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CaptainExplorationJellyfish32
I need help writing a report that provides a justification for the…

I need help writing a report that provides a justification for the mental health interventions to be delivered by an organisation that seeks to improve the levels of mental health within a community (as described in the hypothetical scenario below in italics). Your report should be written in language suitable for an audience that is used to understanding evidence but does not necessarily have expertise in this field. The report should refer to evidence and theory to support the case being made.

 

 

This exercise requires that you put yourself in the position of someone who works for an organisation (a charity) that has experience of providing a range of services aimed at serving the mental health needs of the town of ‘Darborough’.

As part of a national policy initiative, your charity has been asked to draw up plans for services to be provided in the event of local people experiencing trauma following a particular crisis or disaster.

You are asked to provide a justification for receiving funding for the services that you would like to provide. Your organisation takes a service user-led, collaborative approach, meaning that all services are co-produced by people who have experience of using mental health services and professionals. Both professionals and service users are represented in the leadership of the organisation.

The part I need help with is the below section: I am unsure on it all!

Activism and campaigning within the community. This might involve initiatives and campaigns within the local community on issues that have been identified as relevant to mental health problems that might occur due to, or be exacerbated by, a particular crisis or disaster. Issues to consider might be, for example: those concerning the capacity of the community to respond, or the inequality of impacts that might be associated with poverty and social exclusion.

You have been informed that the people reading and assessing the report want to understand the reasons behind each of these interventions, and the evidence that exists to support the approach.

 

Community activism/campaigning: those responsible for funding are particularly interested in your organisation’s support for approaches that do not solely rely on professional mental health interventions, but instead seek to strengthen the capacity of communities to cope with crises and support individuals who are impacted. They have asked you to:

explain this community-orientated approach, using theory and evidence to explain why this is preferable to relying solely on individual therapeutic interventions
give some examples of work in this area.

I need to describe the intervention – what it is and what it aims to do. You will need to use relevant literature and research evidence to justify the approach. Remember that you are being asked to provide rationales for the provision of support for mental health. You need to explain the rationale of a community-level intervention and why you believe that it would work, and the expected impact of taking this approach on mental health.

 

I also need to emphasise particular issues that have been identified as significant to mental health subsequent to a potentially traumatic crisis or disaster. These might be, for example, the inequality of impact, or the importance of tackling particular factors, such as social cohesion, inequality or racism. As in the earlier section on the individual intervention, you should avoid spending too much time describing the intervention, as higher marks will be awarded for your use of theory and evidence that provides the rationale for the intervention. The rationale might include the positive impact on the mental health of individuals suffering from distress, and might also include the benefits to the community.