across participant groups that the use of seclusion and restraint is harmful, breaches human rights and compromises the therapeutic relationship and trust between mental health service providers and those who experience these restrictive practices. However, some benefits were also identified, particularly by professionals. Participants had mixed views regarding the feasibility and desirability of eliminating these practices.

Uses of strength-based interventions for people with serious mental illness: A critical review

Background: For the past 3 decades, mental health practitioners have increasingly adopted aspects and tools of strength-based approaches. Providing strength-based intervention and amplifying strengths relies heavily on effective interpersonal processes. Aim: This article is a critical review of research regarding the use of strength-based approaches in mental health service settings. The aim is to discuss strength-based interventions within broader research on recovery, focussing on effectiveness and advances in practice where applicable. Method: A systematic search for peer-reviewed intervention studies published between 2001 and December 2014 yielded 55 articles of potential relevance to the review. Results: Seven studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. The Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies was used to appraise the quality of the studies. Our review found emerging evidence that the utilisation of a strength-based approach improves outcomes including hospitalisation rates, employment/educational attainment, and intrapersonal outcomes such as self-efficacy and sense of hope. Conclusion: Recent studies confirm the feasibility of implementing a high-fidelity strength-based approach in clinical settings and its relevance for practitioners in health care. More high-quality studies are needed to further examine the effectiveness of strength-based approaches.

Working around a contested diagnosis: borderline personality disorder in adolescence.

This discourse analytic study sits at the intersection of everyday communications with young people in mental health settings and the enduring sociological critique of diagnoses in psychiatry. The diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is both contested and stigmatized, in mental health and general health settings. Its legitimacy is further contested within the specialist adolescent mental health setting. In this setting, clinicians face a quandary regarding the application of adult diagnostic criteria to an adolescent population, aged less than 18 years. This article presents an analysis of interviews undertaken with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) clinicians in two publicly funded Australian services, about their use of the BPD diagnosis. In contrast with notions of primacy of diagnosis or of transparency in communications, doctors, nurses and allied health clinicians resisted and subverted a diagnosis of BPD in their work with adolescents. We delineate specific social and discursive strategies that clinicians displayed and reflected on, including: team rules which discouraged diagnostic disclosure; the lexical strategy of hedging when using the diagnosis; the prohibition and utility of informal ‘borderline talk’ among clinicians; and reframing the diagnosis with young people. For clinicians, these strategies legitimated their scepticism and enabled them to work with diagnostic uncertainty, in a population identified as vulnerable. For adolescent identities, these strategies served to forestall a BPD trajectory, allowing room for troubled adolescents to move and grow. These findings illuminate how the contest surrounding this diagnosis in principle is expressed in everyday clinical practice.

Consumers’ and their supporters’ perspectives on barriers and strategies to reducing seclusion and restraint in mental health settings

Objective This paper examines the perspectives of consumers and their supporters regarding the use of seclusion and restraint in mental health settings. Methods Five focus groups for consumers and five focus groups for supporters were conducted in four Australian cities and in one rural location. The 66 participants were asked about strategies to reduce or eliminate the use of seclusion and restraint in mental health settings. Results All participants supported the reduction of the use of seclusion and restraint. Barriers to reducing these practices related to the environment, the effects of drug and alcohol issues, lack of a human rights focus and poor recognition of trauma, stigma and discrimination. Strategies for reducing or eliminating seclusion and restraint included workforce development, environmental and cultural changes. Conclusions Participants clearly identified that the status quo needs to change and conveyed urgency for action. Participants suggested that the involvement of supporters and a range of consumer roles are integral to reducing the use of seclusion and restraint. The findings support the current policy emphasis of working towards the elimination of these practices. What is known about the topic? Mental health policies across many jurisdictions support the reduction and elimination of restraint and seclusion. Evidence suggests those subjected to restraint and seclusion largely experience a range of harmful consequences. No studies focus on the views of supporters of consumers regarding the reduction and elimination of seclusion and restraint, whereas the views of consumers appear in a minority of international studies. What does this paper add? The research enabled an opportunity to hear from people who have been personally affected by and/or have lived experience of these coercive practices. Participants identified local reforms that can uphold the human rights of consumers. They suggested practices to increase accountability, peer support and family involvement, areas that have not been analysed in depth in any of the seclusion and restraint literature. What are the implications for practitioners? This paper will give healthcare services a deeper insight into how to reduce or eliminate restraint or seclusion from the perspective of those with lived experience.

Factors influencing engagement with case managers: Perspectives of young people with a diagnosis of first episode psychosis

Holistic treatment during a first episode psychosis (FEP) can significantly impact the longevity and chronicity of the illness, as well as reduce the risk of premature death by suicide. However, treatment can only be effective if the young person participates. Given that 19-40% of young people disengage from early intervention services for FEP, this qualitative study aimed to understand how young people experienced engagement with case managers at an early intervention service. Semistructured interviews were conducted with seven young people and themes were identified using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Young people detailed how engagement with a service could be viewed as a process, following different stages between initial referral and discharge. Throughout this process, a number of factors influenced young peoples decision to engage with, or disengage from, their case manager. This created a push-pull dynamic with periods of good engagement and poor engagement. Discussion of this dynamic adds nuance to established scholarship about engagement, including shifts over time in the importance of client empowerment and valued features of therapeutic relationships. Awareness and understanding of these concepts may guide changes to early intervention services and address the core issue of engagement.

