...Many situations experienced by people living with mental health problems involve human rights. However, there is little information available about human rights and how they relate to mental health. Too often, a person may not realise that they are able to do something about their situation, or even that there is something wrong with the way they are being treated. It is therefore vital that people living with mental health problems are able to access information about their human rights and challenge bad treatment. {BIHR, 2006, P.4}. What are Human Rights? * They belong to everyone. * They are based on principles of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect. * They are about how public authorities – including the Government, hospitals and social services – must treat you. * They prevent authorities from doing certain things to you, like treating you in a degrading way. * They also sometimes force authorities to take certain actions, like taking steps to protect your life. * They were first legally defined by international agreement after the horrors of the Second World War. * Since the Second World War, there have been many different international human rights agreements. * One of the most important human rights agreements is the European Convention on Human Rights. The basic rights and freedoms, to which all humans are entitled, often held to include the right to life and...
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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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...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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...Vulnerable Populations The term Mental Illness covers a wide variety of disorders ,which can be mild to severe in nature. These disorders cause a breakdown in thoughts and behaviors making it difficult to impossible for a person to cope with daily life. There are more than 200 classified forms of mental illness (Mental Health America, 2011) and include different forms of depression and other emotional disorders, anxiety disorders, dementia, and personality disorders. It is estimated that there are more than 50 million Americans living with one form of mental illness or another. Knowledge and understanding of mental illnesses has come a long way in the last century, before this time many were labeled as being possessed by demons. In order to “cure” them, people were often subjected to physical and emotional abuse; it was often believed that the only way to exorcise the demons was to beat them out of a person. People were locked away and isolated from the population at large, neglected and abused there was little hope or understanding for a person suffering from mental illness. Great strides were made in 1908 after a man named Clifford Beers released an autobiography titled “A Mind That Found Itself” (Mental Health America, 2010). Beers had spent time in a mental institution after his brother’s death and had witnessed firsthand the inhuman treatment of the patients, after his release he began a national movement to humanize the treatment of those with mental illnesses. From this early...
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... I am in my advanced year of internship at River Community residential treatment facility in Azusa Canyon. River Community is part of the Social Model Recovery Systems. River community is a coed facility, that houses up to 38 residents. Social Model Recovery Systems is a non-profit 501(c) 3 that provides direct treatment services (at 12 locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties) for those whose lives have become unmanageable due to alcohol and other drug use and/or whose mental health issues are interfering with leading productive lives. River Community itself is a unique residential treatment program providing recovery services to individuals with concurrent mental health and chemical dependency problems. The current director of River Community is a LCSW and ACSW. Social Model Recovery Systems ascribes to the principles and practices of social rehabilitation. The social rehabilitation approach is one in which addiction is viewed as being centered in the reciprocal relationship between...
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...bipolar cases begin before the age of 25. Some of the individuals experience symptoms during childhood when other individuals develop symptoms later in life. Bipolar disorder is difficult to diagnosis and sometimes suffer for years before receiving a proper diagnosis and treatment. Burrell Behavior Health is a non-profit organization that provides a variety of mental health services to individuals of all ages and cultures. Burrell takes into consideration the variety of cultures and their beliefs when developing a treatment plan for each individual they serve (Burrell Behavior Health/services). When developing a treatment plan for individuals from different cultures the treatment team takes each individual; their specific beliefs and needs into consideration when choosing the plan of treatment that will work best for their particular illness. Burrell Behavior Health offers psychotherapy, medications, and sometimes even play therapy to develop the right plan that will work for the individual and their culture (Burrell Behavior Health/services). Some cultures refuse to get help for their mental health issues, because of fear of how others will perceive them. Some cultures do not believe in medicine treatments or even psychotherapy. Individuals with bipolar disorder experience unusually intense emotional moments happening at...
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...is to discuss the increased incidence of non-adherence mental health medications in the homeless population 2. State the problem your intervention addresses, and target population: The problem is limited knowledge about different support services, and being able to access, retain and follow treatment plan. This simply boils down to limited knowledge regarding community resources and being able to know how to access those resources The target population is the mental health Homeless Population in California/Yolo County 3. State your proposed intervention: The intervention is a supportive service program intended to assist the mental health homeless population in guiding them to be able to seek local resources so they can access, retain, and follow their treatment plan, and limit the amount of...
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...Didion University of Phoenix The burden of mental illness in the United States is among the highest of all diseases, and mental disorders are among the most common causes of disability. The first goal of this paper is the examination of the vulnerable population of the mentally ill. Second, this paper will review the goals and agenda of Healthy People 2020 as it applies to mental illness. Third, this paper will review my work place assessment for barriers for the care and treatment of mentally ill patients. Finally, this paper will review a short presentation I gave to co-workers in an effort to aid in better treatment for the mentally ill. Recent figures suggest that in 2004, approximately 1 in 4 adults in the United States had had a mental health disorder in the past year, most commonly anxiety or depression ("Healthy People 2020 ", n.d.).. It is estimated that only about 17% of U.S. adults are considered to be in a state of optimal mental health ("Healthy People 2020 ", n.d.). An estimated 26% of Americans age 18 and older are living with a mental health disorder in any given year, and 46% will have a mental health disorder over the course of their lifetime ("Healthy People 2020 ", n.d.). Mental health disorders often have a serious impact on physical health and are associated with the prevalence, progression, and outcome of some of today’s most pressing chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Mental health disorders can have harmful and long-lasting...
