‘Walk for Wellness’ - a mental health OT initiative to foster recovery and optimise wellbeing
One of the key principles of Luna Therapy is ‘Recovery through Connection’. We embody the belief that in order for people to experience sustainable recovery they need support to establish connection with their sense of self, connection with other people, connection with their communities, connection with nature, and connection with their unique values, cultural beliefs and truths.
MODERN LIFE + PANDEMIC = SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM OVERLOAD
The collective mental health has taken a huge hit over the past year, however beyond this it has been crystal clear that more and more people were struggling; and disconnection and modern life stressors have a huge role to play in this. Modern life has brought with it an immense level of isolation and loneliness and many people have lost their villages of support, are overstimulated and experiencing sensory overwhelm daily, are addicted to technology that has rapidly replaced so much opportunity for human to human connection, consume foods that are highly processed and nutrient poor, spend more time indoors and sedentary, are more stressed and living with unresolved stressors and traumas, and are operating from their sympathetic state most of the time. It’s overwhelming even thinking about it, and even more overwhelming living it.
One of the most obvious, worrying and ongoing impacts of the covid-19 pandemic is the collective mental health. Many people have been living with dysregulated nervous systems for so long, and the ongoing stressors, uncertainty, disempowerment, survival threat, and fear that the covid-19 pandemic created was unmanageable and catastrophic for so many people’s nervous systems and wellbeing. This has contributed greatly to an increase in global mental health problems, mental health illness, suicide, loneliness, family violence, family breakdown, unemployment, mental healthcare services at capacity, immense difficulty securing mental health support and mental health practitioners experiencing burnout, and mental health problems and illness themselves. The world can no longer ignore the very concerning fact that globally, mental health systems and support processes were not working to effectively people with mental illness in the way they need to foster sustainable recovery and engagement in meaningful living. In many ways, mental illness is the pandemic we need to be focusing our energy and attention on.
RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE
Recovery frameworks in mental health are based on holistic, trauma-informed and person-centred approaches, hold the empowering belief that people can recover from mental health illness and manage mental health symptoms effectively to lead meaningful, satisfying and productive lives through supporting people to make healthy lifestyle choices that support emotional and physical wellbeing, empowering people to discover their unique meaning and purpose through engagement in daily occupations and genuine supportive and loving interpersonal and social relationships, and are culturally based guided by respect, hope and equity.
Recovery frameworks are based on two clear principles:
1. It is possible to recover from a mental health illness, and
2. The most effective recovery is when it is driven by the person.
Luna Therapy is an integrative outreach mental health occupational therapy (OT) service on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. Like many other OT’s, we have been experiencing an increase in demand for services, and challenges with supporting and discharging clients and families during this time as the support they need is intensive and cyclical in nature. I was incredibly alarmed when I, a mental health occupational therapist with knowledge, experience and stable mental health to navigate the process, could not find a psychologist or fellow mental health OT with availability for new referrals for some clients I was recently assisting with gaining clinical mental health support. I contacted many different mental health services and was informed that many had closed waitlists or had a waitlist of six months or more. Simply put, we do not have mental health services that are available to meet the demand and need our community desperately requires. There has been an immense increase in people needing mental health support over the past year, and how do mental health services support them so they can have the best chance at recovery when we are all at capacity and unable to refer them elsewhere?
If people experiencing mental health problems and emotional distress don’t get the support they need, it’s not just this person who is adversely impacted; families are falling apart, children are experiencing stress and mental health problems at younger and younger ages, people are losing jobs and unable to manage employment duties, physical health and wellbeing are affected, poor emotional health and trauma responses are increasing steadily, people enter survival mode living and the ease and flow of a cohesive, productive, engaged and healthy community is heavily affected.
GAME CHANGER – THE ROYAL COMMISSION INTO VICTORIA’S MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM
The Royal Commission into Victoria’s mental health system delivered its final report in March 2021. As stated on the health.gov website, ‘there are 65 recommendations in the Final Report, in addition to the nine recommendations in the Interim Report.
The Royal Commission’s recommendations set out a 10-year vision for a re-balanced system where mental health and wellbeing treatment, care and support are provided in the community, hospital and other residential settings. It seeks to rebuild the system from the ground up, with communities at the centre.
These reforms aim to rebalance the system so that more services will be delivered in community settings and extend beyond an acute health response to a more holistic approach to good mental health and wellbeing across the community.
Recommendations are grouped around four key features of the future mental health and wellbeing system:
A responsive and integrated system with community at its heart
A system attuned to promoting inclusion and addressing inequities
Re-established confidence through prioritisation and collaboration
Contemporary and adaptable services’
This is fantastic for the future of our mental health system, however what do we do in real time on the ground while we wait for these recommendations to be actioned and the paradigm to shift?
We do the best we can with what we know and the resources we have.
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE, INTRODUCING OUR NEW OFFERING ‘WALK FOR WELLNESS’
‘Walk for Wellness’ is Luna Therapy’s way of offering a genuine commitment to mental health support that encompasses so much of what we know with the resources we have at this time. Mental health services are at capacity, so many people are struggling to find the connection, support and services they need, and it will take time for The Royal Commission recommendations to create the vital change the Victorian mental health system has been identified as desperately requiring.
‘Walk for Wellness’ is a free weekly women’s walking, mindfulness and social group facilitated by a mental health OT (currently me, Laura Kagan). It is designed to be flexible and accessible, driven by recovery frameworks, nature-based therapy frameworks, mindfulness, movement and exercise, yogic philosophies and trauma-sensitive approaches. The offering is simple and there are no expectations for it, it is an offering we have birthed and are nurturing; if it grows to address the need we have identified then we will continue to facilitate it; however, we are aware it may not be hitting the mark and thus we are endlessly open and curious with adapting and exploring other options to do our small part in creating the change we wish to see in the world. This offering aims to create opportunities for wellbeing routine, connection, new villages to be nurtured and dedicated time for cultivating physical, mental, energetic and emotional health and wellbeing. It is important we provide opportunities that support people to build sustainable wellbeing from the ground up; fostering connection with self and others, dedicated time in nature, opportunities to learn about trauma, stress, nervous system balance and regulation, engaging with activities that bring joy and meaning, laugh, rest, sunshine, supporting with considering healthier lifestyle choices, creating new villages of support and engaging with routines that support wellbeing and foster recovery.
Part of the beauty with this offering is that this time is energetically, emotionally and physically protected each week, and regardless of if 10 people attend or 0 people attend, this time is precious and available for our OT running the group who will still immerse herself in nature, walk, grab a coffee and spend time mindfully and intentionally with herself: genuinely embodying the offering’s intentions. A central peninsula location in Mount Martha was chosen for the group, as it has wonderful options for walking and mindfulness (beach on one side, estuary boardwalk on other side, cafes, park, flat street walking etc), and addressing some of the potential barriers to those attending however this remains a work in progress as we are so aware that many people experience barriers to accessing healthcare support, and addressing how we advertise this offering and enable it’s sustainability is a work in progress.
Finding a balance and creating a service that supports women who seek this mental health support on the peninsula is deeply important to us, and we are confident that we will continue to evolve this offering and empower the connection needed to support women to recover and thrive.
References:
The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health system. Retrieved 10 April 2021 from https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/mental-health/priorities-and-transformation/royal-commission