Overview 1.Association between financial problems and mental health problems 2.Financial counsellors need some basic knowledge about how to assist with people with mental health problems 3.Overview of recent UK Guidelines 4.How we might develop guidelines for Australia

Association Between Financial and Mental Health Problems Some mental health problems can cause spending problems (e.g. mania) Financial problems can lead to mental health problems (e.g. depression) Life events such as relationship breakdown and unemployment can lead to both mental health problems and financial problems. People with long-term mental health problems may be on low incomes

Financial Counsellors Need Some Basic Knowledge in How to Assist Mental health problems are so common that everyone is either affected or has close contact with others who are The whole community needs to have greater mental health literacy People working in human services need an even greater level of mental health literacy

Recent UK Guidelines The Money Advice Liaison Group has published “Mental Health Good Practice Awareness Guidelines” for the industry concerned with consumer credit and debt Involves 15 recommendations for how to better support consumers with mental health problems who are in financial difficulty The guidelines are purely advisory

Some Examples of Recommendations “Relevant staff should be trained on the reciprocal impact of mental health problems and people’s ability to manage money and debt” “Creditors, advice agencies and health and social care professionals should work in a joined up way” “Where a creditor is made aware that a consumer has a mental health problem, they should only initiate court action or pursue enforcement through the courts as a last resort, and when it is appropriate and fair to do so”

How We Might Develop Guidelines for Australia A expert consensus study using the Delphi method It is a systematic way of assessing the consensus of a panel of experts Experts can be of different types, e.g. mental health professionals, financial counselling experts, consumer advocates or carer advocates

Some Examples of Guidelines Developed Using the Delphi Method How members of the public can give mental health first aid How staff of tertiary institutions can support students with mental health problems How organizations can support employees returning to work following absence due to a mental health problem How carers can support a person with bipolar disorder

Steps in the Delphi Method Systematically search for all ideas in the area (e.g. websites, books, previous guidelines). Make no judgments about whether they are good or bad. Make a questionnaire with each item expressing one idea Give this questionnaire to the panel of experts to make private ratings on each item Feed back the results of the whole panel to each member and give them another chance at rating Retain items with a very high level of consensus, e.g. 80+% agreement Merge the agreed items into continuous prose. Give the panel a final look for comments

Guidelines for Mental Health First Aid 9

Guidelines to Help an Employee Return to Work Following a Mental Health Problem

Putting Guidelines Into Practice Developing guidelines will not in itself change behaviour There needs to be an implementation plan They can be used as a basis for professional training They can be used as an information resource when professionals face a difficult situation We have found evidence that people do use guidelines downloaded from the web to change what action they take and this can have positive benefits

Should Australian Financial Counsellors Develop Their Own Guidelines?