Introduction Over the last two decades, there have been numerous research studies that link mental health as the foundation for all health, social, organizational and educational recovery (Ormston, 2014; McLaren, Belling, Paul, Ford, Kramer, Weaver, Singh, 2013). The American society and the global world continues to witness catastrophic human induced incidences that often times point to the increasing need to pay attention to the declining state of a global mental health community. Evidence links the interconnectedness of the mind and body and attributes health and social problems direct linkage to inattention to mental health (Rubin, 2014). Despite medical, social and technological advances, we continue to lack understanding of the complexities of the human mind which has further alienated our understanding of ourselves. In this paper, I propose the need for scholars to begin intentional dialogue across disciplines of health, culture, mental health, and education. Discussions include; the connection between the mind and body and the underlying religious and cultural perceptions that drive health and mental health practices; the need to increase our understanding of mental health promotion in education; and exploration of cultural perspectives of mental health in the United States. The Body and the Mind The culture of managed care for behavioral mental health is rapidly changing. In 2014, the American health care community saw new federal legislation requiring the inclusion of behavioral health in insurance plans (retrieved: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/your-money/understanding-new-rules-that-widen-mental-health-coverage.html?_r=0) . These legislations came at the heal of several debates about the gro... ... middle of paper ... ... health and mental health managed care has been organized and argued the need to begin intentional discourse about the differences in perspectives related to how we treat the mind and body. I posit that a change in this attitude can help reform current health promotion and treatment practices. Next, I discussed the paucity of a coordinated and integrated system of comprehensive mental health care in the education systems. Lastly, I explored some of the research findings related to the perspectives and attitudes about mental health in different cultures. Based on the societal issues of violence, depression, suicide and psychopathologies, in the American society and the global community, there is no doubt that education, health and cultural purveyors need to begin intentional dialogue about the need to address the mental health pandemic surfacing in their fields.
Braun, S. A., & Cox, J. A. (2005). Managed mental health care: Intentional misdiagnosis of
Due to the endless efforts and research of certain foundations and individuals, the ideas and functions of mental health have improved significantly. The advancements made in the field are impressive and without them, humankind would not be the same. Yet then why do only fewer than eight million people who are in need of help seek treatment? National Mental Health Association, 2001. The history, stigmatization, and perception of mental illness are some of the many reasons behind that alarming statistic.... ...
According to Kramer (2002), Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the United States; growing from fewer than 1 million in 1960 to 7.2 million in 1990. But despite this ongoing rapid progression, Asian Americans have the lowest rate of utilization of any professional mental health related services than the general United States population (Tung 2011). To increase the utilization of mental health services among the Asian American community, the most hindering barriers that exist preventing Asian Americans in general from seeking out these services must be identified and explored. In spite of the fact that Asian Americans are viewed as the “model minority”, with high academic achievements and few mental/behavioral problems, studies
If the United States had unlimited funds, the appropriate response to such a high number of mentally ill Americans should naturally be to provide universal coverage that doesn’t discriminate between healthcare and mental healthcare. The United States doesn’t have unlimited funds to provide universal healthcare at this point, but the country does have the ability to stop coverage discrimination. A quarter of the 15.7 million Americans who received mental health care listed themselves as the main payer for the services, according to one survey that looked at those services from 2005 to 2009. 3 Separate research from the same agency found 45 percent of those not receiving mental health care listing cost as a barrier.3 President Obama and the advisors who helped construct The Affordable Care Act recognized the problem that confronts the mentally ill. Mental healthcare had to be more affordable and different measures had to be taken to help patients recover. Although The Affordable Care Act doesn’t provide mentally ill patients will universal coverage, the act has made substantial changes to the options available to them.
