African American’s view of Mental Health

Introduction
Mental illness in any culture can be viewed with stigmatism, which is based on cultural beliefs. People have various ways of coping with instabilities of the mind and are deeply influenced by the environment in which they have been exposed to or by the experiences in which they have lived.
Admission
The patient of interest is an African American female eighteen years of age with bipolar type I and Asperger’s disorder. She was brought to the hospital by her mother and step-father, and she was admitted on a voluntary status to the psychiatric mental health hospital for increasing agitation, mood lability, self-harm thoughts, as well as threats toward her family. Her mother reported her aggression increased after the patient discontinued her risperdol medication. The patient’s mother had been married to her step-father since 2005. The patient has four siblings living in the home whose ages are 17, 14, 2, and 1. The patient reported that her relationship with her 17 year old sister was the worst with frequent aggressive behavior’s such as hitting and yelling. The patient reported suicidal ideation with no plan and depression, she was told by her family that they did not care if she killed herself. She also admitted that she was not taking her medication as prescribed and skipping a few days because she would forget. The patient said she felt “shy” because she was the only African American on the unit. In 2010 patient had four previous psychiatric hospitalizations. The patient’s Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental disorders (DSM): Axis I, bipolar disorder type I mixed with Asperger’s disorder, Axis II, deferred, Axis III, seizure disorder and ventriculoperitoneal shunt in place, Axis IV, psychosocial stressors: severe, and Axis V, global assessment of functioning (GAF) of 35.

Cultural Views