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Introduction to Mental Health Treatment and Professionals

• The shared goal of mental health professionals:

  • Reduce distress experienced by patients

  • Increase quality of life for individuals dealing with mental health issues.

Who Can Diagnose and Treat?

• A variety of professionals can diagnose and treat mental health issues, each with different education levels and specializations:

Clinical Psychologists

• Education:

  • Earn a doctorate (PhD or PsyD).

• Training:

  • Conducting research on causes and treatments of psychological disorders.

• Roles:

  • Diagnose, assess, and treat individuals with mental health issues.

Psychiatrists

• Education:

  • Physicians with an MD (Medical Doctor).

• Training:

  • Complete medical school including various aspects of medicine, not just psychiatry.

• Focus:

  • Primarily on biological aspects of mental disorders.

• Medication:

  • Can prescribe medication and other biological treatments.

Psychiatric Social Workers and Nurses

• Education:

  • Typically hold a master’s degree.

• Work Environment:

  • Often found in hospital settings, supporting physicians and clinical psychologists as part of a care team.

Mental Health Counselors

• Education:

  • Also possess a master’s degree, usually requiring two additional years of education.

• Supervision:

  • Often supervised by a doctoral-level provider during their training or early career stages.

Assessing Cases: Distinguishing Normal from Abnormal Behavior

Questions to Evaluate Behavior:

• To assess whether behavior is normal or abnormal, consider asking:

  1. Duration of behavior: How long has this behavior been occurring?

  2. Impact on daily life: Does it affect their routine or social interactions?

  3. Developmental context: Is this reaction appropriate for their age?

  4. Cultural context: What cultural background does the individual come from?

  • Example cases discussed in class:

Case 1: Taj and the Escalator

• Behavior: Taj avoids escalators due to fear.

• Questions to Consider:

  • How long has this fear persisted?

  • At what age did this fear develop?

  • Does he encounter escalators frequently?

  • Is this fear culturally influenced?

Case 2: Rain Urinating in Corner

• Behavior: Caught urinating in the corner.

• Questions to Consider:

  • How old is she?

  • How often does this behavior occur?

  • Is there a medical reason preventing her from using the restroom (e.g. sleepwalking)?

  • Could there be an underlying medical issue?

Historical Perspectives on Abnormal Behavior

Abnormality Over Time

• Prevalence: Approximately 30% of adults and 19% of children annually experience serious psychological issues requiring treatment.

  • Many individuals experience temporary psychological distress without a full diagnosis.

Three Main Traditions of Understanding Abnormal Behavior

1. Supernatural Tradition: Believed abnormal behavior was caused by evil spirits or demonic possession.

   • Treatment methods included:

     • Exorcisms: Attempting to drive out spirits.

     • Trepanation: Cutting a hole in the skull to release spirits.

2. Biological Tradition:

   • Emphasized physical causes for mental disorders, distancing from supernatural explanations.

   • Coined by Hippocrates, a key figure in this tradition, promoting that psychological disorders should be treated like other medical conditions.

3. Psychological Tradition:

   • Emerged more recently and focused on psychological explanations and treatments for abnormal behaviors.

Treatment Progression Through History

• Middle Ages: Distress returned to being viewed through supernatural lenses.

  • Exorcisms were again the primary treatment for those deemed possessed.

• Renewed Interest in Science:

  • The Renaissance saw improvements in mental health treatments:

  • Establishment of asylums intended for humane care, but outcomes were not always positive due to overcrowding and neglect.

Modern Perspectives on Treatment

• Emergence of moral treatment in the 19th century advocating humane and respectful care for the mentally ill.

Empirical Study: Rosenhan Experiment

Overview

• Study of how psychiatric labels are applied and the experiences of being hospitalized.

• Examined whether psychiatric professionals could distinguish between sanity and insanity.

• Pseudo patients feigned a single symptom (hearing voices) to gain admission.

  • Once admitted, they behaved normally but were never detected by the staff.

Conclusions

• Demonstrated psychiatric diagnoses could be unreliable and questioned how mental illness is perceived and treated within hospitals.

• Suggested that misdiagnosis occurs and highlighted the stigma tied to psychiatric labels.

Ethical and Treatment Implications

• Treatment should focus on understanding the individual’s context, both biologically and psychologically.

• Importance of humane treatment and avoiding paths that stigmatize individuals further based on psychiatric labels.

Reflection on Current Treatment Practices

• Continuous evaluation of practices to ensure ethical treatment of individuals experiencing mental health challenges.

• Encouragement for inclusive and detailed inquiry into behavior to determine the best treatment options.