Critical Analysis of two Mental Health Websites - Essay Example

Critical Analysis Of Two Mental Health Websites INTRODUCTION Carers must have a list of references and resources that they can use when working withclients. In order to find these resources and references once must be away of what is available both online and offline. In this report it is essential to look at two websites that may be helpful to use with clients or to send them to when they need assistance between sessions. The two sites that are chosen for this presentation are Beyond blue and National Empowerment Centre. Both websites are set up to be user friendly and to give a large amount of information to the general public. In order to begin this process it is a good idea to start with an explanation of each one and then to compare and contrast them. BEYOND BLUE Beyond blue is a website about depression and it explains how people can cope with and relieve depression. On the first page it is clear to see that this is the topic because the news items are about depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and postnatal depression. Each of these is an aspect of depression and can be brought on by this disorder. From the first page an individual can link to a variety of interesting information throughout the website. On the right hand side of the website there are a variety of self-help programs and/or references that an individual can use if they have some type of depression. It is clear from this website that they are attempting to give all depression mood orders equal time. They have equal information about prevention, early intervention (symptoms) and it is very accessible to lay people who have no background in mental health education. There are several downloable fact sheets from the homepage. As an example, if you are someone who suspects you might have problems with depression, you can download a checklist for each of the depression disorders they have listed. The general depression checklist asks two questions and based on the answers to those they encourage you to move further into the checklist. The checklist allows you to take it and then they give you a score at the end and describe what you "might" need. The language on the site is very easy to understand and it is as though they are talking to a friend. Each section is broken down into a few paragraphs to give a general idea about depression and then there are links to click on more information if you want to get more specific. An individual couple become overwhelmed by the amount of information that is at this site so it would be a good idea to send a client to one specific area if you were going to use it. Beyond blue is also a research organization and has many articles about research on their site. Anyone will be able to use it easily. If an individual were to come to the site for the community they have a variety of ways that the individual can get involved listed in their "Getting Involved" Section. In the "Frequently Asked Questions" area they talk about their community involvement and they say that they work with "health services, schools, workplaces, universities, media and community organisations, as well as people living with these disorders, to bring together their expertise" ("About Us, Frequently Asked Questions" section). In this section they also do a very thorough job of giving basic information about depression and the symptoms and treatment for it. They also have a section for basic medical and psychological treatment. Although this site looks like a commercial site at first it is a government site for the most part. There are a variety of people who sit on the board of directors who are part of the mental health community; the others are chancellors, educators and CEOs of various aspects of the government. NATIONAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER (NEC) This site is more geared towards all areas of mental illness. They provide information about how to cope with any mental illness and how to recover from it. Their home page has many different areas like the Beyond blue site but they are more focused on recovery than Beyond blue. In the middle of the site there is an interview with Dr. Daniel Fisher that sets the stage for what this website is about and how it will help people. In the interview Dr. Fisher lets it be known that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and he recovered from it. He became a psychiatrist after someone had told him that he would never recover from the disease and that he would have to take medication for the rest of his life. He did not want other people to go through what he had gone through to get into his recovery. He said that anyone can recover from any mental illness and that they need someone who believed in them in order for them to move forward. This was a very good video because it sets the stage so that people know that he went through schizophrenia and recovered because he had his brother to help him. Both Beyond blue and this website have testimonials from other people who have used these sites and their techniques to help themselves. Beyond blue calls it "share your story" ant The NEC calls it "Voices of hope and recovery." This is a CD series and it promises to be a heart wrenching and it is about many people The emphasis on recovery is very important to this website because as Dr. Fisher points out there are many people who have been given the "false no hope" attitude so they think they cannot recover and this leads them to depression or suicide. The two websites are vastly different in what they are showing: Beyond blue is only about depression and how to cope with it while NEC is an advocacy group for all mental illness