Mental Health Practice Standards

• National Practice Standards for the Mental Health Workforce 2013 is built upon the National Mental Health Strategy

Preamble

• Provides an introduction to the practice standards and describes their history and scope
• Summarizes the review process and elucidates both the purpose of the practice standards and their intended audience
• Details how these practice standards integrate with discipline-specific and service standards

Values and Attitudes

• The intent is to clarify how mental health practitioners should use their skills and knowledge while working with with people, families, carers and communities
• Highlights the values and attitudes expected of all workers relative to their practice

Practice Standards

• Establishes that these guideline are meant for all disciplines working in mental health
• Consists of 13 guidelines that are intended to cover all the common skills for mental health practitioners
• Clarifies the requirements for knowledge and skills that are needed for each standard in order to meet the required level of practice.

Introduction

• Mental health services are vital to the health system and the engagement of the practitioner and the user is at the center of mental health service delivery
• Australian governments are dedicated to strengthening the mental health workforce, understanding they are the primary strength of the system
• Supporting practitioners by developing their skills, knowledge, and attitudes is critical to service quality and worker retention
• The workforce plays a vital role in improving health and community outcomes, even while working in the mental health sector can be beneficial and challenging.

History and Scope

• This document is the successor to the National Practice Standards for the Mental Health Workforce (2002)
• The original standards applied to nursing, occupational therapy, psychiatry, psychology, and social work

Revised Practice Standards

• Complement discipline-specific standards
• Address shared knowledge and skills required in interdisciplinary environments
• Makes the capabilities that all mental health professionals should achieve in their work explicit

Changes in Mental Health over 10 Years

• Increased service provision in the community
• Expansion of the non-government and private sectors
• Greater focus on the role of the primary care sector in mental health
• Apply to workers in various healthcare settings including hospitals, community mental health services, and correctional facilities
• Includes metropolitan, regional and remote areas across Australia
• Standards relate to mental health practice across the lifespan, including services for children, young people, adults, and older people

Purpose and Audience

• Intended in order to strengthen the workforce and outline the values, attitudes, knowledge and skills required
• Implementation is intended to promote a co-ordinated and consistent approach to professional development and service improvement.

Entry Level Practitioners

• Practitioners new to mental health and recent graduates are encouraged to use the standards
• It is intended workers should meet the requirements of the revised practice standards in their first two years

Experienced Practitioners

• Should use the practice standards to review their methods against modern expectations
• Changes in the service system, community and national directions are all critical to contemporary practice.

Education and Training

• The revised practice standards provide a guide for education and training for all curricula
• Government, professional bodies, health services and education providers share a mutual interest in developing competent beginning practitioners

Mental Health Services

• Continued education in the work place assists in the expansion of workers skills and knowledge over time.
• Service managers should express expectations of how a worker is meant to act as well as give opportunities for the proper education, training and support to meet the standards.

Review Process

• In November 2011, the Health Workforce Principal Committee (HWPC) advocated for a review in order to modernize the National Practice Standards for the Mental Health Workforce (2002)
• The Mental Health Workforce Advisory Committee (MHWAC) was given funding by the Department of Health and Ageing to manage the review.
• Oversight rests with a Steering Committee chaired by Health Workforce Australia (HWA)
• An expert group and project steering committee were created to oversee the review and included representatives from professional bodies, consumer groups, government and the private sector
• Precision Consultancy undertook the national consultation process, which provided key feedback on the standards.

Language

• Important in shaping and framing concepts
• Draws on recovery approaches and uses descriptors such as person and people with lived experience, rather than terms such as consumers or service users
• Uses the terms family and support networks to include family members, carers, partners, significant others, friends and anyone whose relationship with the person is primary

Mental Health and Involuntary Care

• Some people experience services on an involuntary basis and can create tension in regards to upholding human rights
• It is the role of practitioners to ensure that the relevant regional/national mental health legislation is observed
• Moving to less restrictive care, and minimizing the use of involuntary means, is the desired goal while upholding the important values and attitudes laid out in the document

Principles of Recovery-Oriented Mental Health Practice

• Principles state that recovery means gaining and retaining hope, understanding of ones abilities and disabilities, engagement in an active life, personal autonomy, social identity, meaning and purpose in life, and a positive sense of self.
• It refers to both internal conditions experienced by persons who describe themselves as being in recovery- hope, healing, empowerment and connection—and external conditions that facilitate recovery—implementation of human rights, a positive culture of healing, and recovery-oriented services
• Aimed at ensuring that service is being delivered in a way that will support the recovery of mental health consumers.

Alignment with Complementary Standards

• Intended to complement discipline-specific contributions of each profession
• Helps address the shared knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes required while working in an interdisciplinary mental health environment.

Using the Practice Standards

• Aimed at individuals, agencies/services, professional bodies, education/training providers
• It is the responsibility for the aforementioned entities to encourage incorporation of the outlined guidance into routine practice.

Develop Standards of Practice

• Provide a practical framework for both new and experienced professionals working in the mental health sector
• Can be used as a benchmark for increasing the quality of practice in mental health care and offers a tool for managers in business planning and development.

Values

• Respect, respect the cultures of people, families and carers
• Advocacy, striving to improve human rights
• Recovery, support and uphold principles of the National standards
• Working in partnership, maintenance of safe and professional and authentic safe support
• Excellence, belief that the quality in service delivered in enhances in working.

Rights, responsibilities, safety and privacy

• Maintain an individual's confidentiality
• Providing care in the boundaries of the law
• Always considering an individuals human rights
• Providing clear information on the rights people have

Working with people and carers

• Involve all individuals in any decisions regarding their mental health
• Express hope and optimism
• Respect family members/carers
• Acknowledge the impact of the persons mental health circumstances on family and carers.

Meeting Diverse Needs

• Support for any individuals cultural identity for mental stability
• Understanding the way in which cultural impact may impact the way in which individuals seek care and treatment from facilities
• Implement cultural practices

Health Promotion and Prevention

• Address social determinants of health, address stigmas against mental health
• Reduce discriminations
• Promote and build mental health and resilience across the lifespan.

Individual Planning

• Explain a right to confidentiality
• Allow the readiness to engage with services.
• A consideration for limitations in areas such as: child protection, legal concerns and others.
• Document comprehensive mental health assessments including mental state examinations.

Treatment and Support

• Advising people and family of their right to consent for treatments
• Creating and outlining the range of plans, implements and safe interventions
• Identifying and delivering any interventions that may derive from the following. Such as cognitive and behavioral practices/treatments