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Social construction of disability model
Social model of disability and the impact on practice
Social model of disability and the impact on practice
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The Lack of Planning for Adequate Treatment and Housing for the Mentally Ill Housing is one of the basic needs of human beings. Appropriate and adequate housing is a fundamental component of maintaining and establishing a healthy well-being. Lamb (1984) addresses a predominant case of belonging and participating of the mentally ill in the society. This is the social inclusion of those suffering from mental retardation as well as other related health problems. It is to the attention of many researchers that poor housing is one of the major factors that have continued to derail and undermine the treatment process of the mentally ill in the society. This is because decent housing has been established to be a key determinant of mental health and …show more content…
It is a body that was tasked with the responsibility of promoting a social model of disability besides outlining the general principles which include recognition and respect for the autonomy of the mentally affected individuals. This was accompanied by the effective and full inclusion of the mentally regarded as well as respect for their independence including the chance to choose their places of residence freely without coercion. It should be noted, therefore, that the sole responsibility of ensuring that the disabled people have decent housing was left in the hands of the Local Authority Mental Health Services. Due to the outcry of the human rights groups and other non-profit organizations that worked for hand in hand to restore and ensure the dignity of the mentally ill, the Department of Environment, Community and local Government launched a program that would help to research MENTAL …show more content…
One of the ways to achieve this was the fact that the body acts as a liaison between two departments of government which includes Health and Environment and Local Authorities to ensure that the mentally ill personalities were resettled to proper residences immediately they were discharged from hospitals (Lamb, 1984). It should be noted that in the past, the public has been established to lack information regarding the role played by the disabled in the society. Negative attitudes, behavior, and beliefs about the mentally ill, discrimination and prejudice toward individuals with mental illness were some of the injustices that were being exercised against the mentally ill. This also continued to be one of the primary barriers to achieving decent housing for those affected by mental illnesses in the society. More so, the unwillingness of the general public to take care of the mentally ill remained a significant barrier that the government and other stakeholders must have worked to solve if the interests of the disabled were to be protected. All in all, with people understanding that restoring dignity is one of the most effective approaches to enhancing safety and emotional health of the disabled, considering ways in which housing facilities could be improved for the mentally remained a major concern that the general society should have made an effort to embrace. Government policy According to many agencies that were concerned with the process
The fight for improved health care for those with mental illness has been an ongoing and important struggle for advocates in the United States who are aware of the difficulties faced by the mentally ill and those who take care of them. People unfortunate enough to be inflicted with the burden of having a severe mental illness experience dramatic changes in their behavior and go through psychotic episodes severe enough to the point where they are a burden to not only themselves but also to people in their society. Mental institutions are equipped to provide specialized treatment and rehabilitative services to severely mentally ill patients, with the help of these institutions the mentally ill are able to get the care needed for them to control their illness and be rehabilitated to the point where they can become a functional part of our society. Deinstitutionalization has led to the closing down and reduction of mental institutions, which means the thousands of patients who relied on these mental institutions have now been thrown out into society on their own without any support system to help them treat their mental illness. Years after the beginning of deinstitutionalization and after observing the numerous effects of deinstitutionalization it has become very obvious as to why our nation needs to be re-institutionalized.
This essay will discuss how and most importantly, why mental health policy has developed in Northern Ireland throughout the 19th and 20th century. It will first illustrate life inside the asylums, the policies that supported institutionalisation, and why change was needed. Next it will establish the progression in policy to support community and integrated care; it will examine this change and its effectiveness throughout society. Moving onto the 21st century, it will focus on a few of the main policies established throughout this period. Finally a conclusion will be made, assessing the current policy in Northern Ireland and how far we have to go to enhance the quality of life of those struggling with mental illness.
Rosenfield, S., (1988). Homelessness and rehospitalization: The importance of housing for the chronic mentally ill. Journal of Community Psychology, 19(1). 60-69.
Gulcur, Leyla, Padgett, Deborah K., and Tsemberis, Sam. (2006). “Housing First Services for People Who Are Homeless with Co-Occurring Serious Mental Illness and Substance Abuse.” Research on Social Work Practice, Vol 16 No. 1.
Continuing budget cuts on mental health care create negative and detrimental impacts on society due to increased improper care for mentally ill, public violence, and overcrowding in jails and emergency rooms. Origins, of mental health as people know it today, began in 1908. The movement initiated was known as “mental hygiene”, which was defined as referring to all things preserving mental health, including maintaining harmonious relation with others, and to participate in constructive changes in one’s social and physical environment (Bertolote 1). As a result of the current spending cuts approaching mental health care, proper treatment has declined drastically. The expanse of improper care to mentally ill peoples has elevated harmful threats of heightened public violence to society.
