Children With Mental Illness : Fountain House

Students in the classroom come from a variety of backgrounds. Their lives are shaped by their families, their communities, but also their peers in school whom they will spend hours a day with throughout their educational career. The ability to form relationships with others, to create lasting friendships that grow and evolve with time, is detrimental to all children and their development. Lacking the ability to do so, whether it is directly because of their conditions or because of how other students perceive them, can dramatically harm them emotionally and mentally.

Mental Health America (formerly known as the National Mental Health Association) is the country’s leading nonprofit dedicated to helping all people live mentally healthier lives. With more than 320 affiliate nationwide, we represent a growing movement of Americans who promote mental wellness for the health and well being of the nation, every day, and in a time of crisis (2007 Mental Health America). As an organization, Mental Health America has been around for nearly a century. We began work in 1909 when Clifford W. Beers, a young business man who struggled with a mental illness and shared his story with the world in his autobiography “A Mind

This paper was prepared for the Science of Social Issues, Section 245, taught by Professor Ream.

The conditions of psychiatric hospitals were poorly maintained yet again. From the late 1800s until the mid-1900s, the conditions of these institutions were hit or miss. Despite the rising population of those in need of mental health treatment, conditions were deteriorating across the board. This pushed in the deinstitutionalization movement (Nevid, Rathus, & Green, 2014). This was a push to remove patients from state-run hospitals into a more community-based treatment center. In most cases today, there are treatment plans in place depending upon the severity of the disorder an individual may be suffering from. It’s more about treating an individual with any variety of modern techniques or therapies and trying to reintegrate them into society rather than a lifelong stay in an institution. Deinstitutionalization didn’t work the way it was intended. After it was put into place there was a rise in the homeless population and different programs that were supposed to be put into place didn’t live up to

We have a tendency of shadowing out individuals who have been diagnosed with a mental illness. Despite our human nature of caring, we place those individuals in prisons or understaffed psychiatric facilities, leaving them to be the burden of others. People with mental illness may not be able to hold employment and may not have that family support. This public perception (stigma) “limits opportunities for individuals with mental illnesses and often prevents them from seeking appropriate help”. (Jeglic, 2015) How is it that the public perception is so strong when most people do not have expertise within the field of abnormal psychology?This perception is influenced by the media. “Information presented in the media can be

Section § 213 defines the deductibility of medical expenses “to the extent that such expenses exceed 10 percent of adjusted gross income”. The taxpayer’s daughter is a dependent as defined in Section 152(a)(1) for a “qualifying child” due to the fact of the use of the word dependent, insofar as from the facts that were provided. As per § 213(d)(1)(A) and § 213(d)(1)(B ), the medical care and the transportation primarily for and essential to medical care, respectively, is related to the transportation of such medical care for these purposes “for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or for the purpose of affecting any structure or function of the body”. The meals and lodgings as well as any transportation costs

According to the Children, Youth, and Families Office (Winter 2012) the CYF news discusses the significance of mental health effects on youth in foster care. Understandably so, youth in foster care are susceptible to maladjustment due to their exposure to events that have led to the removal from their homes and the foster care process. Evidence suggests that youth in foster care exhibit both short and long-term, clinically substantial mental health issues that are rarely reviewed (CYF, 2012, p.1).

Saratoga County no longer has safe, stigma-free, places for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) to spend their days. SPMI individuals need somewhere to go where they can feel safe and can interaction with others. In the past SPMI Individuals in Saratoga County had the options of attending day treatment, going to a drop-in center called The Social Club, or spending the day being productive in a sheltered workshop environment. Over the past few years all of these options have been removed. First, The Social Club was closed. Next, the day treatment center was changed to a “PROS” model where services are limited, time specific, and the focus is on community integration. Lastly, state and county funding was cut for shelter workshop environments and funneled into work readiness programs focused on integrating SPMI individuals into the community workforce. Integration is a noble aspiration. However, many SPMI individuals do not have the capacity to successfully integrate into community settings. These individuals are better served in situations where their special needs are appreciated and met such as sheltered workshops, drop-in centers and day treatment. Thus, due to the closing or changes in these types of programs, Saratoga County no longer offers safe supportive places for many SPMI Individuals to spend their days.

Mental health needs. Mental and emotional problems are on the rise among foster care children. Psychiatric problems are four times greater in adolescent foster children than those of the same age who are living with parents. Abuse, neglect, grief, abandonment and placement in different homes lead to insecure feelings. Due to emotional and behavioral issues, foster care children are exposed to illegal drugs, alcohol and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV, as depicted by Galehouse & Raphel (2010). According to Gonzalez (2014), mental health problems are prevalent among 80 % of children under the foster care system. Inadequate treatment of mentally affected foster care children leads to substance abuse, poor educational performance,

Mental institutions are failing all over the country because of the government. These institutions are having financial cuts because they are known to be “too expensive”. And, because these programs are failing the only solution for the mentally ill are the community based health care centers. The government should reevaluate what they spending money on because this is one of many huge factors in the United States causing homelessness.

The purpose of this case study is to evaluate an individualized supported housing program that provides stable, long-term housing, and community and clinical support to those living with a mental illness (Muir et al., 2008). This program, called the Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI), is an initiative in New South Wales, Australia (Muir et al., 2008). With the help of health services, housing services, and support agencies, HASI assists those who need support to participate in the community, maintains tenancies, enhances quality of life, and helps in the recovery from mental illness (NSW Health and NSW DoH, 2005 as cited in Muir et al., 2008).

The psychiatric clinical rotation at Clinch Mountain House was a very prodigious experience. This facility is unique because of the role it plays in the community; it serves to provide daily recreation for the members of the community who suffer from mental illnesses. This facility focuses on providing essential social skills to this community and accomplishes this goal by providing social interaction, a structured schedule, and daily assignments for each member.

The National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI, 2015) estimates 1 in 5- 48.8- million adults in the United States are diagnosed with a mental illness each year. Amongst adolescents and children, it is estimated 1 in 5 youth ages 13-18-(21.4%) have, or will have a serious mental illness every year (NAMI, 2015). For children ages 8-15 the prevalence of experiencing a serious mental illness at one point in their life is 13% (NAMI, 2015). Although, children and adolescents are most commonly diagnosed with mood, conduct and anxiety disorders, there are those who occasionally experience psychotic disorders such as early onset schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a mental illness which affects millions of people throughout the world. Scientists have begun to understand more and more about the possible causes, predisposing factors, types, and possible treatments for schizophrenia. (Torrey, 1995) It is very rare for schizophrenic symptoms to appear before the age of 12 but it does occur. Recently, there has been a growing interest in childhood schizophrenia. It is less than one-sixtieth as common as the adult-onset type but the characteristics are very similar. Childhood schizophrenia also tends to be harder to treat and to have a worse prognosis than the adult-onset form. (Rapoport, 1997)

To many children, parents are loving caregivers that work around the clock to provide them with the physical and emotional necessities that are essential to a healthy and happy childhood. However, in some unfortunate cases, one or both parents are unable to care for their children. For whatever reason it may be, it is difficult on one or both parents and their children when they are separated, but what if the parents were unfit to take care of their children and they continue to do so? Children with parents who are mentally ill tend to grow up in an environment that is hostile or otherwise unhealthy. What, exactly, are the consequences of children being raised by mentally ill parents?