CRITIQUE OF YOUTH SUICIDE PROGRAM AND SOCIAL GROUP WORK
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12th, December, 2011
Critique of youth suicide program in regard to social group work (Australia)
The National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy abbreviated as NYSPS is a program that offers help and services of youth suicide prevention in Australia. With the increasing concern on youth suicide the common wealth initiated programs and policies that are essential for the well being and mental health of youths. This essay offers an overview of the National Youth Suicide Prevention and programs in social group work and provides their similarities and differences.
The National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy
The National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy abbreviated as (NYSPS) provides a broad aspect of youth suicide prevention in Australia. The program based its argument that youth suicide is an intricate phenomenon attributed by factors such as social, cultural, psychological, and biological factors. In 1995, the Australian government allocated $31 million this program with as a way of enhancing the wellbeing of the population (Australia, 1997). The NYSPS provides interventions on measures on protective and risk factors of suicide cases.
According to Mitchell (2000), the program is in a format that modifies the social, cultural, and physical factors which shape environments. These entail cultural change, crucial intervention, early and disaster intervention, treatment, and support into prevention. The major focus of the program is to build programs that offer valuable responses to the needs of youth instead of having new programs and services. The NYSPC facilitated the adoption of practices applicable to prevention of youth suicide (Australia, 1997). These included communication, networking, along with community development. The program adopts the approach of suicide prevention whereby young people is target group.
Strengths and limitations
The program has a strong ideal of preventing youth suicide which is a vital thing in facilitating the Australian future. It provides interventions on measures that address protective and risk factors of suicide cases. However, the strategy is limited in providing services to the youths while suicidal cases affect all age group.
Social group work program
National mental Health Strategy
For the past years, Australia has had extensive reforms on mental health services. The Australian government initiated the National Mental Health Strategy (NMHS) in 1992, to provide service to victims affected by mental illness. Increasing support and consumer participation is vital in this strategy. The program fosters a format that support different group as discussed below.
Adolescents and children are viewed at risk to mental disorders thus this program regard addressing their needs. Other age groups include the elderly living in the countryside and remote areas. The strategy creates a platform to tackle and address the needs of adolescents, children and the aged. The program initiative has been to boost the social and emotional well being of people. From 1999 to 2000, $20.5 million was allocated in the program with an aim of providing variety mental health services that appropriate improve mental health (Mitchell, 2000).
Strength and limitations
According to Canada (2008), this program has a strong social work aspect of enhancing and improving mental health on children, adolescents, and the elderly. It evaluates the need of improving social being of all age group as all are the victim of the problem. In doing, the program creates a favourable society whose social needs are addressed. It works best in providing mental health activities and services which are accessible to the needs of people.
The program has weak social work ideals of majoring in specific target group of people living in Torres Strait and Aboriginal, and from rural and remote areas. It would be applicable if the program majors in various places in Australia so that many access the services.
Similarities
Healy (2005) argues that, both programs are designed to improve the wellbeing of people in the sense that NYSPS aims to improve Youth’s health and NHMS in all age group. Both programs are initiated by the Australian Government (Commonwealth Government programs and policies).
Differences
According to Payne (2005), the National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy (NYSPS) aims at providing measures towards youth suicide prevention in Australia while the National Mental Health Strategy (NMHS) provides service to victims affected by mental illness. Secondly, the NYSPS targets young people while NMHS targets all age group. Thirdly, NYSPS seeks to eradicate youth suicide while NMHS seeks to improve the mental well being of people. Fourthly, NYSPS look at prevention measures of youth suicide prevention while NHMS seeks at ways of improving the social being of people.
Conclusion
This paper has briefly outlined the critique of the youth suicide program in regard to social group work. It has evaluated important facts that indicate the content, format, and delivery. Additionally, it has evaluated the strengths and limitations of each program. Therefore, this paper has ideally achieved its objective of analysing the main subject.
Work cited
Australia, 1997, Youth suicide in Australia: the national youth suicide prevention strategy, Canberra, Australian Govt. Pub. Service.
Canada, 2008, Guide to the National Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy for First Nation communities, [Ottawa], Health Canada.
Mitchell, P, 2000, Crisis intervention and primary care: evaluation of the National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy, Melbourne, Vic, Australian Institute of Family Studies.
Mitchell, P, 2000, Valuing young lives: evaluation of the National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy, Melbourne, Australian Institute of Family Studies.
Payne,M, 2005, Modern social work theory,3rd edn, Palgrave, New York.
Healy, K, 2005, Social work theories in context: creating frameworks for practice, Palgrave, New York.
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