Social justice has influence change in policies for the mentally ill. Opening the doors for political reform. Throughout history, the treatment of the mentally ill has taken many shapes. Influence by the time periods core values and ideas of social justice. Before the colonization, society did not see the mentally ill as human beings. This ideology was Influence by religion that considered them to be evil or demons. Especially during the Black Death when people were only looking for escape goats. Day, & Schiele, (2013) This would only make things worse for mentally disabled. Rendering them defenseless and at the will of society. Their disabling conditions would prevent them from self-advocacy. They would have to depend on family members to advocate; and demand social justice for them. The overwhelming societal norms influence by religion and fueled by fear punishment appeared to be the only solution.
The homeless- found on city park benches, street corners, and subway grates. Where did all of these people come from? One third, to one half of the homeless suffer from a mental illness. A lot is said about the homeless-mentally ill, but what their plight says about us may be more significant. We still have not found a place for those who are both poor and insane. Once there was a place for them; the asylum fulfilled the basic needs of thousands for decades, but now these institutions lay empty and in ruin. Has the hope to heal the mentally ill also been abandoned? Is there once again a need for the asylum? The disbandment of the asylum was the first step in ending segregation for those with mental illness, but we have yet to accomplish integration.
The community care for mentally ill people was one of the biggest improvements in the development of the NHS. During the Victorian Era the quantity of mentally ill people was alarming; charities, churches and philanthropists were the financial support for people with mental disorders during that period.
The BBC documentary, Mental: A History of the Madhouse, delves into Britain’s mental asylums and explores not only the life of the patients in these asylums, but also explains some of the treatments used on such patients (from the early 1950s to the late 1990s). The attitudes held against mental illness and those afflicted by it during the time were those of good intentions, although the vast majority of treatments and aid being carried out against the patients were anything but “good”. In 1948, mental health began to be included in the NHS (National Health Service) as an actual medical condition, this helped to bring mental disabilities under the umbrella of equality with all other medical conditions; however, asylums not only housed people
Once upon a time, long ago in the mists of time, sprawling brick structures housed countless individuals with mental disturbances. These massive structures were known to the world as mental asylums for the insane. In reality, the majorities of these individuals were not insane, but in contrast were suffering from mild mental problems such as depression or anxiety. These people were looked down upon in society and were labeled as "freaks" or "batty" because of their mental disorder. In the early twentieth century, mental issues were considered taboo. If a family had a sibling or relative who was suffering from a mental disorder, they were swept under a rug; to be taken care of at another time. These days, these immense structures are an object of the past, a bygone era. Many asylums still stand tall as monuments to the world of health care, while many do not stand at all.
After reviewing the literature, this author pinpointed several environmental, individual, and agent factors, which make up the epidemiologic triad, contribute to the topic of mental health in the homeless.
Homelessness can happen to anyone unexpectedly. Many poor people are at the risk of homelessness. The cost of living and trying to find affordable housing can be very difficult. Many who are homeless are in poverty, have a mental illness, or addictions. Homelessness happens from personal, as well as structural factors. Many aren’t able to make enough for rent, as well as, utilities, food, and other expenses each month. More than 6 million Americans pay more than half of their income towards rent (Reamer, 1989). The trend is once someone becomes homeless, it is likely they will be homeless repeatedly. To end homelessness, affordable housing will have to be created because it is peoples largest single expenditure (Anderson, 2013).
Somers, Julian M., et al. "Housing First Reduces Re-Offending Among Formerly Homeless Adults With Mental Disorders: Results Of A Randomized Controlled Trial." Plos ONE 8.9 (2013): 1-8. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
Those with mental illness would live in the community with an array of services and be able to be free from the constraints of confinement. In the early 1960’s the United States began an initiative to reduce and close publicly-operated mental hospitals. This became known as deinstitutionalization. The goal of deinstitutionalization was to allow people suffering from mental illness to live more independently in the community with treatments provided through community health programs. Unfortunately, the federal government did not provide sufficient ongoing funding for the programs to meet the growing demand. States reduced their budgets for mental hospitals but failed to increase funding for on-going community-based mental health programs. As a result of deinstitutionalization hundreds of thousands of mentally ill people were released into the community without the proper resources they needed for their treatment. (Harcourt,
According to Szasz (2005), “In principle, the mental patient is considered competent (until proven [otherwise]). In practice, the client is regularly treated as if he were incompetent and the psychiatrist who asserts that he needs treatment is treated as if he were the patient’s guardian” (p.78). During the 1940’s patients who were mentally ill were considered “legally incompetent” when committed into a mental health facility. Relatives of the patients could release them by providing care in their homes for the client. Unfortunately, Szasz (2005) claims, that “the treatment of mental diseases is no more successful today than it was in the past” (p.78).