A brief history of the criminalization of mental illness

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 638-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel A. Dvoskin ◽  
James L. Knoll ◽  
Mollie Silva
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Serious Mental Illnesses

This article traces the history of the way in which mental disorders were viewed and treated, from before the birth of Christ to the present day. Special attention is paid to the process of deinstitutionalization in the United States and the failure to create an adequately robust community mental health system to care for the people who, in a previous era, might have experienced lifelong hospitalization. As a result, far too many people with serious mental illnesses are living in jails and prisons that are ill-suited and unprepared to meet their needs.

Mental health recovery and its correlates: Perspectives from 2 countries (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiting Xie
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Mental Health Recovery ◽  
Mental Health Conditions ◽  
Serious Mental Illnesses ◽  
Promote Mental Health

BACKGROUND Many people are affected by mental health conditions, yet its prevalence in certain populations are not well documented. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to describe the attributes of people with mental health conditions in U.S and SG in terms of: perception of mental health recovery and its correlates such as strengths self-efficacy, resourcefulness and stigma experience. With the findings, not only could the knowledge base for mental health recovery in both countries be enhanced but interventions and policies relating to self-efficacy, resourcefulness and de-stigmatization for mental health recovery could be informed. METHODS A A cross-sectional, descriptive study with convenience sample of 200 community dwelling adults were selected, 100 pax from the United States (U.S) and 100 pax from Singapore (SG). Adults with serious mental illnesses without substance abuse impacting on their recovery were recruited. Participants completed self-administered questionaires measuring their mental health recovery, strengths self-efficacy, resourcefulness and stigma experience. RESULTS This study offered the unique opportunity to examine mental health recovery as well as its correlates such as strengths self-efficacy, resourcefulness and stigma experience from both the United States and Singapore. While the perception of mental health recovery and positive attributes like strengths self-efficacy and resourcefulness remained strong in participants with serious mental illnesses across both countries, people with serious mental illnesses in both countries still experienced negative perception like stigma. The findings would not only inform strategies to promote mental health recovery but also enhance the focus on correlates such as strengths self-efficacy and resourcefulness across both countries. CONCLUSIONS The findings would not only inform strategies to promote mental health recovery but also enhance the focus on correlates such as strengths self-efficacy and resourcefulness across both countries.

A Capabilities Approach to Mental Health Transformation: A Conceptual Framework for the Recovery Era

2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry Davidson ◽  
Priscilla Ridgway ◽  
Melissa Wieland ◽  
Maria O'Connell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Systems Of Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Capabilities Approach ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
The Past ◽  
Serious Mental Illnesses

Recent commissions in Canada and the United States have stipulated recovery to be the overarching aim of mental health care and have called for systems of care to be transformed to be made consistent with this aim. If these efforts are not simply to repeat the mistakes of the past, a new conceptual framework will be needed to provide an alternative foundation for rethinking the nature of care for people with serious mental illnesses. In this paper, the authors identify the limitations of the conceptual framework of the deinstitutionalization movement and then offer the capabilities approach developed by Sen (1992, 1999) and others as a more adequate framework for the post-institutional era.

scholarly journals Community Mental Health Practice in the United States: Past, Present and Future

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-13
Author(s):  
J. A. Hamm ◽  
S. Rutherford ◽  
C. N. Wiesepape ◽  
P. N. Lysaker
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Colonial America ◽  
Community Mental Health Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
History Of ◽  
Major Shift ◽  
Mental Health Practices ◽  
Mental Health Centers

Similar to trends in Europe, approaches to mental illness in colonial America and recorded in early United States history were commonly characterized by incarceration and the removal of individuals from communities. In the mid-20th century, a major shift began in which treatment was offered in the community with the aim of encouraging individuals to rejoin their communities. In this paper, we will provide a brief history of community mental health services in the United States, and the forces which have influenced its development. We will explore the early antecedents of community-based approaches to care, and then detail certain factors that led to legislative, peer and clinical efforts to create ‘Community Mental Health Centers.’ We will then provide an overview of current community mental health practices and evolving challenges through to the present day, including the development of services which remain focused on recovery as the ultimate goal.

