Exploring Community-Based Approach to Mental Health Care

When discussing mental health care, the conventional perception often involves hospital-like settings where individuals with mental illness are secluded, detached from society and public activities. However, this is not the only approach. The community-based mental health care model presents a more compassionate approach, prioritizing community’s involvement in the forefront of caring for individuals with mental illness.

The Conventional Mental Health Care May Not Be Optimal

In a 2023 Aon and TELUS Health report, it is revealed that 35% of Asian workers face a high risk of mental health issues, with an additional 47% at a moderate risk. Furthermore, 54% believe their career options would be restricted if their employers knew about their mental illness.

To address this, mental health facilities provide ongoing support for individuals dealing with mental health problems. While hospitals and other conventional centers for mental health care have been helping people for a long time, some drawbacks indicate that this approach might not be the most optimal.

Isolation within conventional mental health care facilities can go so far as to restrict interactions with family and fellow patients due to safety concerns. However, the experience of isolated care may create a sense of imprisonment and dehumanization for patients, highlighting their desire for freedom and their feelings of being restricted, powerless, and stripped of rights.

In some conventional settings, the enclosed environment may create opportunities for potential cases of abuse to occur. This closed setup often lacks adequate supervision from the outside world, making it difficult for observers to assess how caregivers are treating individuals within.

Community-Based Mental Health Care Model as Alternative

Shifting from conventional mental health care, the community-based model offers a compelling alternative rooted in the Trieste model from the 1960s. Focused on treating individuals with mental illnesses with dignity, this approach prioritizes community engagement and daily activities, guided by the slogan “freedom is therapeutic.”

In Trieste, Italy, individuals with mental health challenges, once confined to mental health facility buildings, are now actively encouraged to engage in work across the city. This transformation is facilitated by the social cooperative La Collina, operating within the framework of the Trieste model for community-based mental health care.

Individuals with mental illnesses are warmly welcome to work in diverse settings like cafes, museums, libraries, and sewing workshops. They could contribute actively to society, helping staff at the workplace while still receiving treatment anytime, 24/7.

Community-based mental health care guides individuals away from traumatic hospitalization or incarceration. Instead, this model provides short-term housing in a home-like environment managed by peers who offer valuable support based on their lived experiences. The community mental health team also links individuals to clubs and associations.

Communal Awareness, Inclusion, and Accessibility

To implement community-based mental health care, however, some aspects must be acknowledged and considered to create an effective and supportive care environment.

As frontline supporters, surrounding communities like workplaces, schools, or families need to cultivate their awareness and understanding of mental health challenges. By doing so, they can help eliminate social stigma instead of perpetuating it. Their knowledge is also a prerequisite to creating a safer, more inclusive, and more supportive environment.

Furthermore, mental health varies and is often shaped by cultural influences. Different cultures have distinct beliefs, attitudes, and ways of dealing with mental wellbeing. Therefore, it is also important to acknowledge these cultural differences to provide more inclusive support and care within diverse communities.

Still, guaranteeing universal access to mental health care and facilities is the priority. Southeast Asia continues to have the lowest per capita number of mental health workers in the region and a shortage of mental health services and facilities, leaving four out of five people without access to mental health services.

The development and adoption of community-based mental health care as an alternative approach would be beneficial for the health and wellbeing of all. Moreover, advocating for supportive policies, funding, and government actions remains a crucial step to improving the treatment of people with mental illness in facilities. This includes safeguarding individual rights, preventing abuses, and ensuring access to community-based treatment.

Editor: Nazalea Kusuma

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