Academics at the University of Worcester have joined forces to write a book looking at key issues in mental health in order to guide tomorrow’s healthcare professionals.
The book, An Introduction to Mental Health is authored by Jo Augustus, Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for the Foundation Degree in Mental Health and is in collaboration with Justine Bold, Senior Lecturer in Nutritional Therapy, and Briony Williams, Principal Lecturer and Head of Department for Paramedic Science and Physician Associates.
The book, published by SAGE Publishing, introduces and explains basic concepts surrounding mental health, helping readers to understand the many different mental health conditions and the services available. It also encourages readers to see mental health problems from a holistic, rather than just a medical perspective.
It is largely aimed at students in healthcare studies but could also be useful for other healthcare professions. The book will be used on the University’s Foundation Degree in Mental Health and is being considered for use on a number of other health and social care related courses. These include Paramedic Science, where students’ future careers are likely to put them in contact with service users with mental health problems.
“Mental health is a growing concern within many healthcare roles,” said Ms Augustus. “One-in-four individuals will experience a mental health difficulty in their lifetime, there is therefore an increasing need for individuals to access services. Because there is a greater demand, this will put pressure on wider service providers to meet the need. This is likely to affect people working on the ground, dealing with these cases, such as paramedics.”
Ms Augustus said she was aware there was a gap in the market for a book that did not approach the topic from a purely medical perspective. The book addresses topics including the history of mental health, criteria for diagnoses, mental health law and policy, intervention, ethical practice, nutrition and lifestyle factors and the influence of society on mental health. A unique selling point is the book’s exploration of how mental health is treated internationally, in countries including Belgium, China and Argentina. It explains theories and uses anonymous case studies to bring the theories to life, helping to make it real for students.
“Good mental health is multi-faceted, it’s about the person and it is about support structures around them,” said Ms Augustus. “It could be about their history or their present - they may have had a difficult childhood or poor education experience that has brought them to the point where they are engaging in unhelpful behaviours.”
She added: “There is a lot of misunderstanding of the law concerning mental health. As professionals we need to understand how that can support individuals but how the law might affect them. It is about looking at the whole person.”
The book is designed to show students the wide variety of routes available in to the field of mental health care, alongside nursing; such as counselling and social work.