A Vision for Change: The Recovery Model and Irish Mental Health Services

2767 Words6 Pages

A Vision for Change details a comprehensive model of mental health service provision for Ireland. It describes a framework for building and fostering positive mental health across the entire community and for providing accessible, community based specialist services for people with mental illness (HSE, 2012). It focuses on a person-centred treatment approach, which looks at each element through an integrated care plan for service users, with special emphasis put on involving the service users, their families and carers at every level of treatment. Being involved in mental health services is more than the service user being diagnosed or attending consultation, they must be at the centre of the decision making. This is integral to recovery as they hold a very unique insight into the experiences of mental health issues and hold a greater awareness of public perception, and in some cases, the stigma associated with mental illness. As the latter can result in social exclusion, the importance of the views of service users in formulating the Vision for Change policy is clear and is shown by the inclusion of users at all levels of the process (Vision for Change, 2006. Pg 24). A Vision for Change gives a Model for Service User Involvement in mental health services. This pyramid-style framework shows that users and carers should participate at all levels of the system. It is important that they are active partners in their own recovery and the model demonstrates this by the progression of levels. Firstly, Individual level - user and carer involved in their own care planning process, community level - advocacy services available for users and carers to provide education and training. This level, I feel, is particularly important, as while... ... middle of paper ... ...(1993) Psychiatrists in primary care: the general practitioner viewpoint. Family Practice, 5, 111-115. Turner, D. (2000). Mapping The Routes to Recovery. Mental Health Today. July, Pg. 29-30. Turner, D. (2000). The National Voices Forum: The Regaining Control Conference. Oxford: National Voices Forum and UK Advocacy Network. Van Tosh, E. (1993). Working for a change: Employment of Consumers/Survivors in the Design and Provision of Services for People who are Homeless and Mentally Disabled. Rockville, MD:Center for Mental Health Services. Whitehill, I. (2003). The Concept Of Recovery. In: Barker, P.J. (ed.). Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing: The Craft of Caring. London: Arnold. (6), Pg. 43-49 World Health Organisation (2003). Advocacy for Mental Health. Retrieved on 3rd November 2013, from http://www.who.int/mental_health/resources/en/Advocacy.pdf

Open Document