Generic Principles of Effective Mental Health Promotion

Introduction of psychological skills laboratory in medical education

Depression and anxiety are common psychological issues among university students, yet many of them hesitate to seek professional help due to stigma. Unfortunately, university curricula often lack self-help strategies to manage these challenges and provide timely support to those in need. To address this gap, we introduced the Psychological Skills Lab (PSL) component in the undergraduate medical curriculum, which emphasizes experiential learning to promote self-determination and autonomy in health promotion. The lab allows active interaction among students, lecturers, and peers through activities like presentations, peer reviews, in session practice, gratitude journals, group discussions, and role plays. PSL helps students develop skills, empathy, mindfulness, and self compassion through regular interactions. This innovative teaching approach raises mental health awareness and empowers students to assist others when required. Thus, by incorporating self-help measures into the curriculum, students are better equipped to manage their emotional well-being while supporting those around them.

Level of Resilience Among Transgenders in Selected Areas of Puducherry, India: An Exploratory Research

Background

Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress, and it is a predictor of mental health status that specifically indicates self-esteem, perceived social support, emotion-oriented coping, and a sense of personal mastery.

The third gender known better as transgender has existed in every culture, race, class, and religion since the inception of human life has been recorded and analyzed. In spite of many advances and reforms, the current plight of transgender is far from being satisfactory. The social integration of transgender with the mainstream community is practically non-existent even today.

Aim and objective

The objective of the study is to assess the level of resilience among transgenders at selected areas in Puducherry, India, and to find out the association between the levels of resilience among transgenders with the selected demographic variables.

Methods

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the selected areas of Puducherry, India, adopting a linear snowball sampling method after consultation with the Nayaks (heads of transgenders) of the transgender groups, and 100 transgenders were enrolled who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and consented to participate in the research.

Results

About 29 (29%) transgenders were in the age group of 31-40 years, 28 (28%) were in the age group of 21-30 years, 24 (24%) were in the group of 41-50 years, and 19 (19%) were in the age group of 51 and above. In education status, 38 (38%) had secondary education, 23 (23%) had primary education, 20 (20%) had higher secondary education, 12 (12%) had graduation and above, and seven (7%) were diploma holders. Moreover, 54 (54%) were employed, and 46 (46%) were unemployed; 81 (81%) were residing in rural areas, and 19 (19%) were residing in urban areas. The study revealed that 53 (53%) of them had average resilience, 28 (28%) had the least resilience, and 19 (19%) had the highest resilience among transgenders. The minimum score was 28.0, and the maximum score was 52.0. The mean score was 42.50 with a standard deviation of 4.61. The median value was 43.0.

Conclusion

Transgenders exhibit low and average resilience that reflects poor mental health status among them. The educational status was found to be associated with the level of resilience. Proper education among transgenders would help in improving their resilience and betterment of their life.

Intersectoral partnerships and competencies for mental health promotion: a Delphi-based qualitative study in Finland

The importance of intersectoral collaboration and partnership working in mental health promotion, together with the requisite competencies for effective collaboration, is widely acknowledged. This Delphi-based qualitative study examined how intersectoral collaboration and partnership work are constructed and adopted in mental health promotion practice. Descriptive data from a Delphi panel of mental health promotion practitioners working in the health sector (n = 32) were used as a data source. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Applying the theory of collaborative advantage, eight themes of collaboration advantage and the related competencies were identified: management structure, leadership, communication and language, common aims, working processes, resources, trust, and commitment and determination. The themes capture the competencies required to influence and work with others to improve the mental health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. The identified theme areas can be used to inform education and training and capacity building for professional practice in mental health promotion. Future research is needed to explore other possible collaborative advantage themes in mental health promotion practice and the competencies required to facilitate effective partnerships across sectors. Further investigations are also needed on the identified theme areas in order to develop and guide capacity building and training in mental health promotion.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and positive memories: Clinical considerations

Encoding and retrieval difficulties, and avoidance of both traumatic and positive memories, are associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, most PTSD research and clinical work has solely examined the role of traumatic memories in the maintenance/resolution of PTSD symptoms. This review provides a comprehensive discussion of the literature on positive memories and PTSD. First, we review theories and evidence on the relations between trauma, PTSD, and memory processes (particularly positive memories). Next, we propose a conceptual model that integrates evidence from experimental and positive/memory-based intervention research and highlights hypothesized mechanisms underlying the potential effectiveness of targeting positive memories in PTSD interventions. Specifically, we discuss how targeting positive memories could (1) increase positive affect and reduce negative affect, (2) correct negative cognitions, (3) increase specificity of retrieving autobiographical memories, and (4) be effectively integrated/sequenced with and enhance the effects of trauma-focused interventions. Lastly, we suggest clinical research avenues for investigating the relations between positive memories and PTSD, to possibly alter the current PTSD intervention paradigm focused only on traumatic memories. Overall, our proposed model drawing from experimental and intervention research, and outlining potential effects of targeting positive memories to reduce PTSD severity, needs further empirical investigation.

Assessing the impacts and outcomes of youth driven mental health promotion: A mixed-methods assessment of the Social Networking Action for Resilience study

Mental health challenges are the leading health issue facing youth globally. To better respond to this health challenge, experts advocate for a population health approach inclusive of mental health promotion; yet this area remains underdeveloped. Further, while there is growing emphasis on youth-engaged research and intervention design, evidence of the outcomes and impacts are lacking. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to addressing these gaps, presenting findings from the Social Networking Action for Resilience (SONAR) study, an exploration of youth-driven mental health promotion in a rural community in British Columbia, Canada. Mixed methods including pre- and post-intervention surveys (n = 175) and qualitative interviews (n = 10) captured the outcomes and impacts of the intervention on indicators of mental health, the relationship between level of engagement and benefit, and community perceptions of impact. Findings demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of youth engaged research and intervention at an individual and community-level.

Preparing master-level mental health nurses to work within a wellness paradigm: Findings from the eMenthe project

Mental health promotion remains an important component of mental health nursing practice. Supporting wellness at both the individual and societal levels has been identified as one of the key tenets of mental health promotion. However, the prevailing biomedical paradigm of mental health education and practice has meant that many nurses have not been equipped to incorporate a wellness perspective into their mental health practice. In the present study, we report on an exploratory study which details the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required by master-level mental health nurses to practice within a wellness paradigm from the perspective of three groups of key stakeholders: (i) service users and family members (n = 23); (ii) experienced mental health nurses (n = 49); and (iii) master-level mental health nursing students (n = 37). The findings, which were reported from individual and focus group interviews across five European countries, suggested a need to reorientate mental health nursing education to include a focus on wellness and resilience to equip mental health nurses with the skills to work within a strengths-based, rather than a deficits-based, model of mental health practice. Key challenges to working within a wellness paradigm were identified as the prevailing dominance of the biomedical model of cause and treatment of mental health problems, which focusses on symptoms, rather than the holistic functioning of the individual, and positions the person as passive in the nurse-service user relationship.