One of the major global concerns of International Psychology is that relating to physical and mental health (Stevens & Gielen, 2007). One of the biggest challenges Western Psychologists face today is that “imported psychotherapeutic models and methods are not equally applicable within different cultural, economic, historical, political, religious, and social context, and must, therefore, be substantially modified” (Stevens & Gielen, 2007), this means that the diagnoses and disorders listed by the DSM-V may not be entirely applicable to cultures across the globe, as seen in each case study of Crazy Like Us, an investigation and analysis of psychological cases and disorders around the world. As Dr. Lee discovered with his patients in Hong Kong,
Certain labels the western culture has can vary tremendously and may even be non-existent in different cultures. Labeling for example is not accepted in certain cultures, for example in Muslim communities having a mental health condition is associated with a negative stigma and access to the sick role for mental health is not accepted. In return this stigma causes people to not even seek care or treatment. Such as seen in the study conducted by Oman, Al-Adawi and colleagues (2002) found that groups believed that mental illness is caused by spirits and rejected genetics as a significant factor. In the same study, both groups endorsed common stereotypes about people with mental illness and affirmed that psychiatric facilities should be segregated from the community.(3) This stigma in itself shows that different cultures do not have the same attitude and acceptance of the DSM’s labels, which results in different ethnocentric approaches to handle mental illness, labeling people and the access to health care for these
The Asian cultures make up a large portion of the world’s population, so being able to understand their way of dealing with psychological disorders is important. The way most of the Asian cultures view mental illness is vastly different from how Western cultures view mental illness. In a study it showed that “Asian Americans show stronger implicit mental illness stigma compared to Caucasian Americans” (Cheon & Chiao, 2012). One reason for this is that in Asian cultures they are more likely to attribute mental illness with some type of supernatural cause. This could include punishments by god or ancestors that they did not please by bad behavior or they may believe mental illness could be a result of a possession by an evil spirit. These types of beliefs lead to a stronger stigma against mental illness in Asian cultures. Since they believe that it can be caused by ...
Often, topics are brought up that make citizens uncomfortable. When issues that do not pertain to citizens are brought up, they tend to not listen. Typically, when issues surrounding mental illness or inaccessibility to healthcare are brought up, many do not care. Those without healthcare and those with mental illness are often disregarded. Studying Global Public Health and Applied Psychology at NYU will permit me to explore issues surrounding mental illness and inaccessibility to healthcare.
Caring for the mind is just as important to our health as caring for our physical well being. Yet, it is only now that we have started to acknowledge this crucial piece of knowledge to the well being of our human race. To the other half of the world however, this realization has not yet been recognized. In order to carry the advancement of our human race towards higher achievements, we need the power of the young, healthy, capable, and imaginative minds of the youth to discover knowledge not yet learned. Through the stigmatization of mental health awareness in collectivist societies however, goals of producing healthy members of society becomes questionable with the valuing of submissiveness, placing excessive emphasis on selflessness, and
In this section of the paper, we will be observing a specific issue regarding companies that deal with mental health. Before we diving into this topic, lets provide some information about mental health companies and cost containment. These behavioral health care companies (or mental health care companies) are here to help by promoting the well-being and preventing or intervening in mental illness while also aiding in preventing or intervening in substance abuse or other addictions (Sandler, 2009).” Now, what cost containment does is aids those companies to maintain different expenses that may lead to unnecessary cost or spending. This leads to the issue of should managed behavioral health care companies be permitted to achieve cost containment through the management of access to care?
To address the disparities in mental health agencies, Barksdale et al., (2014) wrote a paper that explores how the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care could be utilized by mental health agencies. The concern is that in some mental health agencies, there is a disconnected gap to understanding the cultural needs of the diverse population and it is causing a negative reflection in the agencies as well as in its providers. Furthermore, there is a lack of consideration and respect for clients’ cultural beliefs (Barksdale et al., 2014). With the incorporation of culturally and linguistically competent practices, increased client satisfaction,
Ghandi said “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive”, and this still reigns true today. The misconceptions about mental health are killing our economy and our children.
Regarding cultural barriers, the stigma surrounding mental illness result in placing mental health services as the last option. The Asian American community is often reluctant to talk or express feelings. The fear of losing respect and bringing dishonor to the family in all aspects of life is largely centered in Asian culture. The concept of losing face or bringing shame is a huge faux pas because it requires admitting the existence of a mental health problem. (Weng)
According to the C.D.C ( Centers for Disease Control) the term mental health is commonly used in reference to mental illness. However, knowledge in the field has advanced to a level that completely separates the two terminologies. But even so mental health and mental illness are indeed in fact related, they represent different psychological state of mind with in a person. Mental health refers to our physical and emotional well being. Mental health is mainly all about how we behave, interact, and think. It c...
Having a sound knowledge and awareness on the impact of social and cultural variables is imperative for understanding the complexities surrounding human behaviors. Culture, which is primarily used to refer to the way of life of a people, inevitably influences individuals’ lives through language, dress, food, worldviews, institutions, art, material objects, beliefs, values, and attitudes. Similarly, social issues affecting individual lives may be influenced by economic, political, and environmental factors. Accordingly, as a mental health professional I believe it is essential for to develop an awareness of all the intricate factors which may have an invariable effect on the individuals I work with and will assist me in developing appropriate