The psychological approach to mental illness sees an interaction between mental health development and the environment. Mental health problems occur when people face new situations using maladaptive coping mechanisms. Undoubtedly, there is an increasing convergence between biomedical and psychological research on mental health and mental disorders. Both fields study the same or similar phenomena with similar approaches and methods.
Therefore, it is not surprising that evaluations of strengths and weaknesses in both fields often reach the same conclusions (Schumann et al. Despite this continuous trend of increasing convergence and synergy, there are important, although sometimes subtle, differences due to the different traditions, theories, principles and methods that justify a separate presentation and debate of biomedical and psychological perspectives, highlighting specific needs and priorities that would have been neglected in a joint presentation. According to this evaluation, the working group (ROAMER) (work package 5), WP considered that it would be useful to define the field and reach a consensus on its scope and definitions. Mental health theories strive to explain human development from a behavioral, psychological, and social standpoint.
For many years, researchers focused on alleviating pain or suffering. The focus was on what was happening to a person and how to fix it. A person was not supposed to be able to strengthen their well-being. Editor-in-chief of Simply Psychology, with a degree in Psychology (with honors), master's degree and doctorate, from the University of Manchester, Saul Mcleod, PhD.
He has published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Learn about our editorial process Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor of Simply Psychology (with honors) in Psychology and a Master's Degree in Educational Psychology. He previously worked in the health and education sectors. The medical model of mental illness treats mental disorders in the same way as an arm fracture, that is. This model has been adopted by psychiatrists rather than psychologists.
Therefore, supporters of the medical model consider symptoms to be external signs of an internal physical disorder and believe that if symptoms are grouped together and classified into a “syndrome”, over time the true cause can be discovered and appropriate physical treatment administered. The biological approach to psychopathology considers that disorders have an organic or physical cause. This approach focuses on genetics, neurotransmitters, neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, and so on. The approach argues that mental disorders are related to the physical structure and functioning of the brain. Behaviors such as hallucinations are “symptoms of mental illness”, as are suicidal ideation or extreme fears, such as snake phobias, etc.
Different diseases can be identified as “syndromes”, groups of symptoms that go hand in hand and are caused by the illness. These symptoms lead the psychiatrist to make a “diagnosis”, for example: this patient is suffering from severe psychosis; he has a medical condition that we call schizophrenia. What's going on here? The doctor judges the patient's behavior, usually in a clinical interview after a family member or primary care physician has requested an evaluation. The doctor will judge if the “patient” shows abnormal behavior by asking questions and observing him.
The judgment will also depend to a large extent on what family members and others close to the patient say and on the context: is mental illness more likely to be diagnosed in a psychiatric hospital? In psychiatry, the psychiatrist must be able to validly and reliably diagnose different mental illnesses. Kraepelin said that certain groups of symptoms occur together often enough to call them a disease. He considered each mental illness as a different type and set out to describe its origins, symptoms, course and outcomes. Based on the diagnosis, the psychiatrist will prescribe treatment such as medications, psychosurgery, or electroconvulsive therapy. However, since the 1970s, psychiatrists have predominantly treated mental illness with drugs.
Traditional categorical diagnostic systems used in mental health, such as the DSM and the ICD, were developed primarily for clinical utility purposes for classify mental disorders. The study consists of two conditions after which a hospital was informed that patients who did not actually have a mental illness would come, when in fact no patient was sent. In this state, psychiatrists only diagnosed that 41 of the 193 patients were mentally ill, when in fact all the patients were mentally ill. Under the other conditions, eight people were asked to testify at the hospital that they had heard noises in their heads.
As soon as it was administered to them, they behaved normally. Physicians in this condition still classified these patients as insane, with a case of latent schizophrenia. Rosenhan concluded that no psychiatrist could easily differentiate between healthy and insane. Although Rosenhan presented a very accurate report on patients' diagnoses, he received criticism for misleading the hospital by claiming that they were sending healthy patients, although in reality they were not sending any.
