Mental Health Literacy and Education of Complementary Medicine Practitioners: A Cross-Sectional Study

Joanna E Harnett; Matthew J Leach; Randa Karzon; Erica McIntyre

doi:10.1007/s10488-023-01339-x

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Mental Health Literacy and Education of Complementary Medicine Practitioners: A Cross-Sectional Study

Journal article

Open access

Mental Health Literacy and Education of Complementary Medicine Practitioners: A Cross-Sectional Study

Joanna E Harnett, Matthew J Leach, Randa Karzon and Erica McIntyre

Administration and policy in mental health and mental health services research, Vol.51, pp.217-225

03/2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-023-01339-x

PMID: 38236455

Appears in Recent National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine Publications

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Abstract

Complementary medicine

Practitioner mental health literacy

Mental health services

Practitioner education

An estimated 42% of Australians who consult complementary medicine (CM) practitioners have a mental health diagnosis. Preparedness of CM practitioners in managing such diagnoses is currently unknown. A cross-sectional survey of 257 CM practitioners who reported caring for people with a mental health diagnosis. Practitioners' mental health literacy, educational needs, and confidence in the assessment, management, and treatment of mental health-including suicide risk-were analysed. Most (59.1%) participants had no formal qualifications in mental health and 44.3% indicated they had not completed any training in psychological therapies. Only 20% were trained in mindfulness-based techniques or goal setting. Over 50% reported their undergraduate qualification contained insufficient mental health content to prepare them for clinical practice. Over one-half had attended continuing professional education on mental health. Practitioners reported greater confidence in assessing, managing, and treating mental wellbeing over complex mental health disorders and suicide risk. These findings uncovered a deficit in the CM practitioner's surveyed mental health education. As these CM practitioners are a primary point of contact for patients with mental health diagnoses, there is a critical need to expedite skills development in this workforce to support the delivery of safe and effective primary mental health care.

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Title: Mental Health Literacy and Education of Complementary Medicine Practitioners: A Cross-Sectional Study
Creators: Joanna E Harnett - University of Sydney
Matthew J Leach - Southern Cross University
Randa Karzon - Endeavour College of Natural Health
Erica McIntyre - University of Technology Sydney
Publication Details: Administration and policy in mental health and mental health services research, Vol.51, pp.217-225
Publisher: Springer
Identifiers: 991013161812402368
Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and its Member Institutions. The project was funded by an Endeavour College of Natural Health Research Grant.
Academic Unit: National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

Mental Health Literacy and Education of Complementary Medicine Practitioners: A Cross-Sectional Study

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