Chapter 1 - Mental Health and Mental Illness

Mental Health

A state of well-being in which individuals reach their own potential, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and contribute to the community.

Mental Illness

Psychiatric disorders with definable diagnoses that cause significant dysfunction in mental functioning due to developmental, biological, or physiological disturbances.

Resilience

The ability and capacity to secure resources needed to support well-being, characterized by the ability to secure needed resources and capacity for regulating emotions.

Mental Health Continuum

A conceptual framework that illustrates the range of mental health states from well-being to mental illness.

Diathesis-Stress Model

The most accepted explanation for mental illness, positing that most psychiatric disorders result from a combination of genetic vulnerability and negative environmental stressors.

Mental Health Parity Act

Legislation that requires insurance companies to provide equal treatment coverage for psychiatric disorders.

Prevalence

The number of cases of a disease regardless of when they began, typically expressed as a percentage of the population.

Incidence

The number of new cases of a disease occurring within a specified time period.

Social Influences on Mental Health Care

Factors such as the consumer movement, landmark reports, and movements aimed at improving mental health recovery and access to care.

ICD-10-CM

The International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition, which includes clinical descriptions of mental and behavior disorders and provides classifications for diagnosis.