Inclusion and Capacity Building for People with Psychological Disability
The Problem
Psychological disability (PSD) is a term used by physicians to describe the form of limitations that arises due to the aspect of mental health issues (Wehmeyer, 2013). People affected by PSD are always troubled throughout the aspect of their lives. As such, individuals with PSD find it more challenging to set personal goals, initiate plans, engage with other people, or even participate in social and cultural activities. In a survey that was compiled in 2007, it was outlined that 45% of the Australian population aged 16 to 85 years experiences psychological disorder and in 2009, the number increased to 9 million (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2017). The same research highlights that between 2013 and 2014, the number of children with PSD in Australia was about 2,967 for children aged 11 to 17 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2017). Similarly, in the same year, it was estimated that at about 6,310 young children in Australia within the age bracket of 4 to 17 years had encountered mental disabilities (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2017). As the issue of PSD continues to be more prevalent in Australia, many people have been limited to participate in the community welfares, schools, as well as in the workplace. The inclusion of individuals with PSD in the social aspects is vital, but as the number of PSD people is imperatively getting higher, a number of adults and children in the Australian community found themselves under certain limitations, which is influencing their lives negatively.
The people with PSD are often able and willing to work so that they can become financially independent and play a part in the development of the community and the entire society. However, this can only happen if the Australian government ensures that there is the aspect of social inclusion in the society, where people with PSD will be given the identification they need. In Australia, individuals with PSD are under-represented in the workforce, which has made many people who are diagnosed with mental problems become unemployed. For example, in 2009, the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Australia’s workplace dropped from 55% to 53% (Ruhindwa 2016). This research shows that the rate of individuals with PSD failing to secure a job in Australia is 1.5 times higher than for residents with no disabilities (Ruhindwa 2016). Wilson et al. (2016) posit that in cases where the model of inclusion is consistent within the Australian community, it is evident that there is the principle of normalization where people can access different services that they need to satisfy their needs. On the contrary, the implementation of inclusion for people with PSD has remained elusive, which has influenced the life of the Australian citizens diagnosed with any form of psychological disability. Due to lack of fully implementation of inclusion model in Australia for the community affected by PSD, a person with psychological disorder is expected to live too far from his or her friends, encounter the problem of insufficient money, generate fear of moving out of the house, and suffer from various health concerns (Wilson et al. 2016).
In a reflection of the ILC policy, it is apparent that the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) knows that people with disability in Australia do not only want to be represented in the community, but they want to be made active agents for community development (National Disability Insurance Agency 2016). For this reason, it is believed that the people with psychological disorders can only become active members of the society when the Australian people create and embrace a genuine partnership with them. The NDIA can play a major role to enhance that the partnership is in existence, as the group is well known for its grants that are intended to fund and aid the community promote the aspect of inclusion for people with PSD. The money that ILC will provide to institute projects to improve the involvement of people with disability in the different aspect of the society will be short-term (NDIA 2016). However, to drive inclusion intensively, it is hoped that the association will also offer other elements such as co-investment, best ways to tell the society about the benefit of inclusion within the society, and innovation programs aimed at creating the awareness needed by the Australian people.
Responses and Method for Implementation
Method
For the project to accomplish its objective, it will be essential for the researcher to use the most effective method in coming up with the best strategy for building capacities that will improve the life of the people with psychological disability. The estimated timeline for this project is 90 days, whereby throughout this period, the researcher will plan and put everything required to build a capacity for the inclusion of the people with PSD in an orderly manner for effectiveness after implementation. Some of the activities that the researcher will do in this section include designing the plan for the project and selecting the individuals who will participate in data collection process.
As the course of obtaining data for this project might be complex, the researcher will focus on collecting relevant information from the people with physiological disability, family members assigned to care for the individuals with PSD, and the general members of the community. From the information that will be gathered, the investigator will use the data to come up with the ideas that will be used to build the capacity to support the inclusion of individuals with PSD within the community. As it is difficult for the researcher to obtain data directly from the people with disability, for this project the surveyor will use the virtual online method to collect necessary information. Thereafter, the investigator will analyze the data before the construction of a capacity set to ensure that inclusion for the PSD individuals is active for every member of the society in Australia. Through this method, the researcher will try to gather information that will relate to the issues such as:
- The role of the family members to support of inclusion that is meant to strengthen the life of people with PSD.
- The extent of capacities that has been established in the society to meet the need of PSD people or to ensure that people with psychological disability are supported to access different social aspects.
- Finally, the data for this project will be based on the response of the people with disability, concerning the challenges that the individuals with PSD experiences in the community, schools, and employment sector in Australia.
Moreover, the researcher is set to acquire more information from the extensive data that has been published online, particularly information presented on the ILC activities and the policy itself. According to the National Disability Insurance Agency (2016), the activity of the ILC is to ensure that the community builds capacities that will meet the needs of the people with various types of disabilities. Information from the ILC is paramount because the researcher will use it to explore more about the construction of capacities that are meant make sure that the society considers the requirements of the people with PSD and these individuals are involved in the development of the nation. Lastly, to implement a capacity approach that is well structured in order to meet the goal of this project, the researcher will also use the government reports that have findings on the needs of the people with disability in Australia, and how these needs can be meet through inclusion.
