... Prof. Connor Eng 110/ Sec. 21513 April 13, 2011 In 2000, The British Journal of Psychiatry published the article “Involuntary Out-patient Commitment and reduction of Violent Behavior in Persons with Severe Mental Illness” in which states that serious violent acts committed by individuals with mental illnesses are statistically rare events. Still, the potential for violence in a proportion of persons with severe, persistent and often untreated psychiatric disorder stimulates public fear, prevents general acceptance and inclusion of persons with psychiatric disabilities and limits normalization and effectiveness of community based mental health services. Violent behavior among persons with severe mental illness causes public concern and is associated with illness relapse, hospital recidivism and poor outcomes in community based treatment. Violent behavior in persons with psychiatric disorder causes great public concern and is recognized by mental health clinicians as a significant problem associated with illness relapse, hospital recidivisms and poor outcomes in community based treatment. Involuntary outpatient commitment is a legal intervention designed to benefit individuals with severe mental illness who need ongoing psychiatric care and support to prevent dangerous relapse, but who are reluctant or unable to follow through with community based treatment (Swartz 1999). Lowest risk of violence...
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...institutionalization of mental health care programs has resulted in a high number of mentally ill people ending up incarcerated without receiving the treatment they require due to the fewer funds provided by the government for the proper facilities needed. Dorathea Dix fought for the establishment of psychiatric hospitals. Due to budget cuts and changes in administration, the funds for psychiatric hospitals have decrease, limiting the amount of people that receive treatment and increasing the amount of people in prisons. Some critics claim that its the miscommunication between the public health departments and the criminal...
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...Mental Health Act 1983 * The Mental Health Act is the law which sets out when you can be admitted, detained and treated in hospital against your wishes. It is also known as being ‘sectioned’. * For this to happen, certain people must agree that you have a mental disorder that requires a stay in hospital. There you will have an assessment and be given treatment if needed. * This is only done when you are putting your own safety or someone else’s at risk. * You can sometimes be given treatment even if you don’t want it. * There are different sections of the Mental Health Act that have different aims. * You have certain rights under the Mental Health Act, including the right to appeal and the right to get help from an advocate. The Mental Health Act 1983 is the law which sets out when you can be admitted, detained and treated in hospital against your wishes. This is only done if you are putting your own safety or someone else’s at risk and you have a mental disorder. Because the Mental Health Act has different sections, it is commonly known as being ‘sectioned’. The Mental Health Act covers what rights you have, how you can leave hospital and what aftercare you can expect to get. The Act applies in England and Wales. The Mental Health Act defines the term ’mental disorder’ as ‘any disorder or disability of mind'. It includes mental health conditions such as: * Schizophrenia * Depression * Bipolar disorder * Anxiety disorder * Obsessive-compulsive...
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...Mental Illness and Homelessness When most people hear the term, "homeless" they more than likely initially think of the physical hardships of being without a home. If you're homeless, where do you sleep? What do you do without a bathroom, or a shower? How do you live without all of the everyday possessions most people take for granted, like a toothbrush or a comb or a child's beloved stuffed animal? Most People, however, do not consider the effects being homeless can have on a person's mental health. The stress that they endure and the depression that can overwhelm become secondary to their physical and material trials and tribulations. However, the mental effects are just as important, affecting the mind that is ultimately the powerhouse and control center for the body. Being mentally ill does not occur as a result of being homeless. Mental illness may just be more prominent among the homeless. Most people are mentally ill before they become homeless and are affected by their respective symptoms before they're out on the streets. Oftentimes as a result of their mental illness they are unable to keep up with their bills or take care of themselves. This is what leads to their being homeless. If someone was living in a home and seeing a doctor, then their symptoms could be under control. After becoming homeless, since they can't afford to see a doctor, their mental illness could surface more readily. Over 40 years have passed since many psychiatric institutions in the United...
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...with long periods of extensive isolation from all; but those who feed you (correctional officers). Dr. Rhodes- explores and discusses the challenges that are faced both by the front-line-staff and offenders. Such as, psychological, emotional, and physiological changes- and provides her academic perspective with a scientific response. Rationale for Selection There are a lot of research currently available in-regards to isolation of offenders, and the biological effects on human body, mind, and perceptions. This study is valuable to my research even though the findings are not as scientific as I would have hoped; nevertheless, it provides circumstantial evidence that supports the harmful and toxic effects of segregation on offenders, health care providers, and the front-line-staff. Her portrayal and descriptive encounters with all that are involved in her ethnographic study holds true- as I am presently integrated in the life of incarceration, and segregation. It did, however,...
