Kim Robinson

Mental Health: Facing the Challenges, Building Solutions

The constructive involvement of all actors, including persons with mental disabilities themselves, their families, politicians, the legal and medical professions and NGOs is vital. These actors are partners, not antagonists, and they all have a contribution to make. (Conclusion 13 from a seminar organised by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, hosted by the WHO Regional Office for Europe in February 2003 [p123])

Supervision Found Wanting: Experiences of Health and Social Workers in Non-Government Organisations Working with Refugees and Asylum Seekers

This paper explores the role and function of supervision, a neglected topic in research on social work with refugees and asylum seekers. Using semi-structured interviews with health and social workers, supervision arrangements in non-government organisations (NGOs) in Australia and the UK are examined in the context of entitlement reductions and restricted access to services and support for service users. The comparative research highlights the demanding and ethically challenging nature of the work, and the impact on health and social workers of exposure to the narratives of refugees and asylum seekers subject to human rights abuses. Overall, there was found to be an inconsistent approach to supervision across the NGOs in the study, which failed to adequately address the demanding nature of the work. Where supervision was not provided, it placed the well-being of health and social workers at risk and reduced the effectiveness of their interventions. In conclusion, the paper develops an agenda for improving the support of health and social workers working with refugees and asylum seekers in NGOs in Australia and the UK.

'It's No Life, This Fear' Women's Experiences of Services when in situations of Family Violence

This study examines the experiences of women who have been in situations of family violence, and identifies the barriers they faced when seeking assistance from a variety of services. The research aims to contribute to the knowledge base of the health, social welfare, legal and policing services which respond to calls for assistance from women faced with family violence. The service system is varied in how it conceptualizes family violence, and in the aims of the services it provides. The research reports that the service system does not always meet the needs of victim/survivors, and reveals that service providers are often ill equipped to deal with the complexity of violence. Due to the length of waiting lists and the quality of interventions women experienced particular difficulty in accessing advice based services. A number of recommendations are made for improvements in services.