even the very difficult and severe cases. They also spotlight the Icarus Project which is an artwork series that shows some of the drawings or paintings that were created by people that physicians and/or carers have given the title of "crazy." This allowed the people with this diagnosis to vent their feelings through their art. The information on the site is equally for healthcare practitioners and those who are mentally ill and their families. Another emphasis on this website is to "get the word out." Where Beyond blue spends a lot of time educating people about the process of depression, NEC spends time helping people advocate for themselves and get the help they need for any mental illness. They have many CDs, books and curricula to help consumers, educators or mental health practitioners; I did not see this information on the Beyond blue site. The NEC is looking for ways to get information to people in order to help them advocate for themselves. Some of the ways they do this is to provide them with these resources: 1. Consumer-Run Organizations 2. Holistic Alternatives 3. Information on Recovery 4. Recovery Stories Beyond Blue is a more attractive site and it would make most consumers want to stay longer. It has a lot of blue on it and all the boxes are structured for easy reading. Each section gives a good idea of a topic that you can get more in-depth information about if you click on the link. The NECs site is not attractive -- it is more a static set of information and it is green. This does not make it inviting because it all looks very military. The home page has a frightening picture of monsters on it and although this may be relatable to people who are mentally ill, to other consumers it may make them leave the site quickly. COMPARISON WITH THEORIES AND CONCEPTS Mental illness is something that everyone worries about because it is a concept that many people are afraid to think about. Many people have mental illness in their families and they have coped as best they could in the situation. Both of these sites are attempting to get information out and to say that mental illness does not have to be something to be ashamed of and it is not a taboo subject anymore. Beyond blue has a series of advertisements across the site that all have something to do with depression. Beyond blue focuses on early intervention, and their fact sheets in the "Get information: downloadable beyond blue information" section gives the consumer any information they need about depression. According to the Mayo Clinic Staff (2009) this information is accurate for people with depression. There are many theories about the aspects of depression but they were not shown on the website. As an example, Becks Cognitive Theory of Depression states that an individual with depression has it because of their view of themselves but that it is not necessarily a negative view of self (Allen, 2003). The beyond blue site looks at mental illness from a psychological point of view because they have DSM-IV diagnosis and most of their articles seem to be geared towards specific psychological situations and conditions. Both websites show the social context of mental illness but beyond blue does it better for the consumer. There are several articles that an individual can download that have to do with recovery but they really do not spell out hope or spirituality. These two areas are important to an individual when they are going through a mental illness or a mood disorder because they need to understand that they are not alone and that others have recovered from the disorder. NEC does have an area that speaks about recovery options and gives information about people who have successfully recovered from mental illness. As an example, they list a chart that shows how someone who has schizophrenia reacts to situations versus the individual who has recovered. What they are showing is "hope" as a concept to recovery. This chart can help an individual know where they are in the recovery process at any time. They give information about family and friends, how depression works within the family and they give work related information .They have a section for men, women and the "culturally or linguistically diverse." They provide translated information on mental illness and their television ads are translated into Mandarin, Greek, Italian, Polish and Vietnamese; NEC provides information in German, Icelandic, Polish, Japanese and Spanish. Mental health professionals drive Beyond blue but this is not the case for NEC. This cite is done by Dr. Fisher and the staff of NEC are people who have some mental illness work either personally or professionally. They all have been activists on some level for the mentally ill. Recovery is a secondary discourse for Beyond blue but it is primary for NEC because they want the world to know that people can completely recover from mental illness of any kind. I did not see information on spirituality on either site. There did not seem to be any information about issues of discrimination although stigma and labelling were talked about but not in those terms. As an example, there was information on beyond blue about aspects of depression but they did not directly address the stigma of it or labelling. The stigma of mental illness was more directly deal with in NEC because they wanted to make sure that people understand that they no longer have to accept the stigma. Beyond blue does not address the rights of the consumer or the rights of carers. NEC gives information about rights but they do not directly deal with it for their site. They are more an "information portal" that gives information on government studies, advocacy groups and resources; it did not look like they work