A discourse analysis on how service providers in non-medical primary health and social care services understand their roles in mental health care

Abstract

Enhancing collaboration between specialist mental health services, primary health care and social care services has been a key priority in mental health policy reform in many countries for about 20 years and remains so. Yet progress in terms of widespread implementation of demonstrably effective models of collaborative care has been slow. The views that different providers hold regarding the parameters of their roles, and the values that guide their approach to service delivery, are likely to exert profound effects on engagement with collaborative initiatives. Little research has explored these issues. In this study, discourse analysis from a structurational perspective was used to explore t..