Authors: Damian Talbot, Lucy Chang
Year: 2017
Event: 2017 TheMHS Conference
Subject: Service Systems, Delivery, Implementation,Research & Evaluation Informing Practice,Change, Innovation, Reform,Workforce,Lived Experience, Recovery
Type of resource: Conference Presentations and Papers
Abstract: The strength based approach (SBA) is a case management model that aims to empower and integrate consumers into the community. Community integration is not the mere absence from hospitalisation or adherence with medication. Within a strengths model, quality of life is largely defined by the consumers themselves and improved quality of life exists when people achieve their stated goals.
Croydon Community Mental Health Centre (CHC) is a standard community mental health team providing care co-ordination to consumers with serious and enduring mental illness in metropolitan Sydney. CHC recently introduced the SBA model into their service.
There is a scarcity of empirical studies evaluating the SBA model. Only one meta-analysis has examined randomised controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies (Ibrahim et al., 2014) and a critical review of empirical evidence (Tse, S. et al., 2015) which provide contradictory results.
Both Tse et al. and Ibraham et al. stress the pressing need for further good quality, well-designed studies to examine the effectiveness of strength-based practices. Therefore, a naturalistic methodology using qualitative and qualitative data will be implemented to determine whether or not the SBA model is effective at CHC, with a focus on the attitudes of medical doctors towards the SBA model.
Learning Objectives
Learning Objective 1: Provide the unique perspective of a trainee psychiatrist being exposed to the SBA as part of their training program.
Learning Objective 2: Demonstrate how the SBA implemented in a standard mental health team can be evaluated through naturalistic methodology.
References
Ibrahim, N., Michail, M. & Callaghan, P. (2014). The strengths based approach as a service delivery model for severe mental illness: a meta-analysis of clinical trials. BMC Psychiatry. 14:243.
Tso, W-S., Tse, S., Fukui, S. & Jones, S. (2015). Study protocol for a controlled trial of Strengths Model Case Management in mental health services in Hong Kong.
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