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Importance of psychology in health care
Importance of psychology in health care
Importance of psychology in health care
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It is a common misconception for sadness to be mistaken as Clinical Depression. A disorder like this can be caused by traumatic experiences. The novel “Sleepers” by Lorenzo Carcaterra depicts four boys who are sent to a juvenile prison for 18 months and the aftermath. The film adaptation, “Sleepers”, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Kevin Bacon, Billy Crudup, Robert De Niro, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, and Ron Eldard, shows the four Boys: Tommy Marcano, Lorenzo Carcaterra (Shakes), Michael Sullivan and John Reilly, experience sexual abuse and torture during their confinement at the prison. This paper will examine the problems that the boys suffered during the film “Sleepers” such as: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Avoidant Personality Disorder (APD), Alcohol addiction, violent behavior, and propose treatments (Levinson). Synopsis Narrator Lorenzo Carcaterra (Shakes) grew up in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen with his 3 best friends, Michael, John, and Tommy. The boys were troublemakers spawned by their neighborhood’s bad influence of crime. Their mentor/father figure is Father Bobby, ex- convict. The boys enjoyed listening to confessions and pulling pranks, such as stealing hot dogs from vendors. However, …show more content…
their thievery comes out of necessity, as they were dirt poor. Shake’s father physically and verbally assaults his wife. Michael was popular with the ladies and especially fond of Carol Martinez (Levinson). In pursuit and necessity of money, Shakes turned toward King Benny, a trafficking drug criminal. King Benny offers Shakes work doing illegal deeds, such as making drug deliveries. As Shakes is delivering the substance, he is held up and attacked by a couple of goons. He is saved by an unknown man that threatens the goons with a gun. Shakes then escapes to King Benny, only now realizing the dangers of his actions, pleading for a body guard on his next delivery. Father Bobby knew about the affair Shakes was getting himself into and argued against it. Shake’s form of backup was his three friends (Levinson). One day, the boys decided to steal hot dogs from a vendor. Things go wrong and the boys end up crashing a hot dog cart against a man, severely injuring him (Levinson). Following, came a jury and the verdict for imprisonment to a juvenile detention center. The boys were sent together. There, on the first night, Shakes, oblivious to what was going on, was forced to strip by prison guard, Sean Nokes. The days only got worse. One day during lunch, Michael was attacked by one of the other inmates and defends himself, causing the crowd of inmates to go crazy with excitement. Nokes slowly approaches the disturbance, breaking it up and then beating Michael with his baton. He then forced the four boys to eat food off the floor. While at the prison, the boys suffered rape, inhumane confinement in solitary, beatings, torture. Nokes threatened Shakes, not allowing him to talk to Father Bobby about anything that was happening. The boy’s decided to not share anything that’s happened to them with anyone. On their last night at the prison, the boys were taken by a group of guards to a confined room and were violated in every degree of the word (Levinson). Years later, after being incarcerated, Tommy and John become notorious killers, Michael became an assistant attorney, and Shakes became a journalist. As Tommy and John are sitting in a bar one day, they see someone familiar, Nokes. They confront Nokes and shoot him to death. John and Tommy are then put on trial, Michael decides to help out Tommy and John by conceiving up a plan that will set them free. Michael is assigned to the case and plans to give the appearance of working against Tommy and John, while intentionally losing the case and manipulating the whole court. In the end, Shakes convinces Father Bobby to lie and give a false alibi for John and Tommy, granting their freedom (Levinson). In the end, John and Tommy are murdered, Michael lives alone in a small town, isolated, and Shakes continued to live in Hell’s kitchen, however, still receives flashbacks (Levinson). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) During the film, it is revealed in a scene in which Shakes is praying that he is receiving flashbacks of the events that occurred during his confinement (Levinson). Flashbacks are a symptom of PTSD, “Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event…” (MayoClinic). All events that occurred during Shake’s confinement qualify. Groups of people that usually get PTSD include: war veterans, survivors of rape or any other traumatic event (Brain&BehaviorResearchFoundation). Someone may obtain this illness as well after someone that they are close to experiences trauma. Shakes, along with his group of friends, experienced the trauma together. Similar symptoms to flashbacks include nightmares. Treatments for PTSD include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure Therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on changing someone's “pattern of thinking or behavior” in order to make them feel positive (Martin). Negative thoughts play a large role in PTSD. Negative thoughts lead to even more negative thoughts, which cause negative actions. In other words, the patient suffering from PTSD will be inclined to be unproductive and stay that way (Martin). CBT includes homework assignments which vary. A “business like” relationship between the therapist and client with a focus on practical approaches and communication is expected from CBT. Exposure Therapy (ET) exposes someone to their fears in a safe environment (What Is Exposure Therapy). This is turn leads their fear to decrease. Avoidant Personality Disorder (APD) Isolation kills the mind.
