Mental Health Unit 1

Define WHO’s description of health

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Explain how health can be dynamic and subjective

Dynamic: in a constant state of change, changes can occur slowly or quickly. e.g. a person could be in optimal condition however contract an infectious disease, making them sick.

Subjective: Health means different things so different people. e.g. an elderly person may think they have good health and wellbeing because they are able to live with themselves.

Name the dimensions of health

• physical

• mental

• social

• emotional

• spiritual

Dimensions of health - social

• ability to form meaningful and satisfying relationships with others

• be able to manage and adapt appropriately to different social settings

Dimensions of health - physical

• refers to the functioning of the body and its systems

• includes physical capacity to perform daily tasks and activities

Dimensions of health - mental

• refers to the state of a person’s mind and ability to think and process information

• Every person experiences a level of mental health and wellbeing that can vary by day.

• ‘Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.’ (WHO)

Dimensions of health - spiritual

• relates to ideas, beliefs, values and ethics that arise in the mind and conscience of human beings.

• includes concepts of hope, peace, guiding sense of belonging and placement within the world

Dimensions of health - emotional

• relates to the ability to express emotions and feelings in a positive way.

Characteristics of physical health

Characteristics of social health

Characteristics of emotional health

Characteristics of mental health

Characteristics of spiritual health

When to use dimensions of health into response

• Any time you see Health or Health and Wellbeing being used in a question or example, you must refer to a dimension

• E.g. A basketball injury such as a sprained ankle can affect someone's mental health. The injury may mean that they can not play games or join in training. This break in playing could lead to the person having reduced levels of confidence about their skills and abilities

How does culture relate to mental health?

• Different cultures have different ways of understanding and explaining mental health and wellbeing, making the mix between mental health and culture is complex. 

  • You might come from a culture where mental health and wellbeing are not talked about openly, not well understood or differs from the view of others. 

  • Your culture may use different language to describe mental health and wellbeing.

  • For example, some cultures see mental health through a medical lens. Others see it as a reflection of spiritual and religious beliefs. For some it’s all about a sense of belonging. 

The graph below shows the percentage of U.S adults that received help from mental health services in 2019 compared to 2008 and the perceived level of unmet need (people who did not receive support. Using data, outline a trend in the graph and explain what this shows

E.g. commenting on how the differences in cultural beliefs on mental health shape the prevalence of individuals seeking support. A trend is that the recognition of mental health has increased from 2018 to 2019 for all kinds of races, however those with 2 or more races and caucasian people receive the most mental health support in relation to other races (done by ratio)

• The greatest increases in receipt of care were among White (from 16.1% to 19.8%), Hispanic and Latino (6.8% to 9.7%), and Asian populations (4.5% to 7.0%).

• The greatest increase in perceived unmet need was among individuals of two or more races (5.9%) followed by Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (3.9%), Hispanic or Latino (2.9%), and Asian populations (2.7%).

• The percentage of Asian populations receiving health services is nearly the lowest of all of the racial and ethnic groups, and yet this group also reports the lowest perceived unmet need for these services.

• In 2019, the highest percentage of adults with perceived unmet need was among those who identify as being of two or more races (11.6%), followed by White (7.1%), American Indian and Alaskan Native (7.0%), and Hispanic or Latino populations (6.2%).

How do beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviours interconnect?

• Our ideas of typical/our assumptions (beliefs) of what is normal form the standard for what is good/acceptable (values)

• E.g. believing that a mentally healthy person should be calm all the time. Values: you highly prioritise efficient communication, rational thinking over distress.

• Our standards (values) influence one’s mindset (attitude), becoming embedded into language used.

• E.g. you value individuality, and develop a negatively defensive attitude towards those who advocate for uniformity —> labels of “subservience”, “docile” instead of “nervous” “cooperation”

• Attitudes present in mindset and language dictate how you act and subconsciously seek comfort in similar behaviours and reject unfamiliar ones.

