...2010;13:116-124 Mental Health Stigma: What is being done to raise awareness and reduce stigma in South Africa? 1 R Kakuma1,2,3, S Kleintjes3, C Lund3, N Drew4, A Green5, AJ Flisher3,6, MHaPP Research Programme Consortium7 Health Systems Research and Consulting Unit, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada 2Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada 3Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa 4Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland 5Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development (NCIHD), University of Leeds, United Kingdom 6Research Centre for Health Promotion, University of Bergen, Norway 7The Mental Health and Poverty Project (MHaPP) is a Research Programme Consortium (RPC) funded by the UK Department for International Development (DfID)(RPC HD6 2005- 2010) for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of DfID. RPC members include Alan J. Flisher (Director) and Crick Lund (Co-ordinator) (University of Cape Town, Republic of South Africa (RSA)); Therese Agossou, Natalie Drew, Edwige Faydi and Michelle Funk (World Health Organization); Arvin Bhana (Human Sciences Research Council, RSA); Victor Doku (Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana); Andrew Green and Mayeh Omar (University of Leeds, UK); Fred Kigozi (Butabika Hospital, Uganda); Martin Knapp (University of London, UK); John Mayeya (Ministry of Health, Zambia);...
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...Work 30 (2008) 311–316 IOS Press 311 Disclosure of mental health Kathy Hatchard∗ Hatchard Rehabilitation, Penticton, British Columbia, Canada Abstract. As today’s workplaces strive toward a climate of inclusiveness for persons with disabilities, much work remains for employers in developing a process to achieve this ideal. While survivors of mental illness are encouraged to disclose related concerns to their employer, such sharing of personal information remains daunting. Similarly, employers attempting to assist the process are often awed by the extent of collaborations involved in integrating employees with mental health issues back to work as well as concern about compliance with human rights legislation. Needed accommodations in terms of approach to the work itself are often simple; however substantiating the need for adjustments is more complex. This case study introduces a model to support the development of shared goals and shared understandings for return to work (RTW) among workers with mental health concerns, employers, co-workers and therapists. The model of occupational competence is used as a basis to guide dialogue, identify challenges and generate solutions that take into consideration a worker’s preferences, sensitivities, culture and capacities in relationship to the occupational demands in a given workplace environment. A case study is used to demonstrate the potential utility of the model in assisting stakeholders to strengthen collaborations and...
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...Community Psychiatry Center Awareness Session Held in Korangi #2 1/2 Report prepared by: Afia Wajahat Report Submitted to: Dr. Fizza Yasmeen (In charge KCPC) Date: 07/1/2014 Time: 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm Venue: Korangi # 2.1/2 Organized By: Community Mobilization Team (KCPC) As KCPC community team has already collaborated with Town Health Services and arranged multiple camps in Basic Health Units, located in different areas of Korangi. People are not accepting the psychiatric illness. They also believe in black magic. The community team try to decrease this stigma and try to persuade them for treatment to our centre. Now Community team has collaborated and merged their awareness sessions with LHW’s sessions. It will be very useful to gather the participants Within the context of continuous cooperation between the Town health services of Korangi (LHW) and the KCPC , the Community team of KCPC held a Psychiatric awareness session on Mental health at the home of one of LHW named “MS Yasmeen Shahid”, on January 7, 2014. Sessions objective * Screening of common mental health problems among Communities (depression, anxiety, etc.) * Early detection of mental illness. * Raise awareness regarding the mental illness, significance of mental health, to decrease stigma related to mental illness. * Provide knowledge about mental health for the acceptance of mental illness. Karwan-e-Hayat Korangi...
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...1-Given the increasing longevity of Americans and the costs of providing long-term care, anticipation of the costs should be a major element of every family’s financial planning. Current information suggests however, that very few families or individuals give this consideration. What factors might impede this advance planning? What measures might be effective in raising awareness among the Americans about this important matter? Age, diagnosis, and ability to perform personal self-care and the sites of care delivery vary widely. Also, the unrelenting progression of time is the one constant that expresses the diverse range of life's possibilities. According to Calmus (2013), Long-term care in the United States is in crisis. The current system is not meeting the needs of the frail elderly and disabled populations. As the 77 million baby boomers enter retirement, the Long-term care crisis will likely grow, both because of the sheer number of the baby boomers and because of medical advances that have increased longevity. Regrettably, few have prepared to pay for their Long-term care, either through insurance or savings. Policymakers need to move swiftly to reform the current system to ensure that tomorrow’s retirees have access to high quality care without bankrupting future generations. According to the article "5 Big Reasons Why Americans Don't Save Their Money," Savings aren’t just important for buffering life’s emergencies; research shows that financial assets, more than income...
