Shine a light: Acknowledging failure and engaging with it (Editorial)
Abstract
There are many reasons why we should expect that psychiatry has advanced as a profession and people experiencing mental illness should be doing better. Our profession has seen the advent of psychotropic medication, de-institutionalisation and community-based care, the ‘decade of the brain’, adoption of recovery-oriented care principles and commitments to early intervention. Despite these efforts, the life-expectancy gap between people with and without mental illness has widened,1 and recovery rates of severe mental disorders have not improved.2 The recent Productivity Commission Inquiry into mental health provided recommendations ...
View more >There are many reasons why we should expect that psychiatry has advanced as a profession and people experiencing mental illness should be doing better. Our profession has seen the advent of psychotropic medication, de-institutionalisation and community-based care, the ‘decade of the brain’, adoption of recovery-oriented care principles and commitments to early intervention. Despite these efforts, the life-expectancy gap between people with and without mental illness has widened,1 and recovery rates of severe mental disorders have not improved.2 The recent Productivity Commission Inquiry into mental health provided recommendations to guide the long-term improvement of population mental health in Australia. One of the key recommendations of the report was to increase the number of psychiatrists.3 In addition to increasing the number of psychiatrists, we must continue to focus on improving the quality of psychiatry practice.
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View more >There are many reasons why we should expect that psychiatry has advanced as a profession and people experiencing mental illness should be doing better. Our profession has seen the advent of psychotropic medication, de-institutionalisation and community-based care, the ‘decade of the brain’, adoption of recovery-oriented care principles and commitments to early intervention. Despite these efforts, the life-expectancy gap between people with and without mental illness has widened,1 and recovery rates of severe mental disorders have not improved.2 The recent Productivity Commission Inquiry into mental health provided recommendations to guide the long-term improvement of population mental health in Australia. One of the key recommendations of the report was to increase the number of psychiatrists.3 In addition to increasing the number of psychiatrists, we must continue to focus on improving the quality of psychiatry practice.
View less >
Journal Title
Australasian Psychiatry
Volume
30
Issue
1
Subject
Biomedical and clinical sciences
Psychology
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Psychiatry
Clinical