Mental Health Policy Essay

The development of mental health policy has gone through many changes in the course of the twentieth century. Today, mental health policy is totally different from the policy hundreds of years ago. Because of this, it is important to emphasize the fact that mental health policy has shifted from the indifference and isolation of people with mental illness, to the delivery of social services and community integration. In other words, mental health policy has experienced a serious change that has changed the attitude of policy makers, health care professionals, ordinary people, and also to people with a mental illness. Today, people with mental health problems are no longer outsiders as they used to be. Instead they are seen as people who have different needs and social geared towards their integration into the community. The federal government now has a policy that addresses the problems faced by people with mental illness, gives the community a chance to understand these people, and sets a standard in providing mental health services. There are over seventy actions in The Federal Mental Health Action Agenda. “It offers an unprecedented opportunity to fundamentally alter the form and function of the mental health service delivery system in this country to one that puts individuals-adults with mental illnesses, children with emotional disturbances, and family members-at its very core” (The Federal Action Agenda: First Steps. Web. 24 Mar. 2014).

In the past, people with mental health problems were doomed to isolation and contempt of other, “normal” people (Cameron, D. and Fraser, 2001). Often, people with a mental illness were subjects to discrimination and humiliation from the part of other people who did not have such problems. The ...

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...e, and increase the effectiveness of care. These goals came about because standards of care for people with mental illness varied greatly depending on the area in which they lived. A person with a mental illness should then be expect to be able to access services and be treated in the same ways as anyone else. Even the community can help theses people to recover without knowing. The policy says that the community can help buy simply “Improving the general understanding of mental illness and emotional disturbances, make clear that recovery is possible, and encourage help-seeking behaviors across the lifespan” (The Federal Action Agenda: First Steps. Web. 24 Mar. 2014).

In conclusion, mental health policy has evolved from the policy of indifference to and isolation of people with mental health problems to a policy of integration of people with mental health problems.