- Internal Code :
- Subject Code : COU202A
- University : torrens university
- Subject Name : Mental health
Table of contents
Introduction
Describe the biopsychosocial model currently underpinning mental health provision in Australia
How are complementary and alternative treatments for mental health understood in Australian Society
What intervention might you as a therapist use with a client with anxiety and depression
Conclusion
Reference list
Introduction
Biopsychosocial Model which relates to the medical condition of the patient related to both physical, social, and psychological condition of the patient. The mental health of the patient is related to how the person is feeling, thinking and behaving with others. It is the spectrum of various disorders which is varying from low to severe conditions and the change from low to severe condition is fast (Australian Government Department of Health, 2020). In Australia alone, almost half of the residents of Australia who are belonging to the age of 16 to 80 are suffering from some sort of illness at some or other point in their life (Australian Government Department of Health, 2020). Furthermore, half of the population is also suffering from anxiety in their lifetime. The primary purpose of the study is to understand the biopsychosocial model in Australian perspectives, the use of complementary and alternative treatment in Australia and how they are involved in the Australian society and finally the treatment which can be intervened when a patient is suffering from anxiety and depression.
Describe the Biopsychosocial Model Currently Underpinning Mental Health Provision in Australia
The biopsychosocial model was first conceptualised by George Engel in the year 1977 (George and Engel, 1980). According to George Engel, the medical condition of the patient is not only dependent on the biological factor but also the psychological and the social factors which are involved. One of the areas where the model is most commonly used is in context of chronic pain. The primary view is that the pain is related to the psychosociological behavioural pattern and the behaviour can be categorised in terms of psychological, biological and social factors. Below is the diagram which illustrates the model of psychosocial.
The psychotherapist should be aware of the psychosocial factors which are affecting the patients with proper interaction. Moreover, it also helps in understanding the condition of the patients. This helps in creating a proper basis for effective planning for the intervention program of the patients further (Australian Government Department of Health, 2020).
When a person is going through in life and the various environmental changes the brains and the functions of the person is also changing. Moreover, the genetic makeup and the environment of the person they are interacting with, will also have a greater profound impact on the mental health of the person. Therefore, when it comes to the mental health of the patient, all the positive and the negative factors which are affecting the patients’ needs to be taken into consideration (Physiopedia, 2020). This helps in providing a better picture of the overall health condition of the patients and their wellbeing.
In Australian mental health according to Cardoso (2020), the biopsychosocial perspectives of the patient are more important rather than the causes of the mental illness of the patients. In Australia, the psychosocial support services help people with severe mental illnesses so that they can build their skills and also improve the relationships with the family and other members. In Australia, the psychosocial support services are being provided using three programs and they are:
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National psychosocial support transition or NPS-T
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Continuity of support or CoS
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National Psychosocial Support Measure or NPS-M
In Australia, the Nous Group is appointed to undertake the overall evaluation of the CoS and components of NPS-M. Presently the evaluation will be running from March till December of 2020 (Australian Government Department of Health 2020).The evaluation will be instrumental in improving the outcomes in terms of caring for the patient and also for the person in need of psychosocial support. With the use of psychosocial support, they are planning to explore the mental health reforms. This is also including the reports from the productivity commission. The Primary health network in Australia is tasked with the commissioning of the tailored psychosocial support services so that they can meet the needs of the local people of Australia who are suffering from mental health (Australian Government Department of Health 2020). This is possible because the commissioning is fulfilled with the help of the assessment of needs. Therefore, in Australia, the evaluation helps in providing an opportunity to all the stakeholders which will also help in shaping the psychosocial supports which will be delivered to the people of Australia who are severely mentally ill and also help in understanding the social and surrounding environmental factors which are impacting the patients.
How Are Complementary and Alternative Treatments for Mental Health Understood in Australian Society
The United States National Centre for complementary and Alternative medicine has categorised the Complementary and alternative medicine into various categories and they are:
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Whole medical system
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Mind and body medicine
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Products based on biology
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Energy medicines
The intervention of the CAM or Complementary and alternative medicines are including the diet, exercise, meditation and the manipulation of the body techniques and various such practices (Harris et al. 2012). Some of the following have no foundations and thus they are relying on the anecdotal endorsements. In various parts of the world also in Australia depression is one of the major issues of the health considered (Harris et al. 2012). Therefore, the complementary and alternative treatment medicines or CAM are some of the common methods which are used by health professionals over local people along with medicines. There is evidence of the increase in the use of complementary and alternative medicines by the substantial proportion of the people in Australia.