Women with Serious Mental Illness

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Mizock ◽  
Erika Carr
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Severe Depression ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Class Culture ◽  
History Of ◽  
Serious Mental Illnesses ◽  
Work Class

Women with Serious Mental Illness: Gender-Sensitive and Recovery-Oriented Care calls attention to a topic and a population that have been overlooked in research and psychotherapy—women with serious mental illnesses (schizophrenia, severe depression, bipolar disorder, and complex post-traumatic stress disorder). The book focuses on the history of mistreatment, marginalization, and oppression women with serious mental illness have encountered, not only from the general public but within the mental health system as well. This book provides an overview of recovery-oriented care for women with serious mental illness—a process of seeking hope, empowerment, and self-determination beyond the effects of mental illness. The authors provide a historical overview of the treatment of women with mental illness, their resilience and recovery experiences, and issues pertaining to relationships, work, class, culture, trauma, and sexuality. This book also offers the new model, the Women’s Empowerment and Recovery-Oriented Care intervention, for working with this population from a gender-sensitive framework. The book is a useful tool for mental health educators and providers and provides case studies, clinical strategies lists, discussion questions, experiential activities, diagrams, and worksheets that can be completed with clients, students, and peers.

scholarly journals Mental Health Issues and Substance Use in the United States: Pulling the Power Levers

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda S. Beeber
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Substance Use Disorders ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Health Administration

BACKGROUND: Promising treatment avenues have been developed and studied that align well with the skills of psychiatric-mental health (PMH) nurses. The treatments are relationship-driven, nimble and accessible, and recovery-guided. They emphasize a whole-person approach with care delivered by a team of experts working in a contextually coordinated way. AIMS: To describe the challenges facing the United States with regard to mental illness and substance use disorders and the ways in which PMH nurses can use their skills to mitigate these challenges. METHOD: Published research and government reports were reviewed to obtain current mental health and substance use data. RESULTS: The number of people not being treated for mental illnesses—particularly serious mental illness, major depressive episode, and suicidal thoughts—has not improved since 2009. Although inroads have been made in reducing the rate of smoking in the United States, we are facing an opioid crisis. There are limited data on marijuana use, but it is apparent that many Americans use cannabis routinely. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, approximately 44.7 million people need mental health treatment and 20.1 million Americans need substance use treatment, but only 10% to 30% receive it. CONCLUSIONS: PMH nurses must take a leading role in retooling the therapeutic relationship and partnering with clients, families, and caregivers to improve the quality of life and well-being of those dealing with mental illness and substance use disorders. To accomplish this essential task, the PMH nursing workforce must be robust and distributed throughout the United States.

Formulating another’s report of troubles in peer support

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Pudlinski
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Peer Support ◽  
Mental Health System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Telephone Support ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
Professional Perspective

This study stems from an interest in peer support talk, an underexplored area of research, and in how supportive actions such as formulated summaries function in comparison to more professional healthcare settings. Using conversation analysis, this study explores 35 instances of formulations within 65 calls to four different ‘warm lines’, a term for peer-to-peer telephone support within the community mental health system in the United States. Formulations can be characterized across two related axes: client versus professional perspective, and directive versus nondirective. The findings show that formulations within peer support were overwhelmingly nondirective, in terms of meeting institutional agendas to let callers talk. However, formulations ranged from client-oriented ones that highlight or repeat caller reports to those which transform caller reports through integrating past caller experiences or implicit caller emotions. These tactics are found to have similarities to how formulations function in professional healthcare settings.

Innovation in Mental Health Policy; Community Mental Health in the United States of America, 1965–1980

1983 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
C J Smith
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Reagan Administration ◽  
Mental Health Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Centers

The Community Méntal Health Centers (CMHC) legislation in the early 1960s was the first real attempt at a national mental health policy in the United States of America. Federal funding was made available for the establishment of 1500 centers across the country. The goal was to provide access to quality mental health care for all US citizens by 1980. As a result of prolonged criticisms, the legislation was repealed by the incoming Reagan Administration in the early 1980s, In this paper, the twenty-year lifespan of this ‘innovation’ in mental health policy is reviewed and an evaluation of some of its most pervasive criticisms are presented.

Education for Sovereign People

2019 ◽  
pp. 164-185
Author(s):  
Peggy Cooper Davis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Constitution ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
The People ◽  
Personal Rights ◽  
History Of

In chapter 6, Peggy Cooper Davis notes that in a democratic republic, the people are sovereign and must be free and educated to exercise that sovereignty. She contends that the history of chattel slavery’s denial of human sovereignty in the United States, slavery’s overthrow in the Civil War, and the Constitution’s reconstruction to restore human sovereignty provide a basis for recognizing that the personal rights protected by the United States Constitution, as amended on the demise of slavery, include a fundamental right to education that is adequate to enable every person to participate meaningfully as one among equal and sovereign people.

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