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...with long periods of extensive isolation from all; but those who feed you (correctional officers). Dr. Rhodes- explores and discusses the challenges that are faced both by the front-line-staff and offenders. Such as, psychological, emotional, and physiological changes- and provides her academic perspective with a scientific response. Rationale for Selection There are a lot of research currently available in-regards to isolation of offenders, and the biological effects on human body, mind, and perceptions. This study is valuable to my research even though the findings are not as scientific as I would have hoped; nevertheless, it provides circumstantial evidence that supports the harmful and toxic effects of segregation on offenders, health care providers, and the front-line-staff. Her portrayal and descriptive encounters with all that are involved in her ethnographic study holds true- as I am presently integrated in the life of incarceration, and segregation. It did, however,...
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...applied to their non-mentally ill peers. Arising from recent class action lawsuits challenging the quality of mental health care delivery in the nation’s prisons, prison mental health professionals have been called on to play an increasing role in the inmate disciplinary process. Referral questions include whether an inmate is competent to proceed with disciplinary proceedings and whether mental illness may have contributed to the rule violation. Prison mental health professionals participating in inmate disciplinary proceedings must therefore be familiar with relevant clinical, legal, and ethics issues. Little has been written in the psychiatric literature, however, examining this important role for prison mental health professionals. After first reviewing core legal and constitutional concepts, the author presents the results of a nationwide survey examining the role for mental health professionals in the inmate disciplinary process. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to provide a comprehensive review of this subject. Most prison systems have procedures for punishing prisoners who violate prison rules and for removing inmates from the general population for disciplinary or safety reasons. (For the purpose of this article, the terms “prisoner” and “inmate” will be used interchangeably. “Mental health” and “custody” are sometimes used to denote the mental health and custodial staffs of the prisons.) Serious offenses that bring about disciplinary action can result...
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...Offenders and Gun Control Page 1 Mentally Ill Offenders and Gun Control Page 2 Mental illness is a disease that causes mild to severe disturbances in thought and/or behavior, resulting in an inability to cope with life’s ordinary demands and routines. There are more than 200 classified forms of mental illness. Some of the more common disorders are depression, bipolar disorder, dementia, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders. Symptoms may include changes in mood, personality, personal habits and/or social withdrawal. Mental health problems may be related to excessive stress due to a particular situation or series of events. As with cancer, diabetes and heart disease, mental illnesses are often physical as well as emotional and psychological. Mental illnesses may be caused by a reaction to environmental stresses, genetic factors, biochemical imbalances, or a combination of these. With proper care and treatment many individuals learn to cope or recover from a mental illness or emotional disorder. Most people believe that mental disorders are rare and “happen to someone else." In fact, mental disorders are common and widespread. An estimated 54 million Americans suffer from some form of mental disorder in a given year. Most families are not prepared to cope with learning their loved one has a mental illness. It can be physically and emotionally trying, and can make us feel vulnerable to the opinions and judgments of others. ...
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...“Mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions- disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior”, (Mayoclinic). People diagnosed with mental disorders reflect on their past to institute the reason being in the condition they are faced with firsthand. A diagnosis of a mental health condition is not only a fraction of the behavioral effect of the average human being’s behavior, but a dosage of daily struggles one will experience firsthand. Mental illness is a controversial issue, however society needs to understand that mental illness is not something you are born with, but solely a condition that affects the path you take, because of life events and traumatic experiences, not genetic inheritance (The Telegraph). To begin with, mental disorders are nothing to be ashamed of, these conditions associated with changes in thinking, behavior, and functional abilities, however mental illness has become a large factor in contributing to American society. In other words, being diagnosed with a mental disorder impacts the American society in various ways, such as the troubles in daily functioning, distress, and traumatic involuntary memory. In fact, organizations such as the World Health Organization issued a report that 25 percent of the American population is affected by a mental or behavioral disorder during their life (Schmidt). For example, society and individuals romanticize mental illness far too often, social media plays a large role because people aspire...
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...All individuals in our society are not the same whether it be our race, culture, ethnicity or religion. However besides our backgrounds, there’s something eternally deeper that makes individuals different, and that is Mental Illness. Social Work in Mental Illness is a serious issue throughout the United States. Many suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder and face consequences in families, individuals, and society. The world’s main issue is that many people are not seeking treatment for it. There are several resources and services for individuals with mental illness such as the development of new medications, treatments, and community-based services. Back in the day, people diagnosed biologically with a mental illness didn’t have sufficient...