Avoidant Personality Disorder (APD) causes a person to avoid any form of interaction, such as: work, school, large crowds (Bressert). By the end of the film, Sleepers, Michael decided to live alone, away from the most important people in his life. Throughout the film, after confinement, Michael distances himself from everyone. Michael hardly communicated with anyone for leisure, the only time that he would communicate with his old friends, was for the trial. His preference for solitary is clear. Isolation is a trait of APD; occurring in “2.4 percent in the general population” (Bressert). Michael suffered extreme stress during confinement, talking to no one about the trauma he experienced until the very end of the film
(Levinson). Treatment of APD includes psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is “talk therapy” (Grohol). Psychotherapy is used to deal with major stress. Sessions usually run for about an hour for a year. In those sessions, goals are created, problems realized, and changes are decided. Types of psychotherapy include: behavior, cognitive, interpersonal, family, and more (Grohol). During this "talk therapy", patients and the therapist discuss goals, problems, and sessions occur once a week, lasting for around 50 minutes. Alcohol and Addiction As portrayed by John and Tommy, alcohol is a choice beverage. In the bar scene, they are clearly seen drinking and smoking their fill (Levinson). Alcohol has potential health benefits when drank in moderation, such as a reduce in heart disease (Alcohol: If you drink, keep it moderate). The abuse of this substance can be fatal. According to the National Survey on Drug Use, "In 2015, 51.7% of Americans age 12 or older reported drinking alcohol". Alcohol abuse can be treated at Outpatient Treatment Centers. There, addicts will go through detoxification and work to submit any dependent urges toward alcohol (Alcohol Abuse). Participants will discuss the reason as to why they indulge in alcohol and discover alternatives habits. Violent Behavior Tommy and John become notorious through Hell’s Kitchen for being known as murderers. In the bar that they kill Nokes, they threaten a couple of civilians for talking about politics (Levinson). Alcohol increases impulsive behaviors, causing a man under the influence the possibility to become aggressive (ALCOHOL, DRUGS AND CRIME). Not surprisingly, “between 19% and 37% of violent crimes from 1997 to 2008” had a factor of alcohol (Alcohol and Crime: Data From 2002 To 2008). John and Tommy made a decision to kill Nokes together, as shown from the scene when they both pulled back the slides of their guns. They were both filled with uncontrollable rage, firing an unnecessarily large number of bullets at Noke’s body. They took pride in what they did and enjoyed it (Levinson). PTSD, environment, and relationships with others can affect violent behavior (Gabbey). Growing up in Hell's kitchen bred John and Tommy for a life of crime. The time spent incarcerated only made them worse. John and Tommy never received any form of treatment for what they went through. It may appear that Michael and Shakes were not affected the same way as John and Tommy were, becoming killers, but Michael and Shakes do not have problem with what happened. Michael and Shakes do not condemn their two murderous friends at all, this gives insight into their characters even more. Therapy, as listed previously, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, can treat violent behavior (Gabbey). The boys from the film, Sleepers, grew up in a bad neighborhood. Subsequently, they made some bad choices and suffered from harmful disorders, neglecting to treat any of them. The film is arguably a work of fiction, however, presents real problems that those traumatized suffer: Post Traumatic Stress Disoder, Alcohol Abuse, Violent Behavior, and Avoident Personality disorder affect the boys to a degree. A wide array of help can be found for these disorders
The movie, Awakenings, begins by showing a little boy, Leonard Lowe, playing in the park with his friends. Those same friends join Leonard as they go to school. While at school, Leonard begins to show signs that he is having difficulty writing. His teacher, looks through his notebook and notices that his writing has suddenly gotten worse. His teacher then notifies Mrs. Lowe of her findings. It is evident that Leonard’s right hand has curled to the point that he can no longer use it to write (Sacks & Zaillian, 1990).
For over seventy years, marijuana has been a growing problem in our society. Due to all of the controversy over this drug, there have been countless battles fought concerning marijuana's capabilities. In the 1930's, a moral panic surfaced with regard to the use of marijuana. The movie Reefer Madness is a perfect example of how the media stereotyped and distorted this new drug in order to construct it as a social problem, convincing society that this narcotic was single handedly destroying humanity.
