Community vital to mental health
There’s a lot to be said for local solutions to our common challenges, and grassroots mental health services continue to make a real difference. Decades of research on the effectiveness of community interventions, as well as an evolving understanding of people’s needs, prove that social solutions work. They help to prevent ill health, improve wellbeing and quality of life, and ultimately save lives.
However, despite robust evidence for community-based programs, governments continue to prioritise investment in acute and crisis-care services. But you only need to have a chat with a person living with depression and anxiety, or even a more complex condition, to understand some of the external causes for their experiences. Often a lack of resources and support (friends, family and community) coupled with some really trying and traumatic circumstances, contribute to many instances of psychological hardship and distress.
Of course, genetics and biochemistry play a role. But the broken brain theory alone just doesn’t cut it. According to world renowned addiction specialist and trauma and childhood development expert, Dr Gabor Mate: “In the real world there is no nature v nurture argument, only an infinitely complex and moment-by-moment interaction between genetic and environmental factors.”
However, many psychiatric and clinical interventions fail to account for the complex range of social, economic and environmental causes of illness. The WA Government’s spend on preventive mental health initiatives is pitiful — only 1.7 per cent of the mental health budget was allocated to prevention in 2020-21. This means many community services rely on philanthropy and fundraising.
MyLocalMind Inc is just one community mental health service in WA. Based in Fremantle, the grassroots mental health and wellbeing charity provides free group-based holistic services to the community. Dr Kaine Grigg, consultant clinical psychologist and founder of MyLocalMind Inc established the organisation to address the gaps he saw in community care. “My existential angst in response to working within large systems, those that often create and perpetuate the social issues that I work to alleviate, led to the creation of MyLocalMind Inc,” he said.
Grigg started his career as a youth and outreach worker, before moving into clinical work in government agencies including with the departments of justice and health. The organisation aims to reduce the barriers to access, and works across the spectrum of mental health.
“(Our programs support) people who are well and want to stay well, and those who are experiencing chronic mental health difficulties,” Dr Grigg said.
No diagnosis or referral is required to access their adult and youth programs, which include trauma-informed yoga, mindfulness, creative self-expression and peer-led support groups. “One of the most striking outcomes of the work of our organisation is that we are truly building community — people engaged with our services, who are often isolated and lonely, begin to actively make connections and friendships that would never have occurred if they had not become involved.”
Finding out about community mental health programs isn’t always easy, and access can often be a bit tricky. But the WA Association for Mental Health, which is the peak body for non-government programs, provides a service directory on its website — it’s a good place to find out about what’s in your area.
There is a big opportunity to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes for people from diverse backgrounds across WA, including in regional areas. We need to see greater investment in initiatives such as MyLocalMind Inc. And we must also remain open to new ways of thinking about mental health (outside of clinical settings), to prevent illness and promote wellness.
This article was first published in The West Australian in Renée Gardiner’s weekly column in Agenda, 28 August 2021.