Mental illness is increasingly becoming a global issue. Several cases of mental illness require very serious interventions. Law enforcement is one agency that society has overlooked for a long period. The profession is demanding, and there are so many issues that police officers face as they perform their operations. Law enforcement authorities must devise some ways to ensure that police officers work without any form of difficulty. This research is about some interventions that the perspective leaders in the agency can employ to address the issue.
The first step in this intervention is that an individual or society must spot an instance of mental illness (Thomas et al., 2016). This determination comes with acceptance, so people seek interventions against the same. From there, relevant institutions devise ways to assist the individual by assisting with programs and policies that will address the issue at hand. Leaders must adopt The following intervention perspectives to address mental health issues in organizations.
Adopting Holistic Approach
First of all, there is a need to approach a holistic approach for a prospective leader to tackle the issue at hand. For this approach to be very effective, the program should incorporate care plans and promote consultations within the agency and the community (Castillo et al., 2018). Sometimes, it is difficult for police officers to air their grievances because they need a platform and the right people to approach. As much as there is someone solely employed and designed to handle that work within the agency, it will go a long way to address the issue at hand. The primary caregivers that are responsible for the service provision must make sure that they get all the needed crucial information that they must get. For instance, they need to understand what problem the police officers are facing, whether it is the issue of marital problems, debts or personal issues. The holistic approach process guarantees the aspect of spiritual well-being and wellness.
Addressing Community-Level Factors
The second approach is that the perspective leader must focus on community-level factors that impact mental health. Before or during the process of identifying the community-level factors, the relevant agencies must examine to what level and the extent to which the community-level factors affect t the mental health of the individuals. This approach is categorical in that it tries to understand to what extent the community-level factors will affect the police mental health and recovery process. Some factors need to be addressed at this level of intervention.
One factor at this level is the macroeconomic events and economic policies within the organization setup. For instance, according to research in the United States of America, people who manage less than 20000 dollars a year have a higher chance of getting psychosis and bipolar disorders as compared to people earning way much more than 70000 dollars. This statistic is just an instance that economic issues are major contributors to the mental health of people in society. On the other hand, people who cannot get employment or a group of people with higher unemployment rates are at higher risks of mental health disorders than those who are employed and are salaried. This approach simply tries to explain that more income promotes employment satisfaction (Castillo et al., 2018).
Addressing Community and Policies For Recovery
This approach and focus come from the mental health providers, which mainly focus on the community context for recovery. These processes can be in the form of political activities, advocacy, providing education for potential mental patients and conducting research. Initially explained, the community must be able to embrace programs that will identify any form of mental illness through observation of risk factors or reading an individual’s mood. For people who might be showing risk factors of mental illness, interventions are applied to counter the factors promoting mental health before escalating to a greater degree.
The care providers must also ensure that that they improve the ability to improve the access to mental health services within an organization and the community. For instances as a perspective officer in the law enforcement agency, the main goal is to ensure that there is a mental awareness and wellness facility within the premises as an approach to addressing mental health issues (Castillo et al., 2018).
Conclusion
These are some of the interventions that will help in promoting mental health in law enforcement. Good mental health means that the efficiency and work rate is promoted. As individuals and the stakeholders will be addressing the mental health issues to ensure good performance of the police service unit, it is crucial to understand that it will stretch the budget and affect police operations to some degree. For instance, the time police officers identified with mental illnesses are not going to be on duty like patrol. On the other hand, the allocation of professionals and facilities will mean that they drop some of the priorities, and it will also affect the training of the police officers. The training session is important for police officers because it keeps them fit and updates with current and new techniques that they must possess.
References
Castillo, E. G., Chung, B., Bromley, E., Kataoka, S. H., Braslow, J. T., Essock, S. M., Young, A. S., Greenberg, J. M., Miranda, J., Dixon, L. B., & Wells, K. B. (2018). Community, Public Policy, and Recovery from Mental Illness. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 26(2), 1. https://doi.org/10.1097/hrp.0000000000000178
Thomas, S., Jenkins, R., Burch, T., Calamos Nasir, L., Fisher, B., Giotaki, G., Gnani, S., Hertel, L., Marks, M., Mathers, N., Millington-Sanders, C., Morris, D., Ruprah-Shah, B., Stange, K., Thomas, P., White, R., & Wright, F. (2016). Promoting Mental Health and Preventing Mental Illness in General Practice. London Journal of Primary Care, 8(1), 3–9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5330334/
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