Core Themes In Crazy Pete Earley

When a person with mental illness feels stigmatized among the community they seek health care professionals who can help them feel better. Consumers expect to have understanding and respect in the health sector. Unfortunately, some consumers experience the opposite way and they also felt the stigma with health care providers (SANE Australia 2013).

The introduction of Community Treatment Orders (CTO) has raised much debate around the issue of whether this is an ethical practice or not. This debate calls for a number of questions to be answered. For starters, can unethical practice be justified if it is for the greater good? More specifically, should the elimination of individuals’ rights be accepted if success is to be achieved from these programs. In order to gain insight into answering these questions, Community Treatment Orders need to be defined first. According to the “Mental Health Act”, a Community Treatment Order sets out terms under which a person must accept psychiatric drugs, therapy, and other services while living in the community (Mental Health Act 2007). CTO’s include

The book, Crazy, is an interesting, and informative non-fiction book, about the struggles that mental health patients and their family members encounter. Pete Earley starts off the story by talking about his son Mike, who started to act strangely in his senior year of college. (Earley page 9). It turned out that Mike would be diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and was prescribed medications. Mike thought he was fine, therefore would frequently stop taking his medications. Mike refused treatment from a hospital that he was admitted to. Because he was not a danger to himself, a danger to others, or gravely disabled; the doctor could not force him into treatment. Because, Mike stops taking his medications, his symptoms got worse. Pete discussed

People with mental health issues have been viewed and treated in a variety of ways within western society throughout time. Historically if an individual displayed behaviours which disrupted their function in society and defied social norms they were viewed as lunatics, insane or even cursed (Cowan, 2008; Elder & Evans & Nizette, 2009). It is from these past issues that many people still have unreasonable thoughts about mental illness; their misconceptions have created unreasonable fears and negative attitudes toward those who experience it. This negativity brings for many the barriers of not only

The lack of treatment for mental illnesses — due partly from the stigma with which it is associated with — comes with a number of public issues: economically,

Under the Mental Health Act 2014, mental illness is defined as a medical condition whereby thought, perception, mood or memories are considered to be disturbed (Vic, p. 15). But at what point does this Act deem it acceptable to override a person who is experiencing mental illness right to choice around their treatment or freedom? Likewise is the process of a compulsory treatment order or admission as an involuntary patient conducive towards an individual’s wellbeing and recovery from mental illness? This short essay aims to explore these questions through analysing the discourses of care, control and protection. The interventions imposed on the individual of forced medication, restraint and seclusion will be considered within a non-indigenous family context in contemporary Australian mores and norms surrounding cultural perceptions of mental illness and mental health displayed in policy and legislation.

In the book, Crazy, by Pete Earley, provides a detailed overview of the mental health system in the United States, as it presents a first hand narrative of Earley’s family journey through the system. The author’s major premise and arguments, in the book, is to highlight the history of mental health, navigation through the judicial system with mental illness, the bureaucracy and policies of hospitals, society views on human rights and client safety, and the impact on the individual, family, and community. The content suggests that human service workers and public health workers should extend their professional lens to advocate for change in the mental health system in the United States.

In today’s society, mental hospitals are still a potential solution for the mentally ill, but they are seeing a steady decline in incoming patients. Although there is still a need for the mentally ill to be admitted to mental institutions such as hospitals, the reality is that the heightened cost of treatment deters many potential patients. Instead, the mentally

There are many different interpretations in which one can develop through reading this novel. Many scenes during the book make one think about this confusing concept. McMurphy speaks, ““Jesus, I mean you guys do nothing but complain about how you can’t stand it in this place here and then you haven’t got the guts just to walk out? What do you think you are for Christ sake, crazy or something? Well you’re not! You’re not!” (Kesey 96). When read, this makes you think that they legitimately not insane. McMurphy uses his persuasion techniques not only to the characters himself, but to the reader. On the contrary, the quote, ““One side of the room younger patients,

Earley’s son, Mike refused to take medication in many cases resulting in the psychotic episodes that led to his arrest and eventual appearance in court and hospital. Mike was charged in court and received two-year probation (Earley, 2006). Earley claims that injustice in the mental health system exists in jails, hospitals and courts. He argues that the mentally ill should not be coerced to take medication since the Mental Health Act governs the non-consenting of the mentally ill from treatment. Earley goes on to argue that a mentally ill person has to portray danger to himself or to others so that he can be coerced to take medication. However, this is unjust because a mentally ill person cannot make a decision about taking medication hence the use of force.

Muir, Fisher, Dadich and Abelló (2008) interviewed people who live with a mental health illness in their case study entitled Challenging the exclusion of people with mental illness: the Mental Health Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI).

In the early 1960’s, Canada began its movement towards deinstitutionalization, based on the belief that community based care would better serve populations affected with mental illness (Davis, 2014). As a result, legislation sanctioning involuntary treatment within community settings became increasingly used (Davis, 2014). Currently under civil law, there are three methods of initiating mandatory outpatient treatment in Canada (Davis, 2014). In British Columbia, mandatory outpatient treatment occurs when an individual is placed on a leave provision following involuntary admission in hospital (Davis, 2014). Once this is completed, the individual is considered to be on extended leave, and their care is transferred to a community mental health

McMurphy’s personality provided freedom, life, joy, and the power the individuals in the institution needed to stand up against the strict establishment. McMurphy takes risks, and encourages the patients to embrace. When McMurphy first arrives at the institution, the patients all followed a structure in the institution where interactions with others were limited. The patients were isolated, didn’t interact with one another and each patient had their own daily routine. This society was made up of order and regulations and each patient had a common identity of insanity, seeking medical treatment. McMurphy influences all the other patients and helps to change the society. During his time in the institution, McMurphy develops relationships with the other patients and

Policies have an important role in regulating and shaping the values in a society. The issues related to mental health are not only considered as personal but also affecting the relationships with significant others. The stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health can be traced to the lack of legislation and protection of rights (Rodriguez del Barrio et al., 2014). The policy makers in mental health have a challenging task to protect the rights of individuals as well as the public (Swigger & Heinmiller, 2014). Therefore, it is essential to analyse the current mental health policies. In Canada, provinces adopt their own Mental Health Acts (MHA) to implement mental health services. As of January 15, 2016, there are 13 mental health acts in Canada (Gray, Hastings, Love, & O’Reilly, 2016). The key elements, despite the differences in laws, are “(1) involuntary admission criteria, (2) the right to refuse treatment, and (3) who has the authority to authorize treatment” (Browne, 2010). The current act in Ontario is Mental Health Act, 1990.

society, as well as sanity vs. insanity are greatly expressed through the characters actions and events in the novel, as seen from a patients eyes. Randle McMurphy, the main character of the novel portrays the theme of the individual against society through his dealings with Nurse Ratched and the hospital. “The main action of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest consists of McMurphy's struggles against Nurse Ratched. Her ward at the hospital is a society in itself. McMurphy challenges the rules from the beginning” (Malin 224). The effects of the battle between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched is expressed in the reactions of both characters, as well as the changes brought to the ward. “But she stops. She was flustered for a second there. Some of the acutes hide grins, and McMurphy takes a huge stretch, yawns, winks at Harding” (Keasey 45). The individual vs. society theme is clearly displayed here though McMurphy's struggle against the rules of the asylum, and against the rule of Nurse Ratched. This represents a a man, or individual, fighting for his own rights when faced with the views and obstacles forced upon him by a tyrannical society with strict guidelines. The second major theme in this novel, tied to the individual vs. society, is the theme of insanity vs. sanity. “Sanity vs. insanity is a topic that is established by society itself, set by public values and rules on what normalcy should be and what insane should be qualified