INTERVENTION

AND
MANAGEMENT

Chapter 4
CONTENTS
• Need for mental health intervention and strategies
• Physiological approach, Cultural and Social Approach: Bronfenbrenner model
• Coping Mechanisms
• Indigenous Approach - Yoga & Meditation
NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH
INTERVENTION AND STRATEGIES
• A mental health intervention can help someone through tragedy, trauma, or through any
underlying untreated psychiatric disorder. Ideally, a therapist or intervention specialist of some
kind is involved in helping convince someone to get mental health or medical treatment.
• Psychological interventions are similar to counseling interventions in that they involve evidence-
based techniques to help patients recover from mental health challenges. More specifically,
though, psychological interventions work to help the patient with long-term recovery.
BRONFENBRENNER MODEL
• Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory is one of the most accepted explanations
regarding the influence of social environments on human development. This theory argues that
the environment you grow up in affects every facet of your life.
• Bronfenbrenner (1977) suggested that the environment of the child is a nested arrangement of
structures, each contained within the next. He organized them in order of how much of an
impact they have on a child. He named these structures the Microsystem, Mesosystem,
Exosystem, Macrosystem and the Chronosystem.
• Because the five systems are interrelated, the influence of one system on a child’s development
depends on its relationship with the others.
THE MICROSYSTEM
• The microsystem is the first level of Bronfenbrenner's theory, and are the things that have direct
contact with the child in their immediate environment, such as parents, siblings, teachers and school
peers.
• Relationships in a microsystem are bi-directional, meaning the child can be influenced by other
people in their environment and is also capable of changing the beliefs and actions of other people
too.
• Furthermore, the reactions of the child to individuals in their microsystem can influence how they
treat them in return.
• The interactions within microsystems are often very personal and are crucial for fostering and
supporting the child’s development.
• If a child has a strong nurturing relationship with their parents, this is said to have a positive effect on
the child. Whereas, distant and unaffectionate parents will have a negative effect on the child.
THE MESOSYSTEM
• The mesosystem encompasses the interactions between the child’s microsystems, such as the
interactions between the child’s parents and teachers, or between school peers and siblings.
• The mesosystem is where a person's individual microsystems do not function independently, but
are interconnected and assert influence upon one another.
• For instance, if a child’s parents communicate with the child’s teachers, this interaction may
influence the child’s development. Essentially, a mesosystem is a system of microsystems.
• According to the ecological systems theory, if the child’s parents and teachers get along and
have a good relationship, this should have positive effects on the child’s development, compared
to negative effects on development if the teachers and parents do not get along.
THE EXOSYSTEM
• The exosystem is a component of the ecological systems theory developed by Urie
Bronfenbrenner in the 1970s. It incorporates other formal and informal social structures, which
do not themselves contain the child, but indirectly influence them as they affect one of the
microsystems.
• Examples of exosystems include the neighborhood, parent’s workplaces, parent’s friends and
the mass media. These are environments in which the child is not involved, and are external to
their experience, but nonetheless affects them anyway.
• An instance of exosystems affecting the child’s development could be if one of the parents had a
dispute with their boss at work.
• The parent may come home and have a short temper with the child as a result of something
which happened in the workplace, resulting in a negative effect on development.
THE MACROSYSTEM
• The macrosystem is a component of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory that focuses on
how cultural elements affect a child's development, such as socioeconomic status, wealth, poverty,
and ethnicity.
• Thus, culture that individuals are immersed within may influence their beliefs and perceptions about
events that transpire in life.
• The macrosystem differs from the previous ecosystems as is does not refer to the specific
environments of one developing child, but the already established society and culture which the child
is developing in.
• This can also include the socioeconomic status, ethnicity, geographic location and ideologies of the
culture.
• For example, a child living in a third world country would experience a different development than a
child living in a wealthier country.
THE CHRONOSYSTEM
• The fifth and final level of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory is known as the
chronosystem.
• This system consists of all of the environmental changes that occur over the lifetime which
influence development, including major life transitions, and historical events.
• These can include normal life transitions such as starting school but can also include non-
normative life transitions such as parents getting a divorce or having to move to a new house.
COPING MECHANISMS
• Coping is defined as the thoughts and behaviors mobilized to manage internal and external
stressful situations.
• It is a term used distinctively for conscious and voluntary mobilization of acts, different from
'defense mechanisms' that are subconscious or unconscious adaptive responses, both of which
aim to reduce or tolerate stress.
• When individuals are subjected to a stressor, the varying ways of dealing with it are termed
'coping styles,' which are a set of relatively stable traits that determine the individual's behavior in
response to stress. These are consistent over time and across situations. Generally, coping is
divided into reactive coping (a reaction following the stressor) and proactive coping (aiming to
neutralize future stressors). Proactive individuals excel in stable environments because they are
more routinized, rigid, and are less reactive to stressors, while reactive individuals perform better
in a more variable environment.