When it comes to alternative treatments, there are various alternative treatments which are present which is also including mental illness. Australia is one of the countries which are using complementary medicines to their highest utilisation. Therefore, with the increasing use of the complementary and alternative medicines by the general population of Australia the subject has become quite relevant and important for the Australian primary healthcare professionals and the makers of policy (Armstrong et al. 2011). According to the researches, the Federal department of the health and ageing or DOHA have reviewed the rebate of the Australian government over the health insurance of the Natural therapist. Furthermore, the Australian national health and the medical research council or NHMRC have recently published with the statement of assisting the health consumers in Australia so that they can make a much proper and informed decisions regarding the treatment related to complementary or alternative medicines (Harris et al. 2015).
In addition to that, there are various professionals of CAM and their products are being regulated by some of the governing bodies of Australia. In one of the researches done in Australia regarding complementary and alternative medicines, there were two hundred patients who participated in the research assessment. In the research, half of the patients who participated have stated that they are using complementary and alternative medicines that are on an average of 2.2 CAM per patients (Sarris et al. 2012). Most of the patients were women than that of men in the research who were using CAM. Older people who were above the age of 60 years were using CAM than the people who were below the age of 40 years. Patients also claimed that the CAM was mostly depression, anxiety and alleviating mental illness among the patients.
Therefore, complementary and alternative medicines are mostly prevalent in Australians who are suffering from moderate depression. The use of complementary medicines has resulted in the diverse collection of the clinical practices and treatments which are not traditionally associated with the medical convention schedules (Spinks and Hollingsworth 2012). One of the major factors which are responsible for the growth and increased attention towards the increasing use of complementary medicines and alternative medicines is rurality. This is because of the timely and appropriate services which are impacting the health care services to the people in need in rural and remote areas of Australia where the increase in mental illness and depression are termed to be higher as they are having most of the reasons to fall in depression such as economic crisis which bears a significant cause of increase in mental illness among patients in rural areas.
What Interventions Might You as A Therapist Use with A Client with Anxiety and Depression
When it comes to psychotherapy, there are various methods which can be used for dealing with anxiety and depression. It depends on the patients and their condition what works for them the most. Therefore, it depends on the condition of the patient which method of therapy would be effective for the patient. Depression is one of the primary disorders which is characterised by the lower mood and the poor lack of interest in those activities which are pleasurable (Leahy et al. 2011). Depression is one of the major causes of disability globally. More than 300 million people are living around the world and the majority of the cases reported are related to depression (Leahy et al. 2011). One of the methods which I would use for treating the client suffering from anxiety and depression is psychotherapy. This is one of the primary methods which I will prefer to use over the client as this will help in eliminating the symptoms which are causing the trouble and also help in increasing the wellbeing of the patients and cause healing as they are able to share their conditions with the therapist and thus they are able to take necessary steps (Horowitz 2018). Some of the causes of depression and anxiety are coping with daily life, trauma and medical illness.
Therapy can be used as an individual basis and they can help in solving the issues of both children as well as adults. The session can be helping once every week for 30 to 40 minutes. Therefore, during the period both the patients and the therapist needs to be involved and build the trust and relationship between them and help in working together and benefiting the patient from psychotherapy (Sperry et al. 2013). In the case of psychotherapy confidentiality is one of the basic requirements. Therefore, the person can share personal feeling and thoughts and should be comfortable with the patient.
Other than that, medication is another option which could be used along with the combination of psychotherapy. This will profoundly help in accelerating the mental health condition of the patient. While in some of the cases the medication can be a great option to opt for while in some other cases it may not be (Cuijpers et al. 2014). I would prefer using the following method of treatment rather than using it alone as in some researches it is seen that some of the patients can get treated well based on the medication and the treatment rather than using the following methods alone.
