Modernising occupational therapy teaching, research and practice in mental health

Learning from consumers: An eDelphi study of Australian mental health consumers’ priorities for recovery‐oriented curricula

“…'s () study stand in stark contrast to the priorities of consumers identified in this study. This misalignment is consistent with the concerns raised by Mahboub and Milbourn () in their invited response to Scanlan et al . Occupational therapists appear to prioritise occupational therapy professional knowledge and clinical skills as they are applied in a mental health setting.…”

“…An invited consumer response to Scanlan et al's (2015) study raised some important concerns (Mahboub & Milbourn, 2015). These included a failure to critique the term mental illness when there is no consensus about its meaning and many consumers find it problematic; the concept of functional implications of mental illness not being aligned with contemporary understandings of recovery; the use of the term goal setting rather than an emphasis on connecting people to their personal dreams and ambitions; and insufficient attention to critical self-reflection and reflexivity by therapists as crucial for recovery-oriented practice (Mahboub & Milbourn).…”

“…'s () study raised some important concerns (Mahboub & Milbourn, ). These included a failure to critique the term mental illness when there is no consensus about its meaning and many consumers find it problematic; the concept of functional implications of mental illness not being aligned with contemporary understandings of recovery; the use of the term goal setting rather than an emphasis on connecting people to their personal dreams and ambitions; and insufficient attention to critical self‐reflection and reflexivity by therapists as crucial for recovery‐oriented practice (Mahboub & Milbourn). This highlights a gap in thinking about curriculum priorities between consumers and the profession, and the necessity of consumers’ perspectives underpinning curricula if they are to be relevant in a future mental health service system focussed on the needs of its users.…”

“I felt some prejudice in the back of my head”: Nursing students’ perspectives on learning about mental health from “Experts by Experience”

“…In the almost two decades to follow, there has been only a marginal increase in these positions. Consumer‐led teaching is reported most commonly in nursing (Byrne et al., ; Happell Byrne, McAllister, et al., ; Happell, Platania‐Phung, et al., ; Horgan et al., ; O'Donnell & Gormley, ; Scammell, Heaslip, & Crowley, ; Schneebeli, O'Brien, Lampshire, & Hamer, ), and more recently in occupational therapy (Arblaster et al., ; Mahboub & Milbourn, ), social work (Fox, ; Goossen & Austin, ; Ridley et al., ), and medicine (Gordon, Ellis, Gallagher, & Purdie, ). Despite these advances, consumer participation in the education of health professionals remains embryonic and lacks penetration and consistency (Happell, Platania‐Phung, et al., ; McCann, Moxham, Usher, Crookes, & Farrell, ).…”

Implementation of a mental health consumer academic position: Benefits and challenges

“…Mental health consumer involvement in the education of health professionals has gradually emerged as a strategy in the research literature over recent years. This development has occurred most frequently within the nursing profession, with recent activity in occupational therapy and social work …”