JCPSLP November 2017

Supporting social, emotional and mental health and well-being: Roles of speech-language pathologists

Examining beliefs and attitudes of allied health students towards mental health Outcomes of a clinical placement Natalie Alborés, Lyndal Sheepway, and Clare Delany

While the prevalence of patients presenting to hospitals with mental health conditions is growing, allied health professionals often poorly understand the needs and overall different presentation of people with mental health concerns.This research examined, via validated pre- and post questionnaires, how a clinical placement of up to 6 weeks at a metropolitan inpatient mental health facility impacted exercise physiology, speech- language pathology and dietetic students’ familiarity with and beliefs and attitudes towards mental health, and perception of their role in working with patients with mental health problems. Results indicated that students’ beliefs and attitudes towards and understanding of mental health conditions positively changed following this clinical placement experience. All students (n = 26) demonstrated a statistically significant change ( p = 0.03) in their familiarity with mental illness, and showed a decrease in negative, stigmatising beliefs and attitudes. Such placement experiences may assist in: (a) improving students’ familiarity with and understanding of mental health, (b) shaping initially fearful or dismissive attitudes towards more positive, person-centred views, and (c) facilitating awareness of potential professional roles in caring for patients with a mental illness and supporting their needs as individuals and members of the community. M ental illness is a major health problem worldwide. Almost half of Australians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2009). In Australia, one in five individuals aged 16–85 experience a mental illness in any one year (AIHW, 2014). The most common mental illnesses are depressive, anxiety and substance use disorders, often co-occurring. Of the 20% of Australians with a mental

illness in any one year, 11.5% have one disorder and 8.5% have two or more disorders (ABS, 2009). Within Australian hospitals between 2012 and 2013 a total of 9.37 million mental health related admissions occurred across the public acute, private acute and public psychiatric systems. accounting for 2.6% of all hospital admissions by non- indigenous individuals, and 6.2% of mental health related admissions by indigenous Australians (AIHW, 2014). With this high prevalence and the known negative impact on people with a mental illness diagnosis, there is essential need for a health workforce adequately trained to assist individuals and their families and communities to manage these conditions. Attitudes of health care professionals towards mental illness There is evidence that health care professionals working within the mental health setting, as well as in more generalist health services, may hold negative beliefs and attitudes towards people with mental illness that can influence their personal and professional behaviours (Disability Rights Commission, 2006). These types of beliefs represent forms of stigma. Public stigma, as defined by Corrigan and Watson (2002), is the reaction that the general population has to people with mental illness. Self-stigma is the prejudice which people with mental illness turn against themselves. Both forms of stigma encompass three areas: stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. Stereotypes refer to (often negative) beliefs or views held about others that are learned and agreed upon by most members of a social group. These views can inform impressions and expectations of individuals who belong to a particular group, e.g., people with mental illness. While most people within a social group can recall or describe stereotypical beliefs, they may not always personally ascribe to them. For example, a person may be aware of the stereotype that depicts people with a mental illness as violent and unpredictable, but they do not necessarily agree with it or see it as a valid representation of individuals within this group. People who are prejudiced, however, do ascribe to these negative stereotypes and may overgeneralise and apply them indiscriminately to all members within a group, even though this is clearly inaccurate. Prejudices are deeply held attitudes that involve both cognitive and emotional components. For example, a prejudiced individual may agree that all people with a mental illness are dangerous and therefore should be feared and ultimately avoided, this

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN PEER- REVIEWED KEYWORDS ATTITUDES CLINICAL EDUCATION MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA STUDENTS

Natalie Alborés (top), Lyndal Sheepway (centre), and Clare Delany

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JCPSLP Volume 19, Number 3 2017

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au