directly with consumers. Carers have a responsibility to their patients and websites should have an area for both carers and consumers. There are several articles that beyond blue has to offer consumers that carers can also benefit from reading in their "treatment" section. They do not have a specific area for carers that is exclusively for their use. When looking at the needs of carers one could suggest that there are opportunities for them to assess their client needs based on the types of clients they are best suited to work with in their practice. Many carers use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for mood disorders and certain types of mental illness. The reasons for this is because some people believe that there is both a psychological and a biological basis to depression which creates certain negative thought patterns for the individual. Dr. Andrew Leuchter (2008) states that CBT is a very effective treatment for people with depression if it is combined with medication. He cautions that one is not as effective without the other and that they can help someone recover from depression all together. All mental health programs should have a base that includes not only the carers and patients but others in the community who can collaborate. As an example, the Canadian Mental Health System has created this model that shows how they are bringing together a network for mental health: This base shows community coming together with education, housing, work and income so that the individual and family can be more integrated into the specific needs of the individual with mental health challenges. This is one model among many but beyond blue and the NEC do not have anything as specific as this one to show how the community and others can come together to help the individual. There is a section for carers on the beyond blue site but it was difficult to find; it was listed in the "get information", "healthcare professionals" area and it was easy to miss. Beyond blue states that one of their missions is to make sure that health practitioners have a better way to work with people with mood disorders and to educate them on the challenges people face. They list several links that include clinical guidelines, position statements, external links and education and training examples; the links did not seem to work but if you scrolled down under the links the information was found. This researcher did not find these links particularly helpful because they did not give more than basic information but the fact sheets for each area was good information. NEC does have links to specific advocacy groups across the country that are involved in helping the mentally ill. I am not sure that as a carer looked at these sites whether they would find different ways of thinking. I think this would depend on the individual and what they were looking for as they went through the site; they have them across the United States. One of the reasons that it is important to have a program of advocacy for the mentally ill is to help reduce or eliminate the stigma that it entails. The NEC does this very well. They provide information about mental illness in the way of papers, research and DVDs. They are making an effort to "get the word out" to as many individuals and groups as possible. They provide many speaking engagements and Dr. Fisher presents at many conferences across the country. They are doing what they say they do. CONCLUSION Mental health is a very important aspect today as people are dealing with the global economic crisis. There are many mental health facilities that are attempting to stay motivated with best practices for helping those in the mental health community. Every sector of the community is now involved with mental health issues. Companies can no longer to stand on their own without giving benefits to their employees to deal with mental health. There are many best practices to help those in need and these two websites show some of those best practices. When an individual needs specific help they will need more than a website but these are great places to begin exploration. The challenge for employers is that they do not know when someone is dealing with mental health issues on the job and without a plan in place they may not be able to help. One helpful agency is Employers United for a Strong America. They provide information for employers who need assistance in how to help employees with mental health issues. References Allen, J. P. (2003). An overview of Becks Cognitive Theory of depression in contemporary literature. Rochester Institute of Technology. Retrieved May 18, 2009 from http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/allen.html Beyond Blue the national depression initiative. Retrieved May 14, 2009 from http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?. Canadian Mental Health Association. (2008). Out of the shadow redux. Retrieved May 16, 2009 from http://www.cmha.ca/data/1/rec_docs/1962_CMHA%20FINAL %20OutofShadows%20Redux.pdf. Employers United for a Stronger America. Employer best practices mental health counselling. Retrieved May 16, 2009 from http://www.employersunited.org /nm/publish/news_10.php. Leuchter, A. (2008). How effective is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for the treatment of depression? CBS News. Retrieved May 18, 2009 from http://abcnews.go.com/Health/DepressionTreatment/story?id=4361034. Mayo Clinic Staff. Depression (major depression). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved May 18, 2009 from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depression/DS00175 / /DSECTION=symptoms. National Empowerment Centre. Retrieved May 14, 2009 from http://www.power2u.org/. Read More