The Key Themes and Tensions in Policy of Mental Health Practice and
How They Might Impact on and Shape Social Work Practice
The history of mental illness derived from drilling the skulls to happy pills that to be believed could gave instant recovery. In the beginning mental illness viewed as demonic possession or god punishment. In all of these ancient civilisations, mental illness was attributed to some supernatural force, generally a displeased deity. Most illness, particularly mental illness, was thought to be afflicted upon an individual or group of peoples as punishment for their trespasses. The next phase was the institutionalisation. In order to accommodate the burgeoning amount of mentally ill individuals, asylums were established around the world starting, most notably, from the sixteenth century onward. The policy reform on mental health services has been improved in last two decades. There has been an improvement too in area of mental health law, human rights and discrimination. However, basic question is still remaining, about connection between policy and service delivery. One major question is how huge the gap between policy and theoretical context to the way services experienced by workers, clients and families?
Martin (2013), argued that mental health policy reflects social values and priorities that inform the care and treatment provided for those affected by mental illness. Mental health services have transform over time around the world to answer the paradigm shift toward peoples that considered being mentally ill. The structure and delivery of these services has evolved accordingly with service models influencing outcomes. Five main target areas for action were identified in the Council of Australian Governments National Action Plan on Mental Health 2006-2011: (a) promotion, prevention, and early intervention; (b) integrating and improving the care system; (c) participation in the community and employment including accommodation; (d)...