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Overview of mental health issues --Is professional treatment necessar for mental health? --Should mental health professionals advocate for medication? --Can the stigma surrounding mental health be lifted? --Should annual mental health checkups be required?.

AbstractMental health has been a focus of over 200 journal articles using the HILDA Survey data. This brief review provides an overview of the mental health data collected through the HILDA Survey, and discusses the potential reasons why HILDA Survey data have been used so frequently in mental health research. We reflect on how the HILDA Survey data have: provided insights into the profile of mental health in the Australian community, illustrated the importance of social ties for mental health and enabled investigation of social inequalities in mental health.

A discussion of what is and what is not known in the relation between social values and personality points up the fact that 'except after the event, it is difficult to distinguish disorganization from reorganization.' The mental health movement was drawn into the power vacuum left by the passing dominance of the church. Its roots (starting in the industrial revolution) stem from the: (1) resultant focus of attention on the inner life; (2) emphasis and success in new methods of dealing with human problems; & (3) increased concern with mental health resulting from the existence of a movement directed to alleviate it. The mental health movement has remarkable parallels with the early Christian Church. It is increasingly called on to pronounce on moral questions but its approach to them differs profoundly from the church's, i.e., it is a 'mediator or interpreter of the scientific message rather than an opponent of it.' There is a latent schism within the movement in the differing positions as to ultimate values: (1) that mental hygienists are not concerned with ultimate values as such, functioning only at the means level; or (2) that it is the business of the hygienist to facilitate the search for ultimate values. The influence of the mental health movement on mental health is discussed with emphasis on the increased self-awareness of greater depth and accuracy which has resulted. It is suggested that the movement itself adopt this same self-consciousness with its attendant responsibility. D. Wolsk.

In 2010, I began a PhD study to examine how professionals and patients talked to, and about, each other in mental health institutions in Denmark. One year later, I found myself chain-smoking, dressed in baggy clothing, and slouching on a sofa in a closed psychiatric ward. I had not myself been hospitalized, but to get inside the contemporary psychiatric institution and to participate in the social world of patients and professionals, I had to experiment with different ethnographic approaches. Ethnographies of mental health have become increasingly rare, and much research on language in psychiatric institutions is done by interview research. My study involved observing and participating in the day-to-day life at two mental health facilities: an outpatient clinic and an inpatient closed ward. The case study provides an account of some of the specific methodological problems and unanticipated events that emerged in the course of the study. It discusses the particular challenges involved in negotiating access in a hierarchical and conflict-ridden setting with tangible power differences between professionals and patients. I pay particular attention to the positions that became available to the researcher during the study, and I discuss different strategies of access. The case also contains some practical advice and lessons learned to consider for new researchers and students looking to do ethnographies in institutional settings.

This introductory module describes the current global context of mental health. Beginning with an outline of the current burden of mental disorders, the module sets the stage by describing the historical background to the current situation and summarising recent developments in the understanding, treatment and care of people with mental disorders. An analysis is provided of trends in global health reform and their implications for mental health. To illustrate how these global trends can be addressed by governments, and to introduce the reader to the guidance package, a summary is then provided

This book explores social constructionism and the language of mental distress. Mental health research has traditionally been dominated by genetic and biomedical explanations that provide only partial explanations. However, process research that utilises qualitative methods has grown in popularity. Situated within this new strand of research, the authors examine and critically assess some of the different contributions that social constructionism has made to the study of mental distress and to how those diagnosed are conceptualized and labeled. This will be an invaluable introduction and source of practical strategies for academics, researchers and students as well as clinical practitioners, mental health professionals, and others working with mental health such as educationalists and social workers. Dr Michelle O'Reilly is a Senior Lecturer for the Greenwood Institute of Child Health at the University of Leicester, and Research Consultant for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. Dr Jessica Nina Lester is an Associate Professor of Inquiry Methodology in the School of Education at Indiana University, USA.

During research into mental health, a common theme is the needs of urban and rural communities. There are entire journals dedicated to the mental health needs of these groups. Some common problems faced in both areas are access to mental health services as well as value systems that create barriers to accepting mental health services. The struggle to accept the help from very limited and often underfunded mental health services provides a perfect storm for rampant mental health and drug abuse problems. This is a review the current literature regarding the mental health services and barriers in these communities to draw comparisons and similarities. A review of available research on the commonalities will be discussed as well as identifying gaps in available data. Exploration into each subgroup's similarities could provide a baseline for development of services to address both populations bilaterally. Due to the ever hostile political landscape, additional research regarding each group's perception of each other will be reviewed. A hypothesized additional impact to be aware of is a reduction of hostility between the groups through information provided to them about their similarities. This may be an important determining factor in providing care to each group through a centralized system that will overcome existing barriers.

Mental health service users and carers are increasingly involved in the planning and delivery of a mental health education that gives a ''real-life'' perspective to the practice of mental health care. Teaching and Learning about Mental Health is designed to teach and train new mental health workers, using an interdisciplinary approach