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...Bipolar Disorder Resources Bipolar Disorder Resources When you struggle with Bipolar Disorder, you will often feel alone. It is more common in our present day to be aware of any mental disorders and is more accepted. There are local organizations to help aide in dealing with bipolar disorder. The worldwide internet makes it even easier to find help if you are struggling. You can gain access to these organizations by simply researching the disorder. Understanding Bipolar Disorder Bipolar disorder is something that is prevalent in many late teens or adults. According to "Cultural Aspects of Bipolar Disorder: Interpersonal Meaning for Clients & Psychiatric Nurses." (2007), "symptoms of the disorder cause a multitude of fluctuations in mood and behavior, affecting the way individuals function and interact with others on a daily basis.” The individual with this disorder could fluctuate between manic episodes or depression. To be characterized with bipolar disorder, the symptoms or mood changes have to be frequent and measurable. It can be difficult to diagnose bipolar disorder, because many of the symptoms can be linked to other disorders. Bipolar Disorder in Different Cultures “Bipolar disorder affects more than 1% of the world's population irrespective of nationality, ethnic origin, or socioeconomic status” (“Bipolar Disorder,” 2015, para. 1). Since this disorder can be diagnosed in any part of the world, the symptoms can differ from patient to patient based...
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...Vulnerable population and self-awareness paper Name Institution Vulnerable population and self-awareness paper Biases among the healthcare personnel calls for self-awareness in order for them to understand how such biases affect delivery of healthcare to vulnerable groups such as mentally ill. Self-awareness is a conscious process that creates personal understanding. It enables them to determine their strengths and limitations, emotional understanding and their behavior with others in a mental health environment. Development of self-awareness enables the health providers to take control of situations. This provides a genuine, authentic and honest presentation of the mental healthcare nurses (Tusaie, 2013). The vulnerable group to be discussed is the depressed mentally ill population. Depression is a chronic disease that significantly affects American’s health and productivity. Demographics of the depressed Depression affects over 21 million people, including children and adults in America. It is the leading major cause of disability for people in the age of between 15 and 44. This is according to the report of the Mental Health America and Thomson Healthcare. More so, depression with anxiety is experienced by approximately 9.6% of Americans and 2.6% without anxiety. The prevalence of mixed anxiety and depressive disorder is relatively more in women than in men. Overall, occurrence of depression is 1 in every 10 adults at a given...
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...Social Policy: Texas Mental Health Elizabeth Awad University of Texas at Arlington Social Policy: Texas Mental Health Historical Background A recent change in the Texas law was passed for the Code of Criminal Procedure under the 84th Legislature, Under Texas Law Article 46B.102. CIVIL COMMITMENT HEARING: MENTAL ILLNESS is covered when (a) the court determines that the defendant may be a victim of mental illness, then the court shall hold a hearing to determine whether the defendant should be court-ordered by the state of Texas to mental health services under Subtitle C, Title 7, Health and Safety Code. And (b) Proceedings from the committed defendant determine that they should be court ordered mental health services that are governed by Subtitle C, Title 7, Health and Safety Code. “Mental Health does not respect zip codes, mental health affects everybody and formed the Texas State of Mind to ensure that Texans can have access to mental health help when they need it” states Tom Luce, Chief Executive Officer of the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute who decided to advocate for court ordered and non-court ordered state funded mental health treatment for all Texans (Texas State of Mind., 2015, March 24). Texas Mental Health has been a longstanding concern for Texans and Americans altogether. In 2014, The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute initiated to help serve Texans. Back in July and August of 2012, The Meadows conducted a quantitative research project to its previous...
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...Impact the Perception of Mental Illness in China and Australia. Mental Illness is depicted as an individual’s tendency to exhibit emotions, thoughts and behaviours that do not coincide with what are considered to be the societal norms (Manderscheid et al., 2010). Moreover, throughout history the perception has been that those with mental illnesses should be categorised as dangerous and unstable individuals. Undoubtedly, due to the negative connotations associated with these phrases, society has ignited a severe stigma leading to the “devaluing, disgracing, and disfavouring by the general public”(Abdullah & Brown, 2011) of individuals with these conditions. Although, this has been a long standing prominent issue all around...
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...The World Health Organization (WHO) oversees all nations and they report on all aspects of care and issues. Their definition of mental health is excellent and thinking along these lines can bring about improvement project evolution. According to www.who (n.d.): Mental health is an integral and essential component of health. The WHO constitution states: "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” An important implication of this definition is that mental health is more than just the absence of mental disorders or disabilities. Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. Mental health and well-being are fundamental to our collective and individual ability as humans to think, emote, interact with each other, earn a living and enjoy life. On this basis, the promotion, protection and restoration of mental health can be regarded as a vital concern of individuals, communities and societies throughout the...
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...Alliance on Mental Illness stigma leads to fear against people living with mental illness and their families, family and friends turning their back on people with mental illness, as well as prejudice and discrimination (NAMI, 2013). People dealing with mental illness try to avoid public stigma and drop out of treatment because they don’t want to be associated with negative stereotypes. Not only can public stigma affect the individual dealing with mental illness but also it may affect the beliefs and behaviors of family and friends (APS, 2014). The following three programs help reduce stigma associated with mental illness among college students; JED...
