MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE AGENCY EVALUATION 1

Evaluation of Mental Health Service Agency

Rohit Choudhary

Stott's College

COU303 Supervision and Debriefing

Dr. Judy Esmond

July. 22, 2020.

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Introduction

World Health Organisation defined mental health as “a state of well-being in which

the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can

work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”

(Galderisi et al., 2015). Mental health has been one of the most important healthcare issues in

Australia for a long time. In the national health survey, Australian Bureau of Statistics (2018)

found out that 4.8 million Australian are suffering through mental health issues. The total cost

of mental health is estimated to be around $56.7 billion annually (Cook, 2019; National

Mental Health Commission, 2016). Furthermore, a report by Australian Institute of Health

and Welfare (2020) shows that the total government and non-government spending on mental

health was $9.9 billion in 2017-18. This amounts to $400 per person per year.

There are a range of organisations providing mental health services in Australia. One

such organisation is SANE Australia that works nationally to provide national health services

and advocacy. SANE Australia is a mental health organisation that does charity based work

involving advocacy, research, and support in order to make a difference in the life of people

going through complex mental health issues (“About SANE Australia”, 2016). This report

will evaluate the clinical practices and service delivery of SANE Australia.

Evaluation of SANE Australia Services

SANE Australia provides a range of services for the people suffering through

complex mental illnesses and trauma. Some of its services are discusses as follows.

The Dax Centre

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The Dax Centre provides opportunities to the artists who have lived experiences of

trauma and mental illnesses to have a creative outlet through art, all the while increasing

public awareness of mental illness to foster change, and attempt to remove stigma around

mental health issues with the help of art ("The Dax Centre: About Us", 2016). SANE

Australia encourages people with mental illness to express themselves through art and holds

exhibitions to display the artwork made by these artists. This is an effective way of helping

people combat complex mental illness problems. Research shows that creative art therapy has

been an effective tool for people suffering from severe mental illness. Chiang et al. (2019)

highlight that literature in the field suggests that such interventions have low risk and high

benefits associated with them and they help the individuals maximize their functioning and

minimizing their symptoms. Lomas (2016) also found benefits for artistic expression and

appreciation for people suffering through mental illnesses as “sense-making, enriching

experience, aesthetic appreciation, entertainment, and bonding” (p. 171). Thus, the current

literature supports the approach taken by The Dax Centre program by SANE Australia.

Online Forums, Online Counselling, and Phone Counselling

SANE Australia also provides its services online through online counselling, forums,

and through peer support ("Phone, Online Counselling & Peer Support", 2020). This includes

a wide range of services where they not only guide people about resources and connections,

but also provide online counselling through phone and internet. These services are helpful for

people during the time of covid-19 related lockdowns and quarantines because people can

access help without leaving their homes. Other than that, service delivery through online

channels are popular means of seeking help for younger individuals, as confirmed by many

research studies (Barak & Dolev-Cohen, 2006; Prescott et al., 2019). This mode of service

delivery is especially helpful for adolescents seeking therapy and help while living with
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cancer (Elwell et al., 2010). The lived experience forums provided by SANE Australia are

moderated by mental health professionals 24/7 and they provide a safe space for individuals

suffering from complex mental illnesses and trauma to talk about their experiences and find

support with the help of other people who have had the same experiences.

SANE Stigma Watch

One of the most prominent services provided by SANE Australia is Stigma Watch.

The idea behind Stigma Watch is described as a way “to promote responsible reporting of

mental illness and suicide in the Australian media” (“Stigma Watch”, 2019). This program

aimed to remove stigma around mental health by providing feedback and helping media

professionals across Australia to improve the language and portrayal of various mental

illnesses in media. They help media professionals in responsibly reporting and portraying

suicide and mental illness (“Stigma Watch”, 2019). Stuart et al. (2020) acknowledged and

praised SANE Australia for its Stigma Watch program in helping improve the way mental

illness is portrayed in the media. It is important to remove stigma from media about mental

illnesses because wrongful portrayal can have dire consequences of people living with such

alignments (Henderson & Gronholm, 2018). In fact, research has shown that mass media

interventions can be useful in combating and reducing stigma around mental illnesses

(Clement et al., 2013).

Support for Friends and Family

Another important service provided by SANE Australia is the support program for

friends and family of individuals who have complex chronic mental illnesses and trauma. The

program aims towards providing mental health support to the friends and family and to help

them understand and devise better coping mechanisms so that not only their own mental

health flourishes but they can be provide effective support to the individuals living with
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mental illnesses. Family and friends of those with severe mental illness often have to face a

lot of pressure and do substantial amount of emotional labour (Ebrahimi et al., 2018). Recent

research supports counselling for friends and family of those living with several mental

illness and trauma (Bellesheim, 2016).