Throughout the film there are two main characters. These two characters are Irish brothers that share a deep sense of their Catholic religion. Their names are Murphy and Connor McManus. Murphy and Connor are two normal men who are put in an extraordinary situation. Connor risks his own life to save the life of his brother. The situation starts out with a bar fight with two Russian mafia members. The Russians lose the fight with the two brothers; the next morning they come after the McManus brothers for revenge. Murphy and Connor kill the two men in self defense and go to the police station. While in the holding cell, they are given a message from a “spiritual force” to rid the world of evil men. The two brothers mutter “kill all that is evil, so all that is good may flourish”(The Boondock Saints) From that moment they devote themselves to a battle between good and evil. Another important character is David Della Rocco, also known as the “Funny Man” or just Rocco. Rocco is a package boy for the Yakaveta family which is involved in the Italian mafia. The head of the Yakaveta family is “Papa” Joe Yakaveta. Papa sets up Rocco in a situation to have him killed; Rocco finds out about papa's plans and decides to join forces with Murphy and Connor in killing evil people. The killings are mainly focused towards men with mafia affiliations. So Rocco tells the McManus brothers who to ki...
This story is about a young boy of 14 named Ponyboy. He is part of a hood group called Greasers on the east side of town, a group of lower-class teenagers who wear their hair long and greasy, wear jeans and ripped-up T-shirts, and are at odds with the rich-kid bullies known as the "Socs". This group of hoods are born into rich families from the west side of town, are of a high "social" class, drive around in Mustangs and Corvairs, and mostly wear checkered jackets with a madras on them. One day, as Ponyboy is walking home from a movie, he is jumped by a gang of Socs. At the last minute, his buddies from his group (made up of his brothers Darry and Sodapop, who raised Ponyboy now that their parents are dead, the hardened hood Dally Winston, quiet innocent Johnny, and wise-cracking Two-Bit) scare off the socs and rescue him. The next night, Ponyboy and Johnny join Dally to go looking around for a good fight and maybe catch a movie. There they sit behind two attractive young girls and Dally attempts to obnoxiously get their attention and pick one up. After Johnny tells him to stop, Johnny and Ponyboy sit with the girls, Cherry and Marcia, and Ponyboy and Cherry discover to their mutual surprise that they have a great deal in common. Two-bit appears, and the three greasers walk the Socs girls back to Two-Bit's house so that he can drive them home. On the way, they run into Bob and Randy, the girls' drunken boyfriends and the socs that beat up Johnny a couple years ago, and the girls agree to leave with them in order to prevent a fight between the two gangs. On his way home Ponyboy takes a stop by the vacant lot with Johnny and accidentally drifts off. When he wakes up and goes home his brother Darry angrily lectures him on what could have happened and slaps him. Then he runs out the door, finds Johnny, and goes to the park to get away from things. There, however, the two young greasers run into Randy and Bob, with a few of their Soc friends. One of them holds Ponyboy's head under an ice cold fountain, and Ponyboy blacks out. When he comes to, he is lying on the ground next to Johnny.
3. This story is about a group of kids that are called Greasers, because they live on the East side of town, which is the lower income part of the city. They all slick back their hair with grease, and that’s where the name Greasers came from. Ponyboy Curtis is the main character in this story, and he has 2 brothers, one named Darry, and the other named Sodapop. One night Johnny and Ponyboy are out at the park, and a group of Socs, the nickname for Rich Kids, came by and started beating them up. One of them stuffed Ponyboy’s face into the fountain and tried to drown him, so Johnny stabbed him before he killed Ponyboy. The boy that he stabbed died, and so they went to a friend who gave them money and a gun to run away with. They ran away to an abandoned church, and one day Dallas, the friend who gave them the supplies came by and took them out to lunch, and when they returned the church was one fire. Johnny and Pony saved the kids inside, and a piece of wood fell on Johnny and he broke his back. He died in the hospital a few days later, and Dallas couldn’t take it so he robbed a grocery store and took out an unloaded gun when the police came, so they shot and killed him. Exposition: The gang is introduced and the rivalry between the Greasers and the Socs is shown. Complication: Johnny kills the Soc that almost drowned Ponyboy, and they must leave town Climax: Pony and Johnny go into the burning church to save the children that are inside; Dallas dies. Resolution: Everything goes back to normal, and Pony decides to write about his journey for his English essay.
