Handbook of Rural, Remote, and very Remote Mental Health

This Handbook outlines in detail the features and challenges of rural and remote mental health service delivery and pragmatic considerations to address these, to ensure people in less populated areas receive an equivalent quality of service to their city-dwelling counterparts. The scope of the book includes general descriptions of the rural and remote context as well as the professional and ethical considerations involved in working in these areas. The book includes information specific to the professions that contribute to effective and efficient mental health services, as well as addressing specific areas of practice that warrant focused attention because of their importance.

In order to cover the field comprehensively, the Handbook has four sections. The first section deals with the general context of rural and remote practice including a description of the general features of the setting and the importance of attention to ethical and professional standards. The second section of the Handbook describes different ways of working in rural and remote contexts. Rural and remote contexts provide many opportunities for innovation and creativity but it is imperative that novel approaches do not compromise the quality and integrity of the service. The third section covers individual professions in detail and the fourth section focuses specifically on particular areas of practice that present challenges for rural and remote areas.

Academics will find this Handbook a valuable evidence-based resource to enhance their teaching of undergraduate and postgraduate mental health students. Practitioners will find this book an important reference guide to enrich and broaden their rural and remote experiences. They will be informed of the latest research evidence and will be provided with practical advice and strategies to promote advanced clinical practice in this challenging context. 

• Rural and Remote Health
• Primary Care
• Remote Healthcare Provision in Australia
• Rural and Remote Mental Health
• Social Determinants and Rural and Remote Mental Health
• Culture and Rural and Remote Mental Health
• Indigenous Mental Health in Remote Communities
• Mental Health Research and Evaluation
• Professional Practice in Rural and Remote Mental Health
• The Visiting Workforce
• Telemental health
• Multidisciplinary Teams in Rural and Remote Mental Health
• Mental Health Nursing
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Professionals
• Self-Care for Mental Health Professionals
• Suicide and Self-Harm
• The Safe Use of Pharmacotherapy
• Working in Schools
• Supporting communities

• Institute of Global Health Equity Research, University of Global Health Equity, Kigali, Rwanda

  Timothy A. Carey

• Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Australia

  Judith Gullifer

Professor Timothy (Tim) Carey is a scientistpractitioner who is a researcher, teacher, trainer, and clinician. He is currently the director of the Institute of Global Health Equity Research and the Andrew Weiss Chair of Research in Global Health at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda. Tim has worked as a clinical psychologist in rural and underserved communities in both Scotland and remote Australia. He has been elected for two terms as a director on the board of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and has also served two terms as the vice president of the APS. As a director of the APS, he chaired the Regional, Rural and Remote Advisory Group as well as the Division of Psychological Research Education and Training and was also a member of the Indigenous Psychologists Advisory Group. He has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, an M.Sc. in statistics (with distinction in the dissertation), and a postgraduate certificate in biostatistics as well as tertiary qualifications in teaching (preschool and special education) and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Prior to his current role, his most recent academic appointments have been professor and director of Flinders University’s Centre for Remote Health and professor of clinical psychology in health equity at Charles Darwin University in Alice Springs, Australia. Tim has served on national grant funding bodies as well as university Human Research Ethics Committees and teaches research methods at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has also secured research income as a chief investigator on competitively funded research projects. For Tim, it is a scientific attitude rather than the scientific method that is paramount. A central focus of Tim’s work is the importance of control to health and well-being and xiii recognition of internal conflict as an a-diagnostic explanation of psychological distress. He is also very interested in different cultural explanations of psychological distress and the importance of control cross-culturally. He has pioneered clinical innovations such as patientled appointment scheduling and patient-perspective care. He has developed an efficient and effective cognitive therapy called the Method of Levels (www. methodoflevels.com.au) as well as a smartphone app called MindSurf. While working in the National Health Service in Scotland, Tim led a program of practicebased research that resulted in a reduction in the waiting time to access psychological services from 15 months to less than 2 weeks using the patient-led model of appointment scheduling he had developed. He is a Fulbright scholar who has over 150 publications including books, book chapters, and peer-reviewed publications. Tim also has a blog on Psychology Today called In Control, which has had over 1,000,000 views. He is currently working on a book explaining the application of a theory of control to understanding health inequity. He lives in Kigali (the capital of Rwanda) with his family and feels both humbled and privileged to have the opportunity to live and work in such an extraordinary country and to be able to contribute to efforts to eradicate global health inequities.

Professor Judith Gullifer is the Director of Education in the School of Psychological Science at Monash University. She held the inaugural position of Associate Dean (Partners and Quality) at Charles Sturt University and was also the foundation Associate Dean (Academic) in the Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences at Charles Sturt University. Judith has spent over a decade dedicated to education and research in the higher education sector. She has been active in the teaching and supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate students. Judith has been the recipient of the Charles Sturt University Vice Chancellors Award in Teaching Excellence and the Australian Psychological xiv About the Editors Society’s Early Career Teaching Award. Judith completed her Ph.D. investigating students’ perceptions of plagiarism at Charles Sturt University and has maintained that commitment as the current Co-Chair of the Asia Pacific Forum on Educational Integrity (APFEI). Judith is a registered psychologist with a background in professional counselling in rural and remote Australia. She manages a small virtual, parttime practice, mentoring and coaching senior leaders. She has held various positions with the Australian Psychological Society, having been appointed to the Board of Directors in 2016 for her expertise in working in regional, rural, and remote Australia. She was a founding member of the Rural, Regional and Remote Advisory Group to the National Board of Directors and the convener of the Australian Psychological Society Rural and Remote Interest Group. In January 2017, Judith became the Executive Manager and Head of the Australian Psychological Society’s Training Institute where she oversaw the professional education and training of psychologists and other cognate professions.

Policies and ethics