On the other hand, exercise is another method which could be used for the treatment of the patients as researchers show that exercise is believed to have a positive impact over the mental as well as the physical wellbeing of the person. Exercises have shown to increase the energy level of the person and reducing fatigue. One of the 2011pieces of research shows that the exercises have used in increasing the physical activity of the patients and also shows that there is an enhancement in the feelings of the energy within the patients (Carek et al. 2011). Furthermore, exercises have shown to increase the sleep time of the patients and improvement in the sleeping quality of the patients. Therefore, I would suggest my clients have physical exercises at least 4 to 8 hours before their bedtime. One of the greatest benefits of exercising which is needed both for the mentally ill patient and the patient who is depressed and have anxiety is to improve the functioning of the brain and also improve the cognitive functions which are associated with the performance of the client (Carek et al. 2011). There are researches which showed that exercise is a standalone treatment which is beneficial for the treatment of the mental health patients.
Conclusion
The primary purpose of the study is to understand the biopsychosocial model and how they are used concerning the provisions of the Australian healthcare system. Conceptualised by George Engel in 1977 it is used for understanding the medical condition of the person which shows that it is not only biological but also psychological and social environmental conditions. Furthermore, understanding of complementary and alternative treatment for mental health in context of the Australian healthcare system and it shows that it slowly is becoming a major part of the Australian healthcare system as the major population in the country are suffering from mental illness overtime. Finally, as a therapist what are the interventions could be used over the clients for dealing with anxiety and depression and it can be observed that I would prefer, psychotherapy, psychotherapy along with medication and finally exercise which standalone is one of the leading treatment methods could be used for mentally ill patients and for my clients who are dealing with anxiety and depression.
Reference list
Armstrong, A.R., Thiébaut, S.P., Brown, L.J. and Nepal, B. 2011. Australian adults use complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of chronic illness: A national study. AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, 35(4), pp.384-390.
Australian Government Department of Health. 2020. Australian Government Department Of Health. [online] Available at: <https://www.health.gov.au/> [Accessed 28 May 2020].
Australian Government Department of Health. 2020. Mental Health. [online] Available at: <https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/mental-health> [Accessed 28 May 2020].
Cardoso, J. 2020. The Biopsychosocial Perspective To Mental Health And Illness. [online] SWHELPER. Available at: <https://socialworkhelper.com/2013/07/16/the-biopsychosocial-perspective-to-mental-health-and-illness/> [Accessed 28 May 2020].
Carek, P.J., Laibstain, S.E. and Carek, S.M. 2011. Exercise for the treatment of depression and anxiety. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY IN MEDICINE, 41(1), pp.15-28.
Cuijpers, P., Sijbrandij, M., Koole, S.L., Andersson, G., Beekman, A.T. and Reynolds III, C.F. 2014. Adding psychotherapy to antidepressant medication in depression and anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis. Focus, 12(3), pp.347-358.
George, E. and Engel, L. 1980. The clinical application of the biopsychosocial model. American journal of Psychiatry, 137(5), pp.535-544.
Harris, M.G., Hobbs, M.J., Burgess, P.M., Pirkis, J.E., Diminic, S., Siskind, D.J., Andrews, G. and Whiteford, H.A. 2015. Frequency and quality of mental health treatment for affective and anxiety disorders among Australian adults. Medical Journal of Australia, 202(4), pp.185-189.
Harris, P.E., Cooper, K.L., Relton, C. and Thomas, K.J. 2012. Prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use by the general population: a systematic review and update. International journal of clinical practice, 66(10), pp.924-939.
Horowitz, M.J. 2018. Formulation as a basis for planning psychotherapy treatment. American Psychiatric Pub.
Leahy, R.L., Holland, S.J. and McGinn, L.K. 2011. Treatment plans and interventions for depression and anxiety disorders. Guilford press.
Physiopedia. 2020. Biopsychosocial Model. [online] Available at: <https://www.physio-pedia.com/Biopsychosocial_Model> [Accessed 28 May 2020].
Sarris, J., Moylan, S., Camfield, D.A., Pase, M.P., Mischoulon, D., Berk, M., Jacka, F.N. and Schweitzer, I. 2012. Complementary medicine, exercise, meditation, diet, and lifestyle modification for anxiety disorders: a review of current evidence. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2012.
Sperry, L., Brill, P.L., Howard, K.I. and Grissom, G.R. eds. 2013. Treatment outcomes in psychotherapy and psychiatric interventions (Vol. 6). Routledge.
Spinks, J. and Hollingsworth, B., 2012. Policy implications of complementary and alternative medicine use in Australia: data from the National Health Survey. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 18(4), pp.371-378.
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