Gender-sensitive mental health care

• Published in: Australasian psychiatry : bulletin of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Vol. 17; no. 2; pp. 105 - 111
• Main Authors: Judd, Fiona, Armstrong, Sue, Kulkarni, Jayashri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.04.2009
• Subjects: Antisocial Personality Disorder - epidemiology; Antisocial Personality Disorder - psychology; Antisocial Personality Disorder - therapy; Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Anxiety Disorders - therapy; Child; Child Abuse, Sexual - psychology; Child Abuse, Sexual - statistics & numerical data; Depressive Disorder, Major - epidemiology; Depressive Disorder, Major - psychology; Depressive Disorder, Major - therapy; Feeding and Eating Disorders - epidemiology; Feeding and Eating Disorders - psychology; Feeding and Eating Disorders - therapy; Female; Health Services Needs and Demand; Hormone modulation; Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Male; Menopause; Menopause - psychology; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Mental Disorders - psychology; Mental Disorders - therapy; Mental health services; Mental Health Services - utilization; Mental illness; New Zealand - epidemiology; Pregnancy; Prevalence; Psychology; Psychotherapy - statistics & numerical data; Psychotropic Drugs - therapeutic use; Schizophrenia, Paranoid - epidemiology; Schizophrenia, Paranoid - psychology; Schizophrenia, Paranoid - therapy; Sex Distribution; Sex factors; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Substance-Related Disorders - psychology; Substance-Related Disorders - therapy; Violence - psychology; Violence - statistics & numerical data; Women and health; New Zealand; mental health care; mental health; Gender
• ISSN: 1039-8562; 1440-1665
• DOI: 10.1080/10398560802596108

Objective: The aim of this paper is to examine aspects of mental health and mental health care through a gender lens. Conclusion: Gender differences have an impact on mental health and the experience and course of women's mental illness. Comprehensive gender-sensitive mental health care requires the planning, delivery, monitoring and quality improvement initiatives of mental health care to be informed by a knowledge and understanding of gender differences in women and men and their inter-relationship with respect to childhood and adult life experiences (e.g. violence and abuse); day-to-day social, cultural, and family realities; expression and experience of mental ill health and treatment needs and responses.