Title: Mental health leadership and complexity

Authors: Christopher Peyton Miller

Addresses: Union Institute and University, 440 East McMillan Street, Cincinnati, OH 45206, USA

Abstract: Leaders in the helping professions need to realise the power that language has to potentially stigmatise; it also has the potential to create positive outcomes for mental health patients. After an examination of language and leadership effectiveness in adapting to the complex perspective of patients, professionals can improve treatment outcomes. The use of language in rephrasing and reframing clinical observations of complex experiences can be understood within the framework of complexity theory. This theory has strengthened positive outcomes in other relevant areas including economics and organisational studies. Complex adaptive systems have the potential to self-organise and adapt which makes it crucial in the undertaking of theorising for mental health leadership. Many benefits in the care of mental health consumers would best come from adaptation and self-organising principles.

Keywords: mental health leadership; health professionals; healthcare providers; healthcare consumers; behavioural health; self-organisation; treatment outcomes; agents; adaptation; complexity theory; complex adaptive systems; CASs; interdependence; language; leadership effectiveness; clinical observations.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCLM.2016.079536

International Journal of Complexity in Leadership and Management, 2016 Vol.3 No.1/2, pp.154 - 161

Received: 02 Apr 2015
Accepted: 17 Dec 2015
Published online: 30 Sep 2016 *

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