“How could a kid so sweet be so nasty too?” (54). ‘Yummy The Last Days of a Southside Story’ by G.Neri shares the true story of an eleven-year-old boy named Robert “Yummy” Sandifer who fell victim to Chicago gangs due to the alleged shooting of Shavon Dean. Yummy, a child too young to understand, too young to not give in, and never had a stable adult to look up to, is a prime example of a victim at the wrong place at the wrong time.
The Shinning, a horror movie that was released in 1980, featured Jack Nicholson, as a writer who is left in charge of the Overlook hotel during the winter. During this time Jack began to developed schizophrenia among many other personality and mood disorders and attempts to murder his own family. After reviewing this film it became apparent that there was a mixture of accuracy and exaggeration of the development of schizophrenia. Jack had this disorder, but also had symptoms of other personality and mood disorders. For the sake of Hollywood the film did take schizophrenia to entirely new levels. Some of this hype was generated around Jack becoming a full fledge killer. The delusions that he suffered from were undeniably crazed and did have a central theme; however, they were induced by other substances. The themes that ran strong throughout this movie were persuasion. Jack was constantly told by his delusions that he needed to take control and steer his family in his own direction. When his family urged him to leave this hotel, it only generated more hostility and anxiety, which pushed the decline of his mental health.
In the 1950’s, it was common so see people with frightened, uneasy, rejecting, and even arrogant attitudes towards people with mental illnesses. They considered those who were mentally ill as psychotic, violent and frightening. In the today, people are more accepting and understanding when it comes to mental illness, but some people are still ignorant with their responses, just like back then. In the 1950’s mental health treatment was typically provided in large state hospitals and other intuitions. Back then, topics like mental health were kept hush hush; people much rather putting those who were mentally in away in a state facility where someone else could monitor them. Today, people are more understanding.
Gartner, Richard B. Betrayed as Boys: Psychodynamic Treatment of Sexually Abused Men. New York: Guilford, 1999. Print.
... middle of paper ... ... Retrieved from Senia: http://www.senia.com/2007/09/24/5-specific-techniques-from-positive-psychology-more-productive-more-successful-happier/. Retrieved on 10/20/13. Network, F. R. (2010-2013). Trauma Abuse Treatment -.
Moreover, Complex trauma is a leading factor in many health issues and diagnoses such as ADHD, ADD, Anxiety disorder, Borderline disorder, depression, bipolar, and PTSD. The list of possible diagnoses is endless, and finding proper treatment is a struggle. In 2013, a Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD) was proposed, with a complete diagnosis description and criteria, for consideration for the DSM-5. But unfortunately, even with 20-year supporting research accompanying the proposal, the disorder still goes unrecognized as a formal diagnosis (Kilrain
Miller, F. C. (1999, September). Using the Movie Ordinary People to Teach Psychodynamic Psychotherapy With Adolescents -- Miller 23 (3): 174 -- Acad Psychiatry. Academic Psychiatry. Retrieved December 10, 2010, from http://ap.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/23/3/174
“Numerous studies have demonstrated that experiencing child abuse can lead to a range of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems” (Moylan, 2010). Precious’s internalization of depression and emotional numbing are all factors that contribute to her self-concept. Study shows that “childhood sexual abuse has been correlated with higher levels of depression, guilt, shame, self-blame, eating disorders, somatic concerns, anxiety, dissociative patterns, repression, denial, sexual problems, and relationship problems” (Hall, 2011). The implications of sexual abuse are often detrimental to the mental state of an adolescent. Psychiatric evaluations show that Precious suffers from symptoms of PTSD and Major Depression
Some of these effects include, however are not limited to: shock, denial, depression, attempted or completed suicide, alienation, fear, anxiety, and guilt (CDC). With the weight of all of these emotions, it’s not surprising to think that someone would become so distraught. Having had the opportunity to interview a rape victim, whom will be called Jane, it has become apparent that rape can be paralyzing. The interviewee has gone on to attend therapy sessions, as well as distrusting any person who comes into her life. In addition, Jane went as far as to explain what it felt like to experience such
Shutter Island Desmond Delaney Brown Mackie College This film called Shutter Island, tells a story that happened in 1954; officer teddy and his partner chuck were sent to investigate the site of a missing women killer from a mental hospital. The hospital is located on an island called Shutter Island. It is mainly admitted to those who have mental illness. But under calm exterior, seems to hide many secrets.