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...University Abstract This paper focuses on a court innovation for criminally involved people who suffer with serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression. It describes a recently developed strategy for dealing with the challenges of working with mentally ill individuals. The paper also discusses the historical and legal underpinnings of Mental Health Courts (MHCs), their growth, and the defining elements and operations of the earliest MHCs, which are best, viewed as evolving models of practice. Finally, the paper reviews studies of MHC operations and effectiveness and suggests future directions for MHCs. Rehabilitating the Court System In 2000, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported there were an estimated 283,000 prison and jail inmates who suffered from mental health problems. That number is now estimated to be 1.25 million. The rate of reported mental health disorders in the state prison population is five times greater (56.2 percent) than in the general adult population (11 percent). MHCs were developed in an attempt to solve the problem of criminalizing the mentally ill; this phenomenon occurs when the mentally ill are arrested and prosecuted for minor offenses rather than being treated by the mental health system. A greater focus on this may foresee a decrease in the rate of reported mental health disorders within the prison system. The basis for the above approach was founded on the concept of Therapeutic Jurisprudence...
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...Briefly Discuss DSM IV and ICD 10 and list the main categories of clinical disorders. The paper will discuss the main dangers of classification identified as labelling and Stigma which have lifelong implications for those diagnosed with a mental illness. The main advantages of classification such as most appropriate treatment and community education Definition of the Classification system used to Diagnosis Mental illness. As Social workers it important to try and grasp the concepts of how classification of mental illness is arrived at and to have a basic knowledge of the types of mental disorders people can be classified as having so we can understand the basis of a diagnosis. According Mendelson (2001) “Classification refers to ordering of objects into groups on the basis of their relationship. The result is a classificatory system. Nomenclature related to agreed names that have been assigned to disease or syndromes. Taxonomy covers principles and methods underlying the practice of classification. Finally, nosology denotes the conceptual system that supports the strategy of classifying.” ( Mendelson 2001 p. 63) Golightley (2004) text states that classification is an important step towards the diagnosis of a mental disorder. Mental disorder is broken down into various classifications that represent groups or syndromes of symptoms. Thus if a series of symptoms fits into a recognised pattern of behaviour they can be classified as for example, schizophrenia and a diagnosis...
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... APA Paper Rachel Kidd Hill College Abstract Basically in this paper you deal with the after effects of loss. You also see what type of psychological disorders people have. This type of thing happens all the time around the world. The biggest event that impacted the United States has been the 9/11 attack on the twin towers. You see Charlie who had to deal with a loss of his entire family during the attacks, it really messed him up and he basically shutdown to anyone and everyone. APA Paper After watching the movie Reign Over Me it opened my perspective on a lot of things dealing with mental disorders. How people act after a loss of a family member, how people treat you after something has gone wrong. Reign Over Me portrays people with different mental disorders throughout the movie. It is easy to pen point when someone is suffering from a loss, whether it be a family member or it be a loss of a job, pet, or friend. Dealing with someone suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can be a very delicate thing, because something as simple as hearing a certain word, sound, or person can trigger something bad. All people deal with things in a different way. In this particular case Charlie deals with the loss of his family by making him not remember (Bender, Mike). He doesn’t even acknowledge his mother and father in law when they try to spend time with him. He would avoid talking about the day that his wife...
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...to strangle mother with power cord when she unplugged the computer to get him off •One stabbed brother with kitchen knife when he would not get up from computer to let him play •No history of mental illness or behavior problems •Teens denied addiction and were resistant to counseling •Both placed on involuntary psychiatric holds. •Cycles of abstinence, behavior contracting did not help cure the addiction or motivation positive change •Attempts to help parents reestablish parental authority failed •Limited success with these clients led me to search for effective treatment methods. Mostly non-specific methods were identified •Conducted research and nationwide survey of mental health professionals in 2003/2004(c)2007 Kenneth M. Woog, Psy. D. 4 Computer Addiction Research / Press •Very little research, some sensationalized press •Controversial since 1989 - does it really exist? •Symptom of other disorders or distinct disorder? •Blame? - Game Developers vs. Parents •Addictive Personality (blames genetics) •Behavior addictions? Most problematic uses, computer is simply the vehicle (sexual, email/chat, gambling) •Diagnosis - protocols borrowed from gambling or SA •Treatment - No standard of care(c)2007 Kenneth M. Woog, Psy. D. 5 My 2003 / 2004 Survey of Mental Health Professionals •Survey Results: 5000 MD, Psych, MFT (n=229) •Clinicians mixed 50/50: >clients seen,> believe it is a distinct disorder •Clinicians saw 3 clients/yr, avg, 0.66 (11-17) •On average...
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...home alone yet. Everyone is affected by the consequences of parental divorce, especially the children involved. In any society, the children are the future. In the United States alone, 40 to 50% of first marriages end in divorce, according to the American Psychological Association. As citizens of the United States, we are all stakeholders of our future and should care about the well-being of all our children, especially those of disadvantaged environments such as parental divorce. Additional resources should be made available to both parents and children to lessen the impact of parental divorce because it will help to reduce the effects of worry, aloneness, negative views of self, and depression, while improving math test scores and mental competencies, and also reducing the internalization of behavioral problems. Scientific American authors Scott O. Lilienfeld and Hal Arkowitz...
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