Reflection -contemporary policies mental health - Essay Example

As opposed to other citizens, they are left without access to services, subjected to a life with poverty, and denied of the basic life opportunities (World Health Organisation 2010). Mental health policies in a country can go a long way to promote mental health and provide equitable services to all the population irrespective of regions through strategic planning, appropriate legislation, and intent to serve in order to deliver effective treatment, prevention programmes, and promotional activities.

An orientation to human rights that consider people affected with mental health problems as consumers may serve this issue appropriately, but mental health policies must be reviewed and critically examined in order to find out the differences and gaps in services in different areas. A reflective process that critically examines the differences would lead to guidance to the policy makers so efficient policies may be in place (Fawcett & Karban, 2005). From the Australian perspective, the issue of mental health care and complexities associated with consequent care delivery should have been a smooth journey from theory to policy to practice, but the current inequities in mental health practice raises the question of critical reflection.

It has been suggested by Fawcett et al. that somewhere the objects of attention have lost the links between practice and praxis, where the conceptual signposts are no longer being identified in certain areas. There has been a definite loss of connection between theory, practice, and policies, so the ideally suitable flexible and dynamic use of knowledge, skills, analysis is not occurring in a methodologically sound, effective, and uniform manner. However, it was not expected to be so. The 1992-98 National Mental Health Policy in Australia is a policy of reform in mental health care across all states and territories, and it was aligned