Australasian psychiatry : bulletin of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
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Trevor Clark usually works as a bulk fuel truck driver. He has a passion for poetry, writing and guitar playing which he uses as a sounding board for reflective learning and development. ⋯ Currently, Trevor is working on his first novel while he recovers from physical injuries incurred on his quest for autonomy and place. Managing his mental health is of paramount importance to Trevor and even though this may be trying at times, he lives and works happily with his condition.
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Duncan Monaghan is 33 years old and in his second year of an Arts degree in Creative Writing. He is a published poet and is currently producing a music CD. ⋯ I felt different from everybody else--I did not understand what was happening to me." Drawing on his life experiences, Duncan has been enhancing his recovery through creativity--in poetry, lyrics, music and story. "Life for me was a constant battle of relying on medication and appointments with my case manager...until I realized I could combine my recovery with my passions as a tool to use as an outlet to many of the "mind traps" I so often found hindering my own recovery." Duncan is Aboriginal and has experience of the mental health systems in most states and territories and now lives in Brisbane. This is a shortened version of his presentation at Creating Futures 2010.
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Australas Psychiatry · Jul 2011
Health consequences of disparity: the US Affiliated Pacific Islands.
Health disparities and the social determinants of health are often discussed, but their relationship to political forces, the integrity of cultures, social and environmental change, and mental health outcomes are not well understood. Specifically the US Affiliated Pacific Islands Jurisdictions (USPAIJ) is an area of profound isolation and deprivation with a unique sociocultural history. This article provides an overview of health disparities in the US Affiliated Pacific in the context of the environment, and international and state policies. The article explores how the political, economic, social, and environmental context of the USAPIJ shapes health status and provides a "social determinants of health" model for health improvement for the people of the region.
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Australas Psychiatry · Apr 2011
Case ReportsBlame and accountability 1: understanding blame and blame pathologies.
In this first paper the role and dynamics of blame in the context of medical critical incidents is examined. Blame pathologies are described and the complex nature of medical adverse events and the environment are explored. ⋯ The necessary conditions for an accountable, responsive, fair and transparent health culture are proposed.
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This paper aims to examine the nature of excuses. ⋯ The making of excuses is sometimes roundly condemned. However, an excuse is a reason offered in application for exemption from a task or for blameless status when an action has been taken (or not taken). Acceptance (or otherwise) depends on an assessment by society of the facts and a decision (by society) as to whether a sufficient quantity of energy has been exerted by the applicant. Psychoanalysis, meditation and the ageing process may assist the individual by reducing the number of excuses submitted, and increasing the rate of excuse acceptance (by society).