scholarly journals Commentary on Jonathan Raskin’s “What Might an Alternative to the DSM Suitable for Psychotherapists Look Like?”

2018 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-384
Author(s):  
Rachel Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Health Care Insurance ◽  
New Classification ◽  
Statistical Manual ◽  
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽  
Basic Assumptions ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
History Of

Many mental health practitioners find it necessary to use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM) for insurance purposes but are unhappy with its basic assumptions. This raises the question—Would it be possible to devise a new classification system that (1) could be used for insurance purposes and (2) would be based on alternative principles? In the main, this commentary is pessimistic. Through considering the history of attempts to devise alternatives to the DSM, I will argue that it would be extremely difficult to develop an alternative to the DSM that could be used to fund psychotherapy via health care insurance in the United States.

scholarly journals “I don’t want people to think I’m a criminal”: Calling for more compassionate policing in child and youth mental health

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 120-126
Author(s):  
Maria Liegghio ◽  
Alexis H. Truong ◽  
Herberth Canas ◽  
Hamad Al-Bader
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health System ◽  
Mental Health System ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Police Services ◽  
Narrative Study ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Police Encounters ◽  
History Of

In this paper, we present the outcomes of a narrative study of thirteen interviews with six child and youth mental health practitioners and seven caregivers with a child between 12 and 24 years old involved with the mental health system and with a history of police involvement. The focus of the interviews was the how young people involved with the mental health system and their caregivers had experienced police encounters. Two main categories of themes emerged. Presented here are the outcomes in terms of the reasons for and nature of the police encounters. Across the interviews, police services were accessed primarily for support to deescalate physical or verbal situations involving a distressed child. As two subcategories, police encounters were described as negative and associated with stigma and criminalization, while positive encounters were associated with the appropriate use of police authority. A call is made for more compassionate policing.

Hmong women, marital factors and mental health status

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pa Der Vang ◽  
Matthew Bogenschutz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Great Effort ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Traditional Marriage ◽  
Socio Demographic Factors ◽  
Hmong Women ◽  
Marital Abuse

• Summary: An online survey was completed by Hmong women in the United States ( n = 186). The survey was distributed via listserves and websites frequently used by Hmong women, and solicited information about marital factors, presence and intensity of depressive symptoms, and socio-demographic circumstances. • Findings: The findings of this article indicate a significant relationship between marital abuse and depression among women married as teenagers when compared to non-abused women who married in adulthood. Excessive worry and feeling like everything takes great effort were the two most frequently reported indicators of depression reported by Hmong women in this sample. Additional marital and socio-demographic factors are explored in their relationship with depressive presentation. • Applications: These findings suggest that mental health practitioners working with Hmong women may need to be particularly attuned to issues of marital stressors related to traditional marriage practices and cultural stressors.

scholarly journals Views of schizophrenia patients on the effects of cannabis on their mental health

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rishie Kumar Parshotam ◽  
Pierre M Joubert
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Statistical Manual ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Text Revision ◽  
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽  
History Of

<p><strong>Background</strong>. Cannabis use may trigger or perpetuate clinical features of schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals, thereby contributing to the morbidity of schizophrenia and its burden of disease. These findings have mostly not considered the views of schizophrenia patients on cannabis use and its effect on their mental health.  </p><p><strong>Methods</strong>. A semi-structured 16-point opinion-type questionnaire was formulated from the results of a previous qualitative study on schizophrenia patients’ opinions about cannabis use. The questionnaire was applied to 60 participants from an inpatient schizophrenia population at Weskoppies Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa, who had a <em>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</em>, 4th edition (text revision) (DSM-IV-TR) diagnosis of schizophrenia and a documented history of cannabis use. </p><p><strong>Results</strong>. According to participants’ responses, 61.7% admitted to suffering from a mental illness, 95.0% admitted to using cannabis in the past, and 20.0% of participants admitted to the current use of cannabis. Over half (51.7%) of the participants responded that cannabis had adverse effects on their mental health, 26.7% that their mental illness was caused by using an illicit drug other than cannabis, 26.7% that only impure cannabis had adverse effects on their mental health, and 48.3% that only using too much cannabis had bad effects on their mind. A high percentage (58.3%) of participants responded that cannabis use helped reduce tension, 56.7% that it helped reduce anxiety, 66.7% that it helped to lift their mood, 63.3% that it helped them to relax, 60.0% that it helped to relieve their boredom, 43.3% that it helped them feel more energetic, 58.3% that it helped them sleep better, 13.3% that it helped reduce auditory hallucinations, and 31.7% that the beneficial effects of cannabis outweighed its negative effects. </p><p><strong>Conclusion</strong>. Most of the participants who responded that they were not using cannabis currently had positive views about its effects on their mental health, despite responding that cannabis may have adverse effects on their mental health. This is a worrisome outcome, since those participants who feel that cannabis has more beneficial than detrimental effects might not remain abstinent.</p>

The Rise of Gay Rights and the Disavowal of Disability in the United States

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regina Kunzel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Gay Rights ◽  
The United States ◽  
Critical Disability Studies ◽  
Statistical Manual ◽  
Disability History ◽  
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽  
History Of ◽  
Psychiatric Establishment

Homosexuality has a complex history of entwinement with disability, marked most notably by its long-standing designation as a form of mental illness. That attribution was anticipated by nineteenth-century sexologists and promoted by mid-twentieth-century psychiatrists. In the years that followed, gay and lesbian activists worked to distance themselves from that stigmatizing association, successfully lobbying to remove “homosexuality” from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1973. Revisited here is the history of the gay liberationist battle against the psychiatric establishment as viewed through the analytical lenses offered by critical disability studies and disability history. Also tracked are the exclusionary and stigmatizing effects of the insistence on homosexuality as “healