Gifted Minds Institution For Mental Health Essay

I kept thinking, what could I do to make an impact on this issue? I was so fascinated, I eagerly studied mental disorders by reading articles and watching scholarly films. At UF, I have taken more measures towards this speciality by devoting my time towards volunteering in the Psychiatric unit at Shands. The derivation of my passion was not from something optimistic neither was it a life long

Principles of Support: "We will see the individual first, not the illness. We recognize that mental illnesses are medical illnesses that may have environmental triggers. We understand that mental illnesses are traumatic events. We aim for better coping skills. We find strength in sharing experiences. We reject stigma and do not tolerate discrimination. We won’t judge anyone’s pain as less than our own. We forgive ourselves and reject guilt. We embrace humor as healthy. We accept we cannot solve all problems. We expect a better future in a realistic way. We will never give up hope (NAMI, 2014, p. 1)."

In his book Psychward (1991) Steven Seager provides a true to life look into the world of mental illness. He accurately details the complex relationship between poverty, politics and care for the mentally ill. He gives the reader a chance to look into mental healthcare from the inside. Seager‘s description of his patents allows the reader to view them as real people, and empathize with their situation.

Mental disability has become a business just like hospitals and nursing homes at first many companies were small businesses and nonprofit groups that entered the market although many states didn’t have this network of community providers and large companies took notice and locked up the market so there were little rivals (Press & Washburn, 2000). In some states rivalry was small at the beginning and different company chose different need models for care (Borden & Cooper, 2002). Large companies began

Committee for Mental Hygiene was formed in 1909. Clifford W. Beers was one of founders that wrote “ A Mind That Found Itself”. He was an ex-patient for his bipolar disorder and saw insufficiency with cruel and inhumane treatment in hospitals. The goals of Clifford W. Beers, philosopher William James, and psychiatrist Adolf Meyer was to improve attitudes towards mental illness’ and the mentally ill, and to improve services for people with mental illness and to work for the prevention of mental illnesses and the promotion of mental health. In the past many mental illness were treated the wrong way. Most of the treatments didn’t really help the patients. This committee really did save many lives.

On April 16th I took a visit to the Central Michigan Community Mental Health Care Facility of Mt Pleasant Michigan. They are a facility tasked with the mission “To promote community Inclusion and optimal recovery through provision of comprehensive and quality integrated services to individuals with a mental illness, developmental disability, and/or substance abuse disorder.” (about-us/mission, 2015) The facility it’s self has a total of 400 employees that covers Mental Health needs to all of the 6 Mid-Michigan Counties, Gladwin, Clare, Isabella, Osceola, Mecosta, and Midland. In the last fiscal year the serviced nearly 10,000 individuals.

The original model became a local community center for people over the age of eighteen with mental illness. Its goal was and still is for people with mental illness to reach their full potential (The Fountain House, n.d.). Membership is open to anyone who has a history of mental illness. Being a member of Fountain House helps people feel like they belong and are always welcomed. Also, Members have a stake in the organization and they work together to attain a shared goal (Clubhouse International, n.d.). In particular, the clubhouse model proves

The team understands the shortcoming with regards to caring for patients with mental disorders. A combination of Tom, Rick, and Paul put Mindstong Health in a better position to develop better and modernized way of providing care.

One in four people in the world will be affected by a mental or neurological disorder during their lifetime. Approximately 450 million people suffer from mental health disorders globally. 44%-70% of the population worldwide does not receive healthcare treatment for mental disorders (WHO, 2011). The United Nation’s health agency urges governments to break away from large mental institutions and towards community health care, and integrate mental health care into primary health care and the general health care system.

During my interview and observation, I found that the hospital fully utilizes Treatment Teams, consisting of clinicians from different fields. Through collaboration between medical staff, the hospital is looking to improve the overall outcomes of treatment for patients. The mission of this agency, according to Jennifer, is dedicated to care and support of each person’s journey toward individual safety, well-being and settling in the society. The goal of treatments provided by this hospital is to help individuals with severe mental illness stabilize their psychiatric symptoms, reduce the risk of harm. The hospital is providing persons with mental illness less restrictive settings, in which recovery will continue.

Soumerai, S. B., Mclaughlin, T. J., Ross-Degnan, D., Casteris, C. S., & Bollini, P. (1994). Effects of Limiting Medicaid Drug-Reimbursement Benefits on the Use of Psychotropic Agents and Acute Mental Health Services by Patients with Schizophrenia. New England Journal of Medicine,331(10), 650-655. doi:10.1056/nejm199409083311006

Struggling with mental issues is extremely hard on the people affected by these conditions as well as their families. These struggles are only worsen by the lack of public’s literacy on some of these conditions or lack of sensitivity towards them; resulting on a steep sociocultural mountain for the mentally ill to climb. As a result, many of the affected population feel hopeless and many times misunderstood by those whom have no idea of the struggles associate with their conditions. Unfortunately, most people don’t make an effort to learn about a particular disease unless there is a vested interest. Fortunately, however, every once in a while Hollywood shines the spot light on some of these disease by creating story lines about the devastating effects of these diseases, thus, raising the public awareness as it was the case with the movie, “A Beautiful Mind.” This film is one of a growing list of films in which the central character struggles with mental issues and how they are affected by it.

After researching various health institutions within Los Angeles County and beyond I have found that most of them focused essentially on the same mission, which is to assist less fortunate and make their life better by extending quality of life years. Mental Health America of Los Angeles (MHALA) is a wonderful facility that truly works for the people. According to their website: “With cornerstones of service, education, advocacy and training”. However, their leadership was not so responsive, hence it gave me doubts regarding their organization, or perhaps they were not too keen to talk to graduate students. I immediately went to my second choice, which offers help to enrich quality of life for those with mental illnesses. Alcott Center for Mental Health Services has been nothing short, but amazing and very responsive to my requests. Their mission states “enhance the quality of life, promote independence and empower individuals living with mental illness to live productive and meaningful lives.” Alcott’s ideology is exactly what I support; independence and empowerment are two major concepts that can help an individual to succeed.

In the Podcast “The Problem with the Solution,” Ellen Baxter is introduced, a psychologist who searched to find the “best solution” to those that were diagnosed with mental illnesses in the United States. Baxter researched and discovered a place named Geel in Belgium, where people that had a mental diagnosis were treated as guests in a foster home rather than a patient. The treatment to their diagnosis-- a

My goal for this project was to raise awareness for mental health illnesses. I wanted to bring this sensitive, yet common, issue to light. The subject of mental illness is unfortunately a taboo in many cultures and those who suffer from the extreme cases are ignored or they do not receive the proper treatment. Our community unfortunately struggles with stigma related to mental illness and disclosure of such a sensitive topic. I wanted to get the students of AIS/ACP to understand that mental illnesses are very common in our community and we should always help those suffering.