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This paper uses secondary analysis to understand how COVID-19 shaped people's experiences with psychosocial support services in Australia. Data are drawn from questionnaires (n = 66) and semi-structured interviews (n = 62), conducted for a national service evaluation, with 121 people living with enduring mental health conditions and using psychosocial support services. Data relating to COVID-19 were inductively coded and analysed using constant comparative analysis. Most people's experiences included tele-support. While some people described minimal disruption to their support, many reported reduced engagement. People's wellbeing and engagement were influenced by: their location, living situation and pre-COVID lifestyles; physical health conditions; access to, comfort with, and support worker facilitation of technology; pre-COVID relationships with support workers; and communication from the organisation. The findings can help services prepare for future pandemics, adjust their services for a 'COVID-normal' world, and consider how learnings from COVID-19 could be incorporated into a flexible suite of service delivery options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional mental health services are frequently criticized for failing to support people and communities in their care. Open Dialogue is a non-conventional humanistic approach to mental health care, which has been implemented in many different settings globally. At two Australian public health care services, implementation of the approach led to positive client outcomes and sustained organizational and clinical change. The aim of the study was to identify and explore the organizational, management, leadership and cultural factors that contributed to sustained implementation in these complex systems. We conducted nine individual semi-structured interviews of health care leaders and managers from the two sites. Transcriptions of the interviews were analyzed thematically. Leaders facilitated a gradual development of clinical and organizational legitimacy for the non-standardized Open Dialogue approach by holding the anxiety and frustration of practitioners and parts of the administration, cultivating cultural change and adaptation and by continually removing organizational obstacles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the types of work accommodations and natural supports that are useful for people experiencing severe mental illness working in social businesses. We conducted an exploratory, descriptive and cross-sectional investigation in Australia, Canada and Italy to study the nature of work accommodations and natural supports available in social businesses. Study findings are drawn from survey responses of a convenience sample of 90 employees with self-reported psychiatric disabilities. Results showed that, regardless of the country, social businesses provide many work accommodations and natural supports, especially those linked to schedule flexibility and support, while work accommodations related to training and schedule flexibility were linked to longer job tenure. Overall, this study advances our knowledge about the spectrum of work accommodations and natural supports that are available in social businesses for people with severe mental illness. Also, it highlights the type of work accommodations that are likely to support this population to sustain employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore four mental health consumers' experiences of completing self-report outcome measures in a research project. Participants were recruited from a community mental health organisation in Melbourne and were interviewed upon completion of a mixed methods research study where they were asked to complete a series of self-report outcome measures. Descriptive phenomenological micro-analysis was used to analyse interview data and is presented along with the researchers' observations during the data collection process. Results revealed that participants found the outcome measures cognitively challenging and the language used in the measures did not support the empowering intentions of mental health recovery. The authors suggest that the value of completing surveys for people with severe mental illness needs to be carefully considered so that the research process does not diminish other benefits of participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helpful strategies for communicating news of a serious mental health diagnosis are poorly understood. This study explored service users' preferences for how they would like clinicians to deliver such news when a diagnosis of mental illness is made. Qualitative interviews were conducted with forty-five individuals identifying with serious mental illness in eleven community based mental health facilities. Inductive thematic analysis resulted in eight primary themes. Five themes related to the structure and content of the discussion; including a focus on information exchange, using an individualized collaborative partnership paradigm, addressing stigma, balancing hope with realism, and recognizing the dynamic nature of diagnosis. The remaining themes related to the involvement of others; including the importance of clinicians' communication and relationship skills, involvement and education of carers, and offering an opportunity for peer support. The product of the synthesis of themes is a step-wise model for communicating news of mental health diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transitional housing programs aim to improve living skills and housing stability for tenuously housed patients with mental illness. 113 consecutive Transitional Housing Team (THT) patients were matched to 139 controls on diagnosis, time of presentation, gender and prior psychiatric hospitalisation and compared using a difference-in-difference analysis for illness acuity and service use outcomes measured 1 year before and after THT entry/exit. There was a statistically significant difference-in-difference favouring THT participants for bed days (mean difference in difference −20.76 days, SE 9.59, p = 0.031) and living conditions (HoNOS Q11 mean difference in difference −0.93, SE 0.23, p < 0.001). THT cost less per participant (I$14,024) than the bed-days averted (I$17,348). The findings of reductions in bed days and improved living conditions suggest that transitional housing programs can have a significant positive impact for tenuously housed patients with high inpatient service usage, as well as saving costs for mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to replicate Parslow and Jorm's (Aust N Z J Psychiatry 34(6): 997-1008, ) research on need, enabling and predisposing factors as predictors of mental health service use, with the addition of childhood trauma as a predisposing factor. It utilised a non-treatment seeking epidemiological sample of Australian adults (N = 822) to examine 25 variables covering psychiatric disorder, socio-demographics, physical health problems, and childhood trauma as predictors of mental health visits to general practitioners (GP's), mental health specialists and non-mental health specialists. A consistent multivariate predictor of mental health visits to all types of professionals was psychological distress. Presence of an affective disorder, age, and number of health problems were additional predictors of visiting a GP. Being female, divorced, and exposure to childhood trauma predicted use of a mental health specialist, while rural living was associated with lower use of these services. Results highlight the importance of general psychological distress and need factors in seeking help for mental health, and reinforce the lifelong disadvantage arising from adverse childhood experiences and the need to address these issues in adult mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]