Response
Typically, to respond to the needs of the people with psychological disability in Australia, this project proposes that approaches required in the building of a capacity should be well organized to deal with the problem of psychological abuse and neglect that happens to the people with mental disability. Wehmeye (2013) alludes that although there are different approaches that can be useful in the process of capacity building, for people with a psychological disability, it is necessary for one to develop strategies that will assess the subjective experience of an individual with PSD. This is important because the intervention measure will ensure that the capacity developed minimizes the complexities that a person with PSD encounters.
One of the intervention strategies that will be used to respond to the need of the inclusion for people with psychological disability is person-centered planning (PCP). Sanderson, Thompson, and Kilbane (2006) stated that person-centered planning is an essential approach that can be used to support disadvantaged population and the approach is recognized for its purpose of leading to positive change in the life of people with disabilities. For this project, it is evident that the researcher intends to use PCP because the approach is associated with benefits in the field of community involvement, contact between people with a disability and the community, family, and an approach that can be used to support the choices of individuals with PSD. As PCP is an approach that requires total commitment, to address the problem raised in this project with the use of this strategy, the person initiating the plan aim at using the PCP model to build the capacity of first line services. Sanderson et al. (2006) posit that when the communities use PCP to build a capacity for inclusion of the particular group of people, they find the most efficient ways to support the healthcare facilitators and link the individuals with disabilities with the assistance to plan their social activities.
The other approach that this project intends to use in response to the problem encountered by the people with PSD is public relation camping. The proposed campaign will involve non-governmental organizations and members of the public, with the aim of creating societal awareness concerning the need for inclusion for the individuals with the psychological disability. The campaign will also seek to raise the awareness of the matter to the local government, whereby the officials will be required to act upon the needs for social and political change with regards to the people with psychological disabilities. Macauley and Holsinger (2015) assert that public relation campaigns meant to build capacities for the inclusion of the people with disabilities can be carried out in different forms such as a series of workshops that will bring together different people from various sectors. For the case individuals with PSD in Australia, this project proposes that a workshop campaign can be necessary where the workshop participant will include local government officials, representative of the people with PSD, and the organizations that have been created by the individuals with the PSD problem.
The Results/Outcomes of the Project
The project is meant to achieve positive result because the barriers associated with the people with psychological disability have been identified and the project planner has proposed the approaches that will ensure that the needs of PSD people have been met. The two methods that have been proposed for this project are person-centered planning and workshop campaign, and using both strategies will give the people with PSD an opportunity to be involved in the social activities happening in the society and participate in the aspect of community progress. Upon the completion of this project, the outcomes to be achieved are as follows:
- Consequently, the project is set to assist the ILC in identifying the experience of the individuals with the psychological disability, their skills, potentiality, and their role in societal development.
- Conversely, the project aim at bearing results that would indicate the way the society should treat people with disability through respectful actions. As such, the project is set to ensure that people know how to uphold the independence of the individuals with PSD.
- In addition, the project is set to enlighten the community about the needs of the people with psychological disability and the reasons why it is important for the society to change their attitude toward the individuals with PSD.
Most importantly, the project will focus on delivering the outcomes relating to the healthcare services. For example, after the capacity for people with PSD is implemented, it is hoped that there will be financial discounts and fee exemptions for the health care services that are meant to support the life of the people with PSD.
The outcomes of this project are also set to influence the ILC framework directly, especially the framework that the ILC use to consult with people with disability as well as the family members who are given the responsibility of taking care of the individuals with PSD. As a result of this project, it is hoped that the Australian people will see new actions that will be designed to benefit the individuals with the psychological disability. In other words, this project is set to have positive results to the following individuals as supported by the ILC programs.
- The people affected by psychological disability both adults’ aged 16-85 years and younger children from the age of 4-17.
- The National Disability Insurance Agency, as the initiative that was implemented to deal with the challenges facing the people with disabilities in Australia.
- The project will also have benefit outcomes on the community as the key factor that influences the success of inclusions that has been set in Australia to support the people affected by PSD.
In essence, this project is important because it presents methods and strategies that can be incorporated to support the life of people with psychological disability by building an inclusion capacity. Fundamentally, it can be argued that the two proposed strategies for intervention can be viewed as proactive mechanisms. Hence, if implemented appropriately, the approaches can help the Australian healthcare address challenges and barriers affecting the welfare of the people with psychological disability.
Bibliography
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2017.Mental health services in Australia. [online]. Available at: https://mhsa.aihw.gov.au/background/prevalance/ [Accessed 2017].
Macauley, C. and Holsinger, H., 2015. Building Capacity to Promote the Rights of People with Disabilities in Vietnam. Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, 19(1), pp.12-15.
National Disability Insurance Agency, 2016. Information, linkages, and capacity building commissioning framework. [online]. Available at: https://www.ndis.gov.au/medias/documents/hf4/ha1/8799111970846/ILC-Commissioning-Framework-PDF-3MB-.pdf. [Accessed 2017].
Ruhindwa, A., 2016. Exploring the challenges experienced by people with disabilities in the employment sector in Australia: Advocating for inclusive practice-a review of literature. Journal of Social Inclusion, 7(1), pp.4-19.
Sanderson, H., Thompson, J. and Kilbane, J., 2006. The emergence of person-centred planning as evidence-based practice. Journal of Integrated Care, 14(2), pp.18-25.
Wehmeyer, M. L. 2013. The Oxford handbook of positive psychology and disability. New York, NY, Oxford University Press.
Wilson, N.J., Jaques, H., Johnson, A. and Brotherton, M.L., 2016. From social exclusion to supported inclusion: Adults with intellectual disability discuss their lived experiences of a structured social group. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, pp.1-12.
