Contributor: Barnaby D. M. Pace MNZPsS, Ass.MNZCMHN BSocSc(Hons), MSocSc(Hons), PGDipCBT, PGDipEd(AdEd)
Abstract
As mental health support work continues to grow and develop as a healthcare discipline, practitioners in the field are continuously seeking contemporary research and best practice models to enhance service delivery. Through such investigations the Core Principles of Psychiatric Rehabilitation as set by the International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services have been identified as of particular interest to support work practice. Through the aid of a literature review of contemporary New Zealand based research a comparison study was conducted between the core principles of psychosocial rehabilitation and identified support work practice. The analytical discussions had by the support worker group provided additional support for the consideration of psychosocial rehabilitation practice as a base of community support work in mental health services.
Keywords: Principles of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Support Work Practice
Introduction
As mental health support work continues to grow and develop as a healthcare discipline, practitioners in the field are continuously seeking contemporary research and best practice models to enhance service delivery (Pace, 2010a). Through such investigations the Core Principles of Psychiatric Rehabilitation (Figure 1.) as set by the International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services have been identified as of particular interest to support work practice. In spite of the fact that community support work was originally modeled around psychosocial rehabilitation (Carling, 1995; Caird, 2001), traditionally mental health support work in New Zealand has been confined to the use of the recovery principles (Figure 2.) (O’Hagan, 2001), which indeed have formed the cornerstone of support work practice (Cowan, 2008). However, as mental health support work in New Zealand moves towards professionalization, it is timely to revisit the psychosocial rehabilitation roots from which the discipline has grown.
The presenting research examines a number of well regarded principles of psychosocial rehabilitation from International Association’s and recognized authors and compares them with the identified key role and function of mental health support workers. Following on from this literature comparison study, the core principles (Figure 1.) were presented to a group of currently practicing mental health support workers for comparison with how they perceive their role and function.
