Art and mental health in Samoa.

OBJECTIVES: To pilot an art and mental health project with Samoan and Australian stakeholders. The aim of this project was to provide a voice through the medium of art for people experiencing mental illness, and to improve the public understanding in Samoa of mental illness and trauma. METHODS: Over 12 months, a series of innovative workshops were held with Samoan and Australian stakeholders, followed by an art exhibition. These workshops developed strategies to support the promotion and understanding of mental health in Samoa. Key stakeholders from both art making and mental health services were engaged in activities to explore the possibility of collaboration in the Apia community. RESULTS: The project was able to identify the existing resources and community support for the arts and mental health projects, to design a series of activities aimed to promote and maintain health in the community, and to pilot these programs with five key organizations. CONCLUSIONS: This project demonstrates the potential for art and mental health projects to contribute to both improving mental health and to lowering the personal and social costs of mental ill health for communities in Samoa.

Mental health in the Solomon Islands: developing reforms and partnerships.

OBJECTIVES: The Solomon Islands face significant shortages and geographical imbalances in the distribution of skilled health workers and resources, which severely impact the delivery of mental health services. The government's Integrated Mental Health Service has emphasised the importance of greater community ownership and involvement in community-based mental health care, and of moving from centralised services to increased local and accessible care. METHODS: From 2012 to 2014, the Solomon Islands Integrated Mental Health service worked with Asia-Australia Mental Health to build workforce capacity and deliver sustainable community mental health programs. RESULTS: Supported by the Australian Aid Program's Public Sector Linkages Program, this project shared resources and fostered links between public sector agencies in Australia, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. CONCLUSIONS: Key learning points from the collaboration included the critical need to establish partnerships with community stakeholders, the importance of sustaining a well-functioning mental health team, and optimising the strengths of the local resources in the Solomon Islands. Through this project, national policies, promotion and service delivery were strengthened, through the exchange of experiences and mobilisation of north-south (Australia-Solomon Islands) and south-south (Solomon Islands-other Pacific nations) technical expertise. This project demonstrates the potential for international partnerships to contribute to the development of culturally-appropriate and integrated mental health services.

Partnerships for community mental health in the Asia-Pacific: principles and best-practice models across different sectors.

OBJECTIVES: Stage Two of the Asia-Pacific Community Mental Health Development Project was established to document successful partnership models in community mental health care in the region. This paper summarizes the best-practice examples and principles of partnerships in community mental health across 17 Asia-Pacific countries. CONCLUSIONS: A series of consensus workshops between countries identified best-practice exemplars that promote or advance community mental health care in collaboration with a range of community stakeholders. These prototypes highlighted a broad range of partnerships across government, non-government and community agencies, as well as service users and family carers. From practice-based evidence, a set of 10 key principles was developed that can be applied in building partnerships for community mental health care consistent with the local cultures, communities and systems in the region. Such practical guidance can be useful to minimize fragmentation of community resources and promote effective partnerships to extend community mental health services in the region.

Mental health system in China: history, recent service reform and future challenges.

This paper summarizes the history of the development of Chinese mental health system; the current situation in the mental health field that China has to face in its effort to reform the system, including mental health burden, workforce and resources, as well as structural issues; the process of national mental health service reform, including how it was included into the national public health program, how it began as a training program and then became a treatment and intervention program, its unique training and capacity building model, and its outcomes and impacts; the barriers and challenges of the reform process; future suggestions for policy; and Chinese experiences as response to the international advocacy for the development of mental health.

Reforming mental health care in Victoria: a decade later.

OBJECTIVE: From 1994, the Australian State of Victoria began a major transformation of its public mental health service system. In June 2006, St Vincent's Mental Health hosted a conference to reflect on the changes and identify steps to be taken over the next decade. METHOD: Participants came from Victoria's 21 adult mental health services, consumer and carer groups, and psychiatric disability rehabilitation and support organizations. They met in small groups, and discussed pre-set topics. Their observations were pooled in plenary sessions. RESULTS: Participants agreed the changes had had many positive outcomes. People most affected by mental illness had priority for treatment. Services were better structured to meet their needs, and staff were more familiar with community-based care. Negatives included restricted service access for some groups, insufficient resourcing to meet increased service demand and clinical staff not maintaining specialist skills. CONCLUSIONS: The conference enabled experiences to be shared and ideas exchanged about improvements.

Strategic planning and public mental health services.

OBJECTIVES: To provide an overview of approaches to strategic planning and to examine issues in relation to their applicability to public mental health services. CONCLUSIONS: Strategic planning is important for optimal functioning of mental health services in an increasingly complex environment. Although each approach will have advantages depending on context, the overall principles of the learning organization developed by Senge have particular relevance for mental health services.