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...When someone breaks their arm or has the flu they go to the doctor. The doctor will then prescribe them medicine or guide them to the path of recovery. This, however, is not the case when it comes to mental illness. It is not widely accepted or talked about to get treatment for a mental illness, but mental health is just as important as physical health. In today’s society, those with disorders like depression are told to simply “get over it”, to “stop being so sensitive”, or that they are simply seeking attention. There is a major negative stigma surrounding mental illness that leads to more harmful effects, and it needs to be eradicated. One of my close friends has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, depression, and has quite...
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...even neglect—our psychological well-being. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, for example, one in five of us will experience a mental illness in our lifetime (CMHA, 2014). Though this statistic is in part due to the stigma associated with mental health, there are various methods in which we can protect and promote our psychological wellbeing. More importantly, given that suffering is inevitable and arrives in innumerable guises (e.g. stress, depression, confusion), how can one become less disturbed by the unpleasant experiences in life? By introducing the concept, this paper will argue that mindfulness can be used to as a tool to achieve greater psychological well-being. Known as a deceptively simple but useful attention-regulating practice, mindfulness allows one to be less reactive to what is happening in the moment and accepting of all experiences—be it positive, negative, or neutral (Germer, 2004). Defining Mindfulness What, exactly, is mindfulness? Although there has been a call in the literature to reconstruct aspects of current mindfulness models, including the establishment of a mutually agreed upon definition and application of the term (Germer 2004), mindfulness is best known for its Buddhist roots and translation of the Pali word sati, meaning awareness, attention and remembering (Brown and Ryan, 2003). Germer, for example, describes the term very simply as “moment-by-moment awareness” (Germer, 2004). Mikulas, on the other hand, takes a more comprehensive...
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...Risks of Mental Health Drugs for Our Youth Rapa Barsel Prof. Stephen Webber ENG 215048VA016-1142-001 February 15, 2014 Although there is a considerable amount of children with mental health disorders, more research and stricter regulations are necessary to investigate the diagnoses and the overuse of prescribing mental health drugs to our children. In our current age of advanced technology, medicine is also advancing. Although, these advances can detect many illnesses earlier on, they may not be an accurate diagnosis for minors. Thousands of children are prescribed antipsychotic drugs without proper medical assessments. I have a two and half year old son and I would not be willing to put him on any mental health drug unless I was absolutely certain it was necessary. These mental health drugs can cause suicidal thinking and behavior. It can also lead to an altered personality, or lack thereof. These drugs can be harmful to brain and physical development in younger children. According to the U.S. Surgeon General (2000), as many as 1 in 10 American children and adolescents a year have “significant functional impairment” as a result of a mental health disorder. The trends in administering psychotropic medication to young children are on a rise in the U.S. Since psychotropic medications are substances that affect brain chemicals related to mood and behavior (NIMH, 2009). These trends have caused a great deal of debate. All parties without an economic agenda agree...
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...Recovery Model Introduction If the famous quote by Heraclitus, “The only thing that is constant is change,” is true, then one must wonder how the mental health field resisted change for so long. In light of the modern age, characterized by scientific methodologies, the mental health field advanced rapidly. Amazingly, the human condition could be put to test, understood and categorized. Sadly, anything falling outside the “norm” became “abnormal.” Once a person was identified as “abnormal,” they were the lucky recipients of a label they carried with them for life, or until they “recovered.” Mental health labels carry with them a certain stigma that communicates to the person they are different, perhaps less of a person and that “normal” may never be a reality with their “illness.” Recovery would be based on becoming symptom-free, or at the very least, a significant reduction in symptoms (Gehart, 2012). The mental health field has experienced tremendous growth in terms of understanding the plethora of conditions people experience, as well as in treatment of those conditions. However, one thing remained unchanged until recently. The idea behind recovery shifted from coercive treatment to person-centered change (Onken, et al, 2007). Gehart states is this way, “instead of using the medical paradigm of disease, the recovery paradigm approached mental “illness” using a social model of disability that emphasizes psychosocial functioning over medical symptomatology” (2012). The focus of recovery...
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...worse" "Just think of something else" "Man up". 1 in 4 people in the British population will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year. The number of mental health problems in young people is constantly growing yet mental illnesses are still valued as less important and less serious than physical illnesses. Today is Mental Health Awareness Day 2014, and still mental health issues are given the back seat. We are scared, as a community to help those with mental illnesses in case we say or do the wrong thing, and as individuals to share out problems with others, in fear of being judged. Yet we, ourselves, judge others. A quarter of the population will develop a mental health issue, yet we are still so unaware, of how to act or what to say. Education is the key to this, education is the key to acceptance, so lets educate and be educated. I've learnt more about how to treat people on social media than my school has ever tried to teach me. They teach us, briefly, may I add, about body confidence, but this is done at age 16/17 and by this age the eating disorders, the depression, the self harm has often already started to take control. Teenagers no longer benefit from teachers telling them that everything is beautiful, they cringe and think "she has to say that, she's a teacher". The one good thing my school has taught me is that mental illnesses affect both boys and girls equally, but I know very few schools which acknowledge this. It's not weak to...
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