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...Did you know that nearly 19% of adults in the U.S. alone deal with some kind of a mental disorder? Or that 20% of the youth population have been diagnosed with one of these disorders? To put that into a different perspective, that means one in every five people may possess some form of a mental illness, whether it is depression, an anxiety disorder, or OCD. Mental illness is not a rarity in today’s society, but instead it is an extensive obstacle for everyone that has these disorders. Mental illness is existent all over the world in many people, and it is important to be knowledgeable of it and essential to be understanding of the people who suffer from it. I have always been curious about mental illnesses ever since I was able to understand what it was. I have read books about people with mental disorders, studied statistics about mental illnesses, and researched it extensively on the Internet. First, I...
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...MHF Module: Investing In Mental Health Mental Health Worksheet Part 1 Research mental health in a a country other than the United States. An example of a mental heath problem is provided below. |Example: | |According to the World Health Organization (2005) Botswana, Africa, spends only 1% of the country’s health budget on mental health. The | |country does offer locations in communities for the training of mental health nurses. There are also community care facilities for | |patients suffering from mental disorders. However; due to a lack of psychiatrists in the country, the mental health trained nurses are | |responsible for all aspects of mental health services for the population. These nurses are also responsible for training others in mental | |health. According to the World Health Organization there are only 1.1 psychiatric beds per 10,000 people and only .7 beds in mental | |hospitals, the rest being in general hospitals. In 2005, there were only .3 psychologists and 3 social workers per 100,000 people, the | |country did not have any neurologists and doctors had to come from neighboring countries to help with the mental health needs of Botswana. | Select a country and a mental health issues within that contry. Then compose a 150- to 200- word description of the probem (...
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...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 was associated with extended outpatient commitment combined with regular outpatient services, adherence to prescribed medications...
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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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...process focused on helping you heal and learn more constructive ways to deal with the problems or issues within your life. It can also be a supportive process when going through a difficult period or under increased stress, such as starting a new career or going through a divorce (Hawkins, 2010). Most psychotherapy tends to focus on problem solving and is goal-oriented. That means on the onset of treatment, you and your therapist decide up on which specific changes you would like to make in your life. These goals will often be broken down into smaller attainable objectives and put into a formal treatment plan (Hawkins, 2010). The purpose of this study was to explore public attitudes toward psychotherapy treatment and how they perceive importance of psychotherapy treatment, mental health issues are of ever growing importance in modern society. While there are numerous studies on the attitude of the general public toward psychiatry in general, little research has been done concerning the specific field of psychotherapy (Hawkins, 2010). 2. Literature review 2.1 History of mental illness in the Middle East 2.1.1 Pre-Islamic era: Ancient Egyptians believed that diseases were mainly because of evil spirits or wrath of gods. Their philosophy of the afterlife came from the idea that they were part of continuous cycle. Therefore, they believed in the physical continuation of the life after death. From this belief, they gave much attention of the psychology and personality...
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...ll over the world the issue of mental health is a rampantly growing problem. With budget cuts both statewide and federally since the 1980’s by President Ronald Reagan, our country has had to create more cost efficient ways to meet the needs of our mental health crisis. Because of these budget cuts the need for more mental health services has grown and our county has responded to the outcry from those with mental health issues. Tulare County has come up with a way to help meet these needs locally through the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), which was voted for in November 2004 and became effective January 2005. From August 2009 to October 20011 MHSA has helped over 16,000 Tulare county residents with mental health issues. This is possible because of a 1% tax surcharge on those who make $1 million or more per year. Mental health groups in Tulare County treat a broad spectrum of problems. From Bipolar Disorder and depression to schizophrenia, there are support groups to help clients deal with the difficulties associated with mental illness (HHSA, 2012). In California the rate mental illness vary from county to county....
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...Introduction Mental illness is considered to be a wide range of conditions on mental health and also known to be a disorder affecting an individual’s behavior, thinking and mood. Some example includes addictive behaviors, eating disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder and depression. From time to time, most individuals are known to have numerous mental health concerns. Mental health concern are actually not mental illnesses but if they persist and the symptoms and sings result to recurring stress that affect an individual’s ability to function, then they can be considered to be mental illness. Mental illness is quite a big problem to an individual and usually turns an individual to be miserable throughout their day if they are not well managed. Counseling (psychotherapy) and a medication combination is mostly used to manage mental illness. Mental illness symptoms and signs are known to be varying depending on particular circumstances, disorder and numerous other factors. An individuals behaviors, thought and emotions are mostly affected by a mental illness. most mental illness are known not to improve on their own but they get worse if they go untreated over a long time and causing a lot of damage. Treatment of mental illness varies depending on the mental illness type, its severity and the form, kind or type of treatment that will work to a particular individual. Two individual having a similar mental illness condition might have to treat them differently as one treatment may not...
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