Reference no: EM133907647 , Length: word count:1000

Exploring Mental Health Through a Personal Lens

Purpose:
This task is designed to provide you the opportunity to explore personal and cultural truths related to your values, attitudes and beliefs of mental illness. This will help build your ability to develop self-awareness and increase your confidence when working with people with a lived experience of mental illness:

You will explore the impact of mental health stigma by reflecting on the following 2 videos . Each of these videos portray the real experience people with a lived experience of mental illness being at the receiving end of stigma from health professionals .

Video 1: Mental health patients feel stigmatisedLinks to an external site.
Video 2: Stigma in the Workforce

Steps you are required to take:

Critically examine the videos and discuss the following:

Consider relevant theories undertaken in the first weeks content (Tutorials 1 & 2) and critically discuss the key concepts identified in the videos

What insights did you gain about your own values, attitudes and beliefs when undertaking the tutorial activities and reflecting on the videos?

What will you change, or develop to support your practice as a future Registered Nurse in delivering care to people experiencing mental health issues.

Ensure all arguments and opinions are supported by relevant and high quality literature. Referencing and in-text referencing is required using the APA 7th Edition Style author-date referencing system.

Understanding Concepts in Mental Health

Activity 1
Read Chapter 1, Mental Health Care: Introduction for healthcare professionals, by Hungerford et al. (2024). In one sentence, write down the main idea of the chapter

Review the PowerPoint presentation :Supporting people with lived experience of mental illnessDownload Supporting people with lived experience of mental illness

Activity 2
Below is an example of a Mental Health Continuum model, which is one way to think about mental health, helping us to define different mental health states.

Based on this model, how would you define Mental health? Think about a time when you or someone you know moved along the mental health continuum from well-being to a more impaired level of functioning or vice versa. What life stressors or situations contributed to this shift, and how did you/they manage these changes? Boost your grades with expert assignment help today!

Imagine you or someone close to you is diagnosed with a mental illness. What kind of experiences do you think you/your friend would be having at this point? How might these affect your/their every day life and how might this differ from having a physical illness?

What are some personal factors that might protect a person's mental health and build resilience ie adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, or significant stress. It doesn't mean avoiding distress or "bouncing back" instantly-it means learning how to navigate challenges in ways that protect mental wellbeing.?

What personal or external factors might increase a person's vulnerability and put their mental health at risk ?

Activity 3

Identify and list three commonly used labels or terms that have historically been associated with individuals who have lived experiences of mental illness. Why should they be avoided? What alternative, respectful and empowering language could be used instead?

Consider the common myths about mental health that you've encountered, such as "mental illness is a life sentence" or "people with mental illness are violent. Where might these myths have come from? What is the impact they can have on individuals who are living with mental health challenges, their families and carers? How do these myths shape the attitudes of healthcare professionals and the general public toward mental illness? What strategies will you employ to challenge these misconceptions?

Identify the cultural or societal influence that have shaped your experience of mental health or illness? Consider things like family expectations, stigma, coping skills, social connection, trauma, or community support.

Research the different types of stigma experienced in society . Be prepared to discuss in class.
Watch the following video below about breaking the stigma around children`s mental health.

Prevalence of Mental Illness in Australia

Activity 4

In this activity, you will reflect on the prevalence of mental illness in Australia and the critical need to integrate mental health care into your everyday nursing practice. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), nearly 1 in 5 Australians experience mental health conditions each year. Understanding this relationship is essential in providing holistic care. The graph below from Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) highlights connection between physical and mental health.

Why is it important as Registered Nurse to learn about mental health and mental illness and be able to implement mental health care into your everyday practice.

Tutorial 2: Pre- Tutorial Activities

Working in a Recovery oriented practice

Activity 1.

Watch the following video explaining the Recovery approach. Although this video is from the USA, the approach is very similar here in Australia (5 minutes)

What surprised you about the definition of "Recovery" in mental health care presented in the video? How does this meaning differ from the biomedical perspective to Recovery?

How will you incorporate a strengths-based approach in your nursing practice to support recovery of individuals with mental illness.

Why are carers an important part of of the recovery model of care?

Activity 2
Consider the following terminology often used in health care practice . They do not reflect a person centered approach and can perpetuate the stigma of mental illness:
non-compliant
high risk
schizophrenic
frequent flyer
Rewrite each phrase in a recovery-oriented, person-first language-and explain why this shift is important.

Activity 3
Watch the following two videos from people describing their personal experience of recovery and use this to help you begin thinking about how you would define recovery in preparation for the tutorial :

Using a Trauma Informed approach in Health care

People with complex histories of childhood abuse, neglect, or insecure attachment commonly exhibit behavioural patterns, such as substance misuse, dissociation, intentional self-injury, risky or compulsive sexual behaviours, food bingeing and purging, compulsive gambling, compulsive shoplifting, reaction aggression, thrill- or sensation-seeking behaviours, compulsive skin picking and hair pulling, fire-setting or extensive preoccupation with internet activities (Briere, 2019, pp.7-8). Health professionals must understand the correlations between complex trauma and maladaptive coping behaviours to minimise the risk of stigmatising or ‘labelling' the person, and reducing the person's risk of harm or risk of entering the criminal justice system. Understanding such correlations will enable health professionals to give the person the best possible support and care.

Activity 4
A trauma informed approach is useful when caring for individuals with mental health concerns. Watch the following video to gain a deeper understanding of Trauma informed care. Although this video is from the USA, most of the ideas apply to Australia (4min)

As a nurse, how will you incorporate trauma informed principles into your daily practice, especially when interacting with people who have mental health concerns?

Research how maladaptive coping behaviours sometimes exhibited by people who have experienced complex childhood trauma help them to reduce their feelings of distress? Be prepared to share in class.