This has led to requests for approaches that focus more on neurobiological dimensions, mechanisms or correlations than on discrete categories (Insel et. Al. The film Someone Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest demonstrates the way in which drugs are distributed as smartass simply to keep patients subdued. The main drugs used in the treatment of depression, anxiety and OCD are monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) began in the 1930s, when it was observed that when cows were executed using electric shocks, they appeared to convulse as if they had suffered an epileptic shock. Electroconvulsive therapy was used historically, but was largely abandoned as a treatment for schizophrenia after the discovery of antipsychotic drugs in the 1950s, but has recently been reintroduced into EE. UU. In the United Kingdom, NICE does not recommend the use of electroconvulsive therapy except in very particular cases (mainly for catatonic schizophrenia).
However, it is sometimes used as a last resort to treat severe depression. Electroconvulsive therapy can be unilateral (electrodes on one temple) or bilateral (electrodes on both temples). The procedure for administering electroconvulsive therapy involves the patient receiving a short-acting anesthetic and a muscle relaxant before the shock is administered. A small amount of current (about 0.6 amperes) passed through the brain for about half a second.
The resulting seizure lasts about a minute. Electroconvulsive therapy is usually given three times a week for up to 5 weeks. It can also be used for those who suffer from schizophrenia and manic depression. This extreme form of treatment is criticized by many, especially for its uncontrolled and unjustified use in many large, understaffed psychiatric institutions, where it can be used simply to make patients docile and manageable or as punishment (Breggin 197. ECT).
Side effects include language and memory problems, as well as loss of self-esteem due to not being able to remember important personal data or perform routine tasks. Electroconvulsive therapy is a controversial treatment, especially since people who use it are not yet sure how it works; a comparison has been made to kicking the TV to make it work. As a final result, when drugs and electroconvulsive therapy have apparently failed, psychosurgery is an option. Basically, this involves cutting nerve fibers in the brain or burning parts of the nerves thought to be involved in the disorder (when the patient is aware).
The most common form of psychosurgery is prefrontal lobotomy. Unfortunately, these operations tend to leave the patient vegetated or “numb”, with a flat personality, altered movements, etc. Moniz “discovered” lobotomy in 1935 after successfully removing parts of the brain from chimpanzees. Surgery is only used as a last resort when the patient has not responded to other forms of treatment and their disorder is very serious.
This is because all surgery is risky and the effects of neurosurgery can be unpredictable. In addition, it may not provide any benefit to the patient and the effects may be irreversible. Psychosurgery has barely been used as a treatment for schizophrenia since the early 1970s, when it was replaced by pharmacological treatment. Satisfaction factors in autistic and non-autistic couples Psychological outcomes and mechanisms of mindfulness-based training for generalized anxiety, authenticity and well-being in women with a late diagnosis of autism What makes work sustainable for autistic and ADHD people? Simply Scholar Ltd. This view of mental illness is presented for better acceptance of the mentally ill by the public and treatment by those suffering from mental illness and, in fact, is based on accumulated, though limited, knowledge in the neurobiology of mental disorders.
However, anything that reaches axiomatic proportions needs serious examination. In this editorial, we examine the reasons behind this perspective, its consequences, and the evidence that supports or refutes its continued justification. Below, we present the position that we believe best fits the current state of knowledge and that is closest to clinical realities and the public perception of mental illness. Mental health determines how you think, feel and act.
Good mental health comes when you feel positive about yourself and deal well with everyday pressures. If you're having trouble coping with everyday problems, this could be a sign of a mental health problem and you need to address it right away. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects the way we think, feel and act. It also helps determine how we manage stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices.1 Mental health is important at all stages of life, from childhood and adolescence to adulthood.
While clinical psychology delves into the root cause of illness to help a person recover, positive psychology delves into the root causes of happiness that can help a person protect themselves from negative experiences. Positive psychology researchers have devised measures such as the Psychological Wellbeing Scale and the Happiness Scale, which objectively measure how satisfied a person is with his life. Psychology has been described as a “central science” (Cacioppo, 200), with psychological findings that are linked to research and perspectives in the social sciences, natural sciences, medicine and the humanities, such as philosophy. Positive psychology emerged after a good deal of debates and misunderstandings about its capacity to coexist with clinical or health psychology.
Although historically, the practice of clinical psychology was mainly limited to people seeking help and to those who already had mental health problems, positive psychology reaches all people, both those with a clinical diagnosis and those who do not they have it.