Mental Health Vs. Health Organization Human services field is a very broad field. There are many different types of human services organizations out there. To names a few of human services organizations are mental health, health, education, child welfare, and etc... Under each organization there are different human services workers with different tittle and responsibilities; to name a few of human services workers are psychologist, high school guidance counselor, teacher, rehabilitation specialist, child-protective-services worker, shelter director, hot-line worker, and etc... Even though the titles and responsibilities are different, they are all human services workers providing to serve the needs of people. Mental Health is all about …show more content…
Due to understaffed and underfunded in the psychiatric hospitals, harsh criticism toward the institutionalized care increased. It was also because of changes in the attitudes of staff and abusive practices in the hospital (Leff, 2001, p. 25). The movement of deinstitutionalization reforms from the asylum-based to community-oriented care. Mentally ill people moved from psychiatric institutions to community mental health centers. Even though there were positive reports about the outcome of community-based mental health programs, other reports found opposite. “Many experts hope that by improving community-based programs and expanding inpatient care to fulfill the needs of severely mentally ill patients, the United States will achieve improved treatment outcomes, increased access to mental health care, and better quality of life for the mentally ill” ("Early History," 2000-2013, p. 2). A health service is to protect and improve the health of individuals and communities.
There was no healthcare coverage for individuals and communities before 1920 ("Healthcare in US," 2014). Doctors were not knowledgeable about many of the diseases and did not charge much to the patients. At that time, there were not a lot of health insurance providers, and many people had to pay for everything. Later on, when doctors became knowledgeable about the diseases and treatments became effective, doctors charged more money to the
Institutional care was condemned, as in many cases patients’ mental conditions deteriorated, and institutions were not able to treat the individual in a holistic manner. In many state institutions, patients numerously outnumbered the poorly trained staff. Many patients were boarded in these facilities for extensive periods of time without receiving any services. By 1963, the average stay for an individual with a diagnosis of schizophrenia was eleven years. As the media and newspapers publicized the inhumane conditions that existed in many psychiatric hospitals, awareness grew and there was much public pressure to create improved treatment options (Young Minds Advocacy, 2016). .
The author illustrates some of the first state hospitals, such as Creedmoor and Bronx State. Attempting to sustain the professed values of asylums, Sacks (2009) drew attention to interventions that was then helpful that are currently utilized today. Sacks (2009) raised micro and macro issues that linger controversy of whether deinstitutionalization was more beneficial than the upkeep of asylums for the mentally ill.
In the video, “The New Asylums”, it demonstrated how deinstitutionalization has left thousands of mentally ill patients in the hands of the prison system. As the mental health hospitals closed down, the police department and prison system has become responsible for the mentally ill people that are on the streets. There was a firm point made about the release of mentally ill patients- “When hundreds of thousands of mentally ill are released, they do not magically become healthy. They went to the streets, became homeless, and turned to a system that cannot say no.” The video also stated that today, there are nearly 500,000 mentally ill people being held in jails and prisons throughout the country. Furthermore, there was no safety net for those
With states closing many of its mental facilities in the communities, there were a lot of people in need of outpatient care who fell through the cracks of the system and ended up in prison. Prison is where many of them died from inadequate treatment. Prisons were suddenly receiving inmates with the following types of mental illnesses: Schizophrenia, bipolar, and deep depressions. These prisons just did not provide these inmates with any medication during their incarceration. Because the community based health services is lacking, and patients aren’t receiving sufficient outpatient care, it makes the effectiveness of deinstitutionalization a serious problem. Without the availability of 24/7 psychiatric services that are well structured, I believe that deinstitutionalization is what is accounting for the increase of the mentally ill inmates in the correctional facility.
Human services professionals are those who facilitate and empower those in society who require assistance in meeting their basic human needs both emotionally, mentally, and physically. Human services professionals work with diverse cultures in many different settings to provide prevention, education, and resources for individuals, families, groups and communities. Some of the populations served are, children and families, adolescents, and the homeless. To support groups in crisis human services professionals must be committed, patient, possess listening skills, and have an ability to be empathetic without reducing one’s ability to be empowered (Martin, 2011).
Many years ago, mental illness was viewed as a demonic possession or a religious punishment. In the 18th century, the attitudes towards mental illness were negative and persistent. This negativity leads to the stigmatization and confinement of those who were mentally ill. The mentally ill were sent to mental hospitals that were unhealthy and dangerous. A push in the mid 1950s for deinstitutionalization began because of activists lobbying for change. Dorothea Dix was one of these activists that helped push for change. The change called for more community oriented care rather than asylum based care. The Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963 closed state psychiatric hospitals throughout the United States. "Only individuals who posed an imminent danger to themselves or someone else could be committed to state psychiatric hospitals" (A Brief History of Mental Illness and the U.S. Mental Health Care System). Deinstitutionalization meant to improve quality of life and treatment for those who are mentally ill. This would hopefully result in the mentally ill receiving treatment so they could live more independently. The hope was that community mental health programs would provide this treatment but sadly there was not sufficient or ongoing funding to meet the growing demand for these programs. Budgets for mental hospitals were reduced but there was no increase for the community based programs. Many mentally ill individuals have been moved to nursing homes or other residential
Deinstitutionalization is defined as the movement of severely mentally ill people out of large state institutions. In the 1950s, public hospitals housed well over 500,000 people. The reduction in the number of institutionalized people began in 1956. By 1980, the residential population in mental hospitals dropped by nearly three-quarters, an average of 154,000 individuals. This decrease is due to the process of closing public hospitals and transferring patients to community-based mental health services. Consequently, community services were implemented (Talbott 2004).
In 1955, over 559,000 individuals resided in inpatient psychiatric hospitals. By 1995, however, the number had drastically diminished to 69,000, (National Health Policy Forum, 2000). This drastic reduction was largely due to the discovery of antipsychotic medications in the 1950s, and the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1960s, wherein several thousands of mentally ill individuals were released from psychiatric institutions to return to their communities for treatment. Mental health centers (MHCs) were conceptualized during deinstitutionalization to provide treatment to these newly-released mentally ill persons in their communities. Although efforts were well-intended, the MHCs failed to serve the
The theory of ‘deinstitutionalization’ began arising with the theory of providing more freedom to the mentally ill and less spending on full time care facilities. The widespread use of drugs to control the mentally ill in the 1900s led to a mass release of patients and an emptying of asylums. Outpatient Psychiatric Clinics were established. Case Law in the United States began to be generated to provide the mentally ill with greater rights. Shelton v. Tucker 1960 provided that the mentally ill should receive care in the “least restrictive alternative”, which is a practice still utilized. O’Connor v. Donaldson 1975 ruled that non-dangerous mental patients have the right to be treated or discharged if they have been institutionalized against their will. This new approached permitted the mass exodus
The United States has never had an official federal-centered approach for mental health care facilities, entrusting its responsibility to the states throughout the history. The earliest initiatives in this field took place in the 18th century, when Virginia built its first asylum and Pennsylvania Hospital reserved its basement to house individuals with mental disorders (Sundararaman, 2009). During the 19th century, other services were built, but their overall lack of quality was alarming. Even then, researchers and professionals in the mental health field attempted to implement the principles of the so-called public health, focusing on prevention and early intervention, but the funds were in the hands of the local governments, which prevented significant advances in this direction.
Human Services is a career that serves and helps the people from the community in time of crisis. Human Services helpers are designed to help people through crisis or chronic situations where the person feels they need help and guidance to move forward with their life and rediscover their personal power. People sometimes need help with food or housing the loss of job, and getting out of dangerous situation for example domestic violence, drug abuse. Some people also face an internal challenge such as depression, a physical or mental disability or a health crisis. As a human services helper we are there to assist people meet their needs and get them the services and support that they need.
The mentally ill were cared for at home by their families until the state recognized that it was a problem that was not going to go away. In response, the state built asylums. These asylums were horrendous; people were chained in basements and treated with cruelty. Though it was the asylums that were to blame for the inhumane treatment of the patients, it was perceived that the mentally ill were untamed crazy beasts that needed to be isolated and dealt with accordingly. In the opinion of the average citizen, the mentally ill only had themselves to blame (Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health, 1999). Unfortunately, that view has haunted society and left a lasting impression on the minds of Americans. In the era of "moral treatment", that view was repetitively attempted to be altered. Asylums became "mental hospitals" in hope of driving away the stigma yet nothing really changed. They still were built for the untreatable chronic patients and due to the extensive stay and seemingly failed treatments of many of the patients, the rest of the society believed that once you went away, you were gone for good. Then the era of "mental hygiene" began late in the nineteenth century. This combined new concepts of public health, scientific medicine, and social awareness. Yet despite these advancements, another change had to be made. The era was called "community mental health" and
In 1965, there was a histrionic change in the method that mental health care was delivered in the United States. The focus went from State Mental Hospitals to outpatient settings for the treatment of mental health issues. With the passing of Medicaid, States were encouraged to move patients out of the hospital setting (Pan, 2013). This process failed miserably due to under funding and understaffing for the amout of patients that were released from the State Mental Hospitals. This resulted in patients, as well as their families, who were in dire need of mental health services. This population turned to either incarceration (jails and/or prisons) or emergency departments as a primary source of care for their loved ones.
The homeless- found on city park benches, street corners, and subway grates. Where did all of these people come from? One third, to one half of the homeless suffer from a mental illness. A lot is said about the homeless-mentally ill, but what their plight says about us may be more significant. We still have not found a place for those who are both poor and insane. Once there was a place for them; the asylum fulfilled the basic needs of thousands for decades, but now these institutions lay empty and in ruin. Has the hope to heal the mentally ill also been abandoned? Is there once again a need for the asylum? The disbandment of the asylum was the first step in ending segregation for those
Healthcare didn’t always exist in the United States. Before the 1920’s, most people didn’t have health coverage. Most people were treated at home and hardly anyone, except a few large employers offered healthcare. Everyone else paid out of pocket. As the population shifted from rural areas to urban centers, families lived in smaller homes with less room to care for sick family members (Faulkner 1960, p. 509). Increasing requirements for licensing and accreditation, in addition to a rising demand for medical care, eventually led to rising costs. By the end of 1920s, there was an increased demand for medical care and the costs of medical care increased.