Towards a unified model of human development
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/MHRJ-11-2018-0038 |
| Date | 02 July 2019 |
| Published date | 02 July 2019 |
| Pages | 124-132 |
| Author | Rex Haigh,Nick Benefield |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health |
Towards a unified model of
human development
Rex Haigh and Nick Benefield
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to collaborate across disciplines to agree a better map of
human development.
Design/methodology/approach –This paper used an iterative process of consultation with professionals
and specialists in relevant disciplines, and service users, continually refining the diagram and text until a “good
enough”consensus was reached to produce a diagrammatic form and explanatory text.
Findings –The process revealed a strong commitment across many disciplines to find a common
contextual framework within which specialist understandings could be accommodated. The consultation
process and iterative development of the diagram and text was marked by widespread interest and many
detailed discussions. The substance of this paper is the result of that process.
Research limitations/implications –The model places research in different specialist fields onto a single
“map of the territory”. It can encourage collaboration across disciplines when they are studying similar areas
from differentperspectives. It indicates the value ofcollaborative rather than competitiveresearch enterprises.
Practical implications –Too often, professionals involved in fields concerning human development
become focussed within narrow frameworks of specialisation. The model supports better understanding of
how different elements relating to developmental life interrelate. This can facilitate the basis upon which a
wide range of training, education and research programmes can be formulated.
Social implications –The model proposes greater use of a “whole-person/whole-life”perspective, which
should allow greater integration between disparate approaches, and less experience of fragmentation. For a
wide range of public sector activities, the quality of relational activity should be central to effective
organisational and human outcomes. Without a unifying context, the understanding required to support
relational work is weak: this model ad-dresses that deficit.
Originality/value –This work is entirely original. It should be of value to all those interested in working in
holistic ways; to policy makers wishing to avoid duplication, waste and ineffective interventions; and to
researchers interested in working across disciplinary boundaries. Most importantly, it is for staff involved in
health, justice, social care and education services at all levels. Their effectiveness relies on relational, as well
as procedural working, and this model will support confidence in the primacy of these activities.
Keywords Human development, Biopsychosocial, Biomedical, Psychosocial, Integrative care,
Community, Fragmentation, Policy development, Multidisciplinary, Cross-sector, Relational practice,
Complexity, Whole-systems, Formulation
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
In optimal circumstances, we would hope for each person’s life to be safe enough, reliable
enough, and generall y “good enough”. When human development is dis rupted, the
consequences can reach into every area of an individual’s personal and social world, resulting
in alienated and unstable lives, and repercussions throughout their communities. The causes of
this disruption may cover the whole range of physical, environmental, psychological, social and
economic factors: from an unlucky genetic inheritance to a difficult birth, child abuse, inadequate
parenting, failed attachment, multiple bereavements, repeated trauma or emotional deprivation.
For each individual, the impact of these adversities will vary, and they may not be obvious to the
individual or others. Further causal factors include poverty: material poverty and inequality, as
well as the poverty of expectation that leaves individuals feeling powerless to have any impact on
Received 26 November 2018
Revised 26 April 2019
Accepted 28 May 2019
Rex Haigh is based at Enabling
Environments, Royal College of
Psychiatrists, London, UK.
Nick Benefield is based at
Offender Personality Disorder
Programme, NHSE/HMPPS,
London, UK.
PAGE124
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MENTALHEALTH REVIEW JOURNAL
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VOL. 24 NO. 2 2019, pp. 124-132, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1361-9322 DOI 10.1108/MHRJ-11-2018-0038
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