Coping is generally categorized into four major categories which are:
• Problem-focused, which addresses the problem causing the distress: Examples of this style
include active coping, planning, restraint coping, and suppression of competing activities.
• Emotion-focused, which aims to reduce the negative emotions associated with the problem:
Examples of this style include positive reframing, acceptance, turning to religion, and humor.
• Meaning-focused, in which an individual uses cognitive strategies to derive and manage the
meaning of the situation
• Social coping (support-seeking) in which an individual reduces stress by seeking emotional or
instrumental support from their community.
POSITIVE COPING MECHANISMS:
• Support: Talking about a stressful event with a supportive person can be an effective way to
manage stress. Seeking external support instead of self-isolating and internalizing the effects of
stress can greatly reduce the negative effects of a difficult situation.
• Relaxation: Any number of relaxing activities can help people cope with stress. Relaxing
activities may include practicing meditation, progressive muscle relaxation or other calming
techniques, sitting in nature, or listening to soft music.
• Problem-solving: This coping mechanism involves identifying a problem that is causing stress
and then developing and putting into action some potential solutions for effectively managing it.
• Humor: Making light of a stressful situation may help people maintain perspective and prevent
the situation from becoming overwhelming.
• Physical activity: Exercise can serve as a natural and healthy form of stress relief. Running, yoga,
swimming, walking, dance, team sports, and many other types of physical activity can help
people cope with stress and the aftereffects of traumatic events.
NEGATIVE COPING MECHANISMS:
• Escape: To cope with anxiety or stress, some people may withdraw from friends and become
socially isolated. They may absorb themselves in a solitary activity such as watching television,
reading, or spending time online.
• Unhealthy self-soothing: Some self-soothing behaviors are healthy in moderation but may turn
into an unhealthy addiction if it becomes a habit to use them to self-soothe. Some examples of
unhealthy self-soothing could include overeating, binge drinking, or excessive use of internet or
video games.
• Numbing: Some self-soothing behaviors may become numbing behaviors. When a person
engages in numbing behavior, they are often aware of what they are doing and may seek out an
activity that will help them drown out or override their distress. People may seek to numb their
stress by eating junk food, excessive alcohol use, or using drugs.
• Compulsions and risk-taking: Stress can cause some people to seek an adrenaline rush through
compulsive or risk-taking behaviors such as gambling, unsafe sex, experimenting with drugs,
theft, or reckless driving.
• Self-harm: People may engage in self-harming behaviors to cope with extreme stress or trauma.
INDEGENOUS APPROACHES TO
MANAGEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH
YOGA
One of the best benefits of yoga is how it helps a person manage stress, which is known to have
devastating effects on the body and mind. “Stress can reveal itself in many ways, including back or
neck pain, sleeping problems, headaches, drug abuse, and an inability to concentrate,” says Dr.
Nevins. “Yoga can be very effective in developing coping skills and reaching a more positive
outlook on life.”
Yoga’s incorporation of meditation and breathing can help improve a person’s mental well-being.
“Regular yoga practice creates mental clarity and calmness; increases body awareness; relieves
chronic stress patterns; relaxes the mind; centers attention; and sharpens concentration,” says Dr.
Nevins. Body- and self-awareness are particularly beneficial, she adds, “because they can help
with early detection of physical problems and allow for early preventive action.”
Yoga, Metal Health and Wellbeing
Yoga is a form of physical exercise that involves different body poses, breathing techniques and
meditation. Regular practice of yoga may help to:
• Relieve stress
• Lower anxiety levels
• Decrease depression
• Improve sleep quality
• Enhance quality of life
Yoga is thought to achieve these benefits in several ways:
• As an exercise, it naturally produces serotonin, sometimes called the happy chemical because it
contributes to feelings of wellbeing and happiness. Serotonin in the brain is a natural mood
stabiliser and has been associated with helping regulate anxiety and stress.
• Regular yoga practice teaches deep focus and mindful breathing, two important elements in
helping to relieve depression. Participants can better focus on the present, clear their mind and
strengthen the mind-body connection.
• Mental endurance and physical stamina are tested through holding postures through extended
breaths. This increases endurance, strength and flexibility.
• It helps modulate the stress response, reducing heart rate, lowering blood pressure and easing
respiration. This may also help in managing pain tolerance.
MEDITATION
• Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit both your
emotional well-being and your overall health.
• Meditation also physically changes your brain and increases the parts of the brain associated
with problem-solving, mental resilience, and emotion regulation and makes them larger and
denser. This allows these areas to become stronger and have better overall functioning.
• The reason meditation is so powerful is that it causes shifts in our awareness. Many people over
-identify with their thoughts and emotions, which can prolong them and make them feel bigger
than they are. Specific thoughts or feelings can agonize us for days on end.
Benefits of Meditation on Mental Health:
• Sleep
• Chronic pain
• Brain function
• Depression and anxiety
• Overthinking