Surviving the Heart of Darkness: reflections on the experience of psychiatrists working in public mental health services in Australia.

Abstract

We reflect upon the bleak experiential landscape of psychiatrists working in underfunded, under-resourced and demoralised public mental health services through the metaphorical narrative of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. It remains difficult to navigate through the Heart of Darkness. We suggest some navigable markers that may stave off metaphorical running aground.