Conclusion

SANE Australia is a charity based organisation that provides a range of services for

mental health patients and does advocacy work for removing the stigma around mental

illnesses across Australia through media and other channels. The service delivery and clinical

practices of this organisation were evaluated in this report. The service delivery methods and

the ways they provide support and intervention to the different affect groups has been

validated by the current research in the field. The organisation has done excellent work in

reducing stigma around mental illnesses in Australian media. It has also done commendable

work in providing support to the affected individuals and their friends and family through

different modes such as art, online forums, phone counselling, etc. The methods employed by

the organisation seem to be evidence-based and have been found to be validated by the

current literature in the field.

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References

About SANE Australia. SANE Australia. (2016). Retrieved 22 July 2020, from

https://www.sane.org/about-sane.

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2018). National Health Survey: first results, 2017‐18.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2020). Mental health services in Australia,

Expenditure on mental health-related services - Australian Institute of Health and

Welfare. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved 22 July 2020, from

https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mental-health-services/mental-health-services-in-

australia/report-contents/expenditure-on-mental-health-related-services?

request=smoothstate.

Barak, A., & Dolev-Cohen, M. (2006). Does activity level in online support groups for

distressed adolescents determine emotional relief. Counselling And Psychotherapy

Research, 6(3), 186-190. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733140600848203

Bellesheim, K. (2016). Ethical Challenges and Legal Issues for Mental Health Professionals

Working With Family Caregivers of Individuals With Serious Mental Illness. Ethics

& Behavior, 26(7), 607-620. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2015.1130097

Clement, S., Lassman, F., Barley, E., Evans-Lacko, S., Williams, P., & Yamaguchi, S. et al.

(2013). Mass media interventions for reducing mental health-related

stigma. Cochrane Database Of Systematic Reviews, (7).

https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd009453.pub2

Cook, L. (2019). Mental health in Australia: a quick guide. Parliament of Australia, 14.

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Chiang, M., Reid-Varley, W., & Fan, X. (2019). Creative art therapy for mental

illness. Psychiatry Research, 275, 129-136.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2019.03.025

Ebrahimi, H., Seyedfatemi, N., Namdar Areshtanab, H., Ranjbar, F., Thornicroft, G.,

Whitehead, B., & Rahmani, F. (2018). Barriers to Family Caregivers’ Coping With

Patients With Severe Mental Illness in Iran. Qualitative Health Research, 28(6), 987-

1001. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732318758644

Elwell, L., Grogan, S., & Coulson, N. (2010). Adolescents Living with Cancer. Journal Of

Health Psychology, 16(2), 236-248. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105310371398

Galderisi, S., Heinz, A., Kastrup, M., Beezhold, J., & Sartorius, N. (2015). Toward a new

definition of mental health. World Psychiatry, 14(2), 231-233.

https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20231

Henderson, C., & Gronholm, P. (2018). Mental Health Related Stigma as a ‘Wicked

Problem’: The Need to Address Stigma and Consider the

Consequences. International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public

Health, 15(6), 1158. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15061158

Holmqvist, G., Roxberg, Å., Larsson, I., & Lundqvist-Persson, C. (2017). What art therapists

consider to be patient’s inner change and how it may appear during art therapy. The

Arts In Psychotherapy, 56, 45-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2017.07.005

Lomas, T. (2016). Positive Art: Artistic Expression and Appreciation as an Exemplary

Vehicle for Flourishing. Review Of General Psychology, 20(2), 171-182.

https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000073
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National Mental Health Commission. (2016). The economic cost of physical ill-health and

serious mental illness. National Mental Health Commission. Retrieved 22 July 2020,

from https://www.mentalhealthcommission.gov.au/news/2016/april/economic-cost-

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Phone, Online Counselling & Peer Support. SANE. (2020). Retrieved 24 July 2020, from

https://www.sane.org/services/help-centre/content/2.

Prescott, J., Hanley, T., & Ujhelyi Gomez, K. (2019). Why do young people use online

forums for mental health and emotional support? Benefits and challenges. British

Journal Of Guidance & Counselling, 47(3), 317-327.

https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2019.1619169

Stigma Watch. SANE. (2019). Retrieved 22 July 2020, from

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Stuart, H., Linden, B., & Sartorius, N. (2020). Stigma: An Old Unmet Need in Psychiatric

Practice. New Directions In Psychiatry, 205-230. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-

42637-8_13

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