Community Mental Health Service Use - A Critical Analysis
Introduction
Community mental health is a prominent area of social work both in Canada as well as in India even though there are remarkable differences and similarities. The use of services and the factors determining the mental health usage too are different according to the culture, geography, sociological aspects, communities involved, immigrant population as well as differences in ethnicities. In Canada each province has different system for the community services but the sector is publically funded. There is variation in the intensity of community service uses due to various reasons and the non-European community uses the services the least in Canada (Whitley, Kirmayer, & Groleau, 2006). As an experienced helping professional from India, I experience numerous challenges when practicing my profession especially in community mental health service sector. The reorientation in social work knowledge which I learned from Canada is special when bench marking with the Indian social work education. Anti-oppression is redefining the entire perception and it is
…show more content…
Critically thinking, it is high time to create adequate awareness about mental illness because it is culture and religious system creating the barriers in peoples minds (Padmavati, 2005). It is nearly impossivle to rollout mental health programs without effective community support so in effect a vast majority of identified patients are deprived of effective treatments. There is an another argument denoting the reactions and adverse effects of mental health medicines due to which an another minority stay away from mainstream treatment (Padmavati, 2005). The current research in pharmasuticals are yet to receve trust among general public on the above mentioned
The ‘medical model’ (Beecher, 2009), also called the ‘biomedical model’ (Germov, 2009), basis its beliefs on the theory that there is not a connection between the mind and the body (Sarafino & Smith, 2014) and illness is caused by ‘biological’ (Germov, 2009) factors that can be diagnosed and treated with medications (Germov, 2009). The biomedical model becomes problematic when applied to the treatment of mental health illness due to the cause being widely unknown and so how can mental illness be successfully treated using this model? Social factors that may have a contributory effect or allowance for preventative measures to be implemented are also not taken into consideration with the ‘medical model’ (Germov,
This paper will give a description of the Disability Insurance Policy with a focus on the mentally disabled, giving rise to the Community Mental Health Act of 1963. It will describe the problems that made it necessary to create the CMHA policy, giving the pros and cons of deinstitutionalization. It will give a historical account of the policy and finally will give an analysis of the policy.
The community-based mental health programs are not only inadequate in relation to numbers, but also underfunded (Unite for Sight.org, 2013). According to Martin (1995), we live in a society that is increasingly becoming conscious of an excessive tax burden. Tax burden, on the other hand, provides for the realization of just how deinstitutionalization is directly related to politics and public policy. The pubic in America who account for the electorate, have a significant say in how policy is affected. To this extent the assumption in relation to deinstitutionalization is that due to increased public outcry in regards to taxation, the both federal and state governments have over the years been forced to cut down spending on some items in the recurring budget in order to free up additional funds. According to Treatment Advocacy Center (2011), the federal government in 1965 surgically excluded the payment of Medicaid for patients institutionalized in state psychiatric and other mental disorders institutions. The goals of this action, according to Treatment Advocacy Center (2011) was to foster deinstitutionalization, and the wading of care costs to sates, viewing them as largely responsible for mental care.
One of the biggest contributors for poor healthcare is the stigma against mental health. This stigma allows healthcare providers to view those with a mental illness as having low relevance, thus creating disinclination towards providing adequate resources and/or care. This negative stance, based on misinformation and prejudice creates those that have a mental illness to lose their self confidence. Because of this loss, people with mental illness decide not to contribute to their health or livelihood. In the past fifty years, many advances have been made in mental healthcare. However, with the attached stigma, many people choose to not seek out treatment.
Mental health has been a recurring topic in present society and it is a very large section of health care in general. Health can be termed as an absence of disease, but it really is much more than that and should encompass every facet of the human, mind and body. The WHO defines mental health as a state of well-being in which an individual can function properly and productively, cope with life stressors, and contribute to community. Mental health is dependent on many factors, mainly social, biological, and psychological (WHO). A mental disorder is a condition of alterations
There are many different mental illnesses and ailments and just as many medications to treat them. The problem is that sometimes the medications are not correct for your disorders due to similar symptoms. This leads to problems with the patients who need help, but the patients are not getting the right medications and treatment they need.
American history is littered with tails of reform and revolution. Earlier on in America’s young life, revolution included war, struggle for basic human rights and dignity as well as radical tactics taken by the public. As time went on Americans learned that revolution and reform could occur through the government systems that our forefathers had put in place. The battle for human rights has all but ended but the way in which Americans wage war is a different story altogether. Now American’s fight for better public healthcare, equal rights for homosexual individuals and couples, and stricter standards for social welfare programs.
Mental health providers utilize many forms of research from the interventions that they use to provide care to their clients all the way to the assessment’s that they use to gauge the level of satisfaction of their clients with their services and how effective their services are in regards to their overall mental health wellness.
Eskenazi Health offers various nationally-recognized programs and services. Overall, Eskenazi Health has a mission to advocate, care, teach, and serve community members. The specific agency I have chosen to research is Eskenazi Midtown Community Mental Health. There is an emphasis on vulnerable populations, and financial measures do not disqualify care. Located locally in Indianapolis, Eskenazi Health Midtown Community Mental Health Center provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient services for all types of emotional and behavioral problems, including severe mental illness and substance abuse. The services are designed to provide the utmost, high-quality care and confidentiality to patients who choose to take part in the services. Outpatient detoxification and counseling is offered to participants. Welcoming people of all ages, the mission of Eskenazi Health Midtown Community Mental Health Center is to directly serve the patient suffering with serious mental illness and chronic addiction, as well as their families.
Although about 450 million people in the world currently are suffering from a mental illness, many untreated, the topic still remains taboo in modern society (Mental Health). For years, people with mental illnesses have been shut away or institutionalized, and despite cultural progression in many areas, mental illnesses are still shamed and rarely brought to light outside of the psychiatric community. The many different forms in which mental illness can occur are incredibly prevalent in the world today, and there is a substantial debate about the way that they should be handled. Some people are of the opinion that mental illness is merely a variance in perception and that it either can be fixed through therapy or should not be treated at
The negative stigma of mental health has lightened slightly over the years, however, it has not rescinded entirely. People still have an unmanageable time admitting that they may have a mental disorder and that they require assistance. Human beings struggle with these hindrances openly and also hidden on a daily basis. Therefore, our civilization needs to remove the shame associated with the treatment of mental disorders and work on devising a progressive suitable mental healthcare plan in order to ensure that many live a healthy, happy, and prosperous
Mental health is defined as an individual’s optimal care in managing the stress of everyday life, through their own unique approach and can efficiently and successfully make vital contribution within the community they live in (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, 2013). Since a break in a person’s optimal mental state affects not only the individual but society, it is important to understand what it means to have a break in one’s state of mental health and the different categories that is associated with mental illness. Focus will also be paid to why there is a need for the reformation of the mental health act in Canada; the social determinants that is associated with mental health and their contribution to society’s health’s. Finally, focus also need to be placed on how mental health is being promoted to society the stigma generally associated with it.
In many cases it is very lazy of doctors to give medication before trying to find the root of a problem, treating patients more like animals than human beings with emotions and rights. Although saying this I do believe that in some cases the medical model is definitely needed. Medication has been seen to help conditions such as GPI and Alzheimer’s disease and Schizophrenia (McLeod, 2008). I have seen this to be true in a relative of mine who suffers from schizophrenia disease. I also believe that by medicine and mental illness being combined it has helped to show the importance of mental health to those who may have considered mental illness to not be ‘real’ before the use of medication was
`Mental health has three types of treatments. Western Scientific Medicine, Traditional Medicine and Complementary and/or Alternative Medicine.
It has been reported that the number of people with mental disorder is increasing in our communities at an alarming rate. Environmental and social changes are among the most mentioned causes of the accelerating rate of mental illness in society (Häfner, 1985). Despite the prevalence, about one fifth of the adult population will battle with mental illness every year ("Facts and figures about mental illness," 2014) and the acknowledgement of authorities mental illness is still given less attention then is needed to treat the problem successfully. Health bodies need to be putting more resources into this area as