All roads lead to medication? Qualitative responses from an Australian first-person survey of antipsychotic discontinuation.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of the survey was to better understand the experiences of people who attempt antipsychotic discontinuation. METHOD A multiple-choice and short-answer survey was distributed in 2011-2012 to potential participants involved in participating organizations. Respondents were asked about past discontinuation events, including decision negotiation and withdrawal experience. This article thematically analyses their free-text responses. RESULTS There were 98 valid surveys returned. Respondents highlighted the roles of the therapeutic alliance and health and illness explanatory models in understanding the context of discontinuation. Reported impacts of discontinuation were mixed and complex. Withdrawal syndromes were described by over half of the participants. Of the 98 respondents, 21 reported remaining antipsychotic-free at the time of survey completion. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Participant accounts highlight the importance of context and relationships in their thinking about antipsychotic discontinuation. Although results cannot necessarily be generalized, participant descriptions of withdrawal syndromes suggest there may be a need to improve education, monitoring, and support strategies for some people during discontinuation. Shifting toward a more collaborative, transparent, and service-user-driven approach to discontinuation may help to mitigate some of the negative discontinuation impacts identified. The polarized discontinuation outcomes described highlight the individuality of every participants recovery journey and the need to avoid generalizing about the role of antipsychotics in care.

Experiencing antipsychotic discontinuation: results from a survey of Australian consumers

Despite high reported rates of antipsychotic non-adherence, little is known about consumer experiences during discontinuation. This study was designed to increase understanding of antipsychotic discontinuation from consumer perspectives. In 2011-2012, 98 Australian consumers involved with participating organizations completed an anonymous survey detailing past antipsychotic discontinuation attempts. Of the 88 participants who reported at least one discontinuation attempt, over half (n = 47, 54.7%) reported stopping without clinician knowledge or support. This group was 35% (confidence interval 15.4-54.6%) more likely to stop abruptly than those (n = 41, 45.3%) stopping with clinician support (P = 0.002). Only 10 participants (23.3%) recalled being given information about discontinuation symptoms other than relapse; however, 68 participants (78.2%) reported experiencing a range of discontinuation symptoms including physical, cognitive, emotional, psychotic or sleep-related disturbances. Findings cannot be readily generalized because of sampling constraints. However, the significant number of participants who reported discontinuation symptoms, in addition to psychosis, is consistent with previous research. This study provides new insight into consumer motivations for discontinuation and possible problems in clinical communication that may contribute to frequent non-collaborative discontinuation attempts. Mental health nurses, who play a pivotal role in medication communication events, may benefit from increased awareness of consumer perspectives on this topic.Accessible summary The aim of the survey was to gain an understanding of consumer experiences of antipsychotic discontinuation. Incorporating consumer perspectives into practice may help clinicians to better understand discontinuation decisions and experiences. This topic may be of particular interest to mental health nurses who play an important role in supporting consumers with medication related decisions. The survey highlighted that consumers often try to discontinue antipsychotic medication, frequently without the knowledge or against the advice of clinicians. Consumers who discontinued in such unsupported ways appeared more likely to stop abruptly. Abrupt cessation has been associated with a number of increased risks in the literature. Negative discontinuation symptoms such as difficulty sleeping, mood changes, problems concentrating, increased psychotic experiences and physical problems were reported by more than half of the survey participants. Many consumers reported that they did not feel adequately informed about how to most safely stop or what to expect when stopping. These findings add new knowledge to our understanding of why consumers discontinue antipsychotics. The problems participants reported in their relationship with clinicians, in particular, helps to explain why so many consumers may stop in secret. The need to improve communication between consumers and clinicians around the common experience of antipsychotic discontinuation is highlighted. Findings also highlight the need to conduct further research into discontinuation symptoms and how clinicians might better educate and support consumers who are experiencing them. Abstract Despite high reported rates of antipsychotic non-adherence, little is known about consumer experiences during discontinuation. This study was designed to increase understanding of antipsychotic discontinuation from consumer perspectives. In 2011–2012, 98 Australian consumers involved with participating organizations completed an anonymous survey detailing past antipsychotic discontinuation attempts. Of the 88 participants who reported at least one discontinuation attempt, over half (n = 47, 54.7%) reported stopping without clinician knowledge or support. This group was 35% (confidence interval 15.4–54.6%) more likely to stop abruptly than those (n = 41, 45.3%) stopping with clinician support (P = 0.002). Only 10 participants (23.3%) recalled being given information about discontinuation symptoms other than relapse; however, 68 participants (78.2%) reported experiencing a range of discontinuation symptoms including physical, cognitive, emotional, psychotic or sleep-related disturbances. Findings cannot be readily generalized because of sampling constraints. However, the significant number of participants who reported discontinuation symptoms, in addition to psychosis, is consistent with previous research. This study provides new insight into consumer motivations for discontinuation and possible problems in clinical communication that may contribute to frequent non-collaborative discontinuation attempts. Mental health nurses, who play a pivotal role in medication communication events, may benefit from increased awareness of consumer perspectives on this topic.