• E.g. spending less time with someone, minimise eye contact with those who are ‘difficult’, and gravitate towards others with same behaviours.

Define unconscious bias

• also known as ‘hidden bias’

• they refer to attitudes, assumptions and patterns of perceptions, beliefs that influence our thinking in our sub conscious.

• These biases are automatic, often based on societal stereotypes and cultural conditioning.

• Overcoming => more self awareness.

What are examples of unconscious bias

• gender bias

• racial bias

• age bias

• weight bias

• beauty bias

• halo effect bias

What are the three principles that unconscious bias are informed by?

1. Stereotypes: assuming all people of a particular group are the same. E.g. ‘Black’ people are African-American

2. Media: biases are reinforced through discriminatory portrayal. E.g. a person of colour murdered by the police must have been involved in illegal acts.

3. Environment: if environments don’t include a diverse demographic (especially minority groups), negative biases are created and maintained.

linguistic repertoire and codes

Linguistic repertoire

• total collection of languages, dialects, styles and registers that a person or community knows and can use.

• The more ways of communicating a person has access to, the larger their linguistic repertoire.

Codes

• Refer to the different ways people can communicate with each other (e.g. a code can be a specific language, tone, regional dialect)

• Codes make up a person’s linguistic repertoire 

• Each code has particular language features associated with it 

  • E.g. jargon, slang, acronyms, phrases, elevated language

Code Switching

• Is the process of shifting from one linguistic code to another, depending on the social context or conversational setting.

• We all have access to a variety of codes and they will each have a place where they are the most appropriate way to communicate

Categories of Codes

 

Register	Sociolect	Ethnolects
The level and style of formality a person communicates with	Varieties of dialects used by particular social groups, class age groups, professions.	Varieties of dialects that relate to a particular ethnic or cultural group

Outline the formalities within register:

Formal Language: commonly used at school and in professional settings e.g. jargon, elevated and technical lang.

Informal Language: commonly used in casual settings amongst friends/family. e.g. abbreviations, profanity, slang

Examples of sociolects

Teen speak: amongst teens on social media, in school, at home

features: uses emojis, acronyms, slang, informal language

Medic speak: amongst colleagues, in hospitals, clinics

features: uses technical language, jargon, formal langauge.

Keep in mind, sociolects are unique to groups, and every sociolect can have a range of registers in them.

Examples of ethnolects

Aboriginal English: Variety of english spoken by First Nations people in Australia

Language features: borrowed words (deadly), honorifics from another language (aunty).

Vietnamese English: Variety of english commonly adopted by Vietnamese Australians.

Language features: code switching from Vietnamese and English terms, certain words have different connotations.

Purpose of code-switching

• to adapt to audience and social context of the situation

• can more easily find common ground and connect to others through communication

• to maintain privacy

• show solidarity to cultural/social group

• fitting in, gaining acceptance - navigating power dynamics

Benefits of code switching

• connect to others more easily, audience adaptation

• maintain cultural legacy

• identity affirmation

• Clearer expression e.g. there are certain terms that can’t be translated

• feel a sense of belonging

How can access to the appropriate code impact one’s:

• understanding of mental health 

• their ability to identify their own mental health status

Positive outcomes of access:

• having access means individuals can better understand mental health topics

• Assist them into understanding their mental health status and needs

• Take away the stigma and shame regarding mental health

Negative outcomes when unable to access:

• understanding of mental health is inhibited as code is not accessible

• making it difficult to understand their needs surrounding their conditions and knowing their mental health status.

How can access to a variety of codes focused on mental health impact an individual's’ ability to communicate regarding their mental health?

Having Access: foster effective communication around mental health status and needs, fully understanding the situation culturally, socially medically etc, can better express internal experiences

• E.g. using mental health jargon in when accessing wellbeing support, using a more comfortable informal code with friends.

Without Access: inhibit effective communication regarding mental health status and needs, cultural phrases may not be understood leasing to unclear articulation, unable to accurately express distress.

• E.g. Not having the appropriate language to communicate experience anxiety with families or friends

What is Compassion

Having a deep awareness to the suffering of others and having a strong desire to relieve and support them.

Compare and contrast compassion and empathy:

Differences - Compassion: there is a desire to help alleviate someone’s distress involved in the emotional experience

Differences - Empathy: refers to the active sharing in the emotional experience of the other person (stepping into their shoes).

Similarities: Both are caring responses with the purpose of supporting others in distress.

Why is compassion important in resolving conflict?

• In all personal and professional settings, managing conflict is a crucial skill

• To absolutely resolve conflict, there must be compassion and curiosity practiced from both sides.

Define Compassionate Curiosity

• Having a genuine, empathetic interest in understanding the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of others, even for differing perspectives.

• Goes beyond mere tolerance or passive acceptance involving active engagement with people and ideas that challenge our preconceived notions. - Dr Heriot-Maitland (researcher and clinical psychologist)

Elements of compassionate curiosity:

Empathy - ability to understand, share experiences, emotions of others

Open-mindedness - being judgement and preconceptions-free

Willingness to listen - positive body language, active listening

Asking Questions - genuine, meant to facilitate articulation, understanding

Impacts of compassionate curiosity

• fosters connection - by creating an environment of connection and belonging, people feel heard and understood —> will open up and engage in meaningful conversations.

• reduces conflict - approaching differing views with curiosity and not defensiveness will not escalate arguments.

• encourages growth - gives people space to grow, have nuanced insights from diverse experiences

• strengthens relationships - validates the perspectives of others, better connection and communication = better understanding of each other, more trust and respect.

Steps to solve conflict with compassionate curiosity - 1

1. Acknowledge and validate emotions you perceive in the other person and yourself: compassion component that lowers emotional defenses, creates a safe space for dialogue.

   Example Phrase

   "I can see this issue is really frustrating for you, and it makes sense why you'd feel that way right now."

Steps to solve conflict with compassionate curiosity - 2

2. Get Curious with Compassion: Once emotions are acknowledged, use non-judgmental questions to gather information and uncover the underlying needs or beliefs driving their position. This is the curiosity component.

Example Phrase

"What is the most important outcome you hope for, and how did you determine this?”

Steps to solve conflict with compassionate curiosity - 3

3. Engage in joint problem solving: After validating their feelings and understanding their core needs, the final step is to collaborate and find a solution that addresses both parties' needs.

   Example Phrase:

   "Now that I understand that your main concern is [State their need], what are some options we could explore to meet that, while also addressing [State your need]?"

Checkpoints for effective and positive conflict resolution:

Do:

• Use personal observation, experience

• Be objective and specific

• Explain the impact or potential impact 

• Remain open and curious

• Assume positive intent

Don’t:

• Try not to rely on hearsay

• Leave people inferring the meaning of your words

• Form a fixed view about the other person’s intentions

• Tell others about your conversation

Debriefing definition:

• Having a general discussion about an incident.

• Should occur soon after incident.

• Can be done alone, or with someone else.

Debriefing benefits:

• Provides individuals/groups the time to reflect in incident which can reduce stress

• Can better understand the incident as a whole - gain a more objective perspective

• Can result in constructive feedback to improve experiences and handling of situation

• Allows people to learn and grow from mistakes, gain more confidence in handling incidences, have more insight on others.

Key points covered in a debrief:

1. Facts: gather a clear timeline of the events, who was involved, when, where?

E.g. “Can you please tell me what happened?”

2. Reflection: project that possibly what led to it, regulate and recognise emotions.

E.g. “How did this make you feel?”

3. Actions: what will be the specific response - where, by whom, when?

E.g. “How can we move on from here?”

4. Feedback Loop: Complete agreed actions, maintain confidentiality

E.g. Your privacy is important, I will only discuss this with people who need to know.