Multidisciplinary program design for brain injury support: staying true to mental health

Abstract

The advanced practicum, consisting of 450 hours, was completed at Brainworks Corporation, which has a main office in Huntsville, Ontario. The focal point of the practicum project was the development of a mental health program for Brainworks clients, emphasizing the integration of the mental health recovery concept and ensuring alignment with the mental health recovery paradigm in the program design. In preparation to stay true to a paradigm shift toward mental health recovery, extensive readings were undertaken both before and during the placement. The objective was to mindfully incorporate the idea of mental health recovery into the designed program. These readings explored the origins of mental health recovery, which diverges from the prevalent, deficit- focused medical model that still exists in mental health settings. Throughout the practicum, a guiding principle was the incorporation of anti-oppressive social work practice, strengths-based social work practice, and psychology theories that could be compatible with the mental health recovery paradigm shift. These theories were explored to bridge the counselling theory gap within the multidisciplinary team that exists at the agency but certainly exists in many other social work settings as well. Group work, cognitive-behavioural therapy interventions, and dialectical behaviour interventions were applied in a manner that complemented the conceptualization of mental health recovery as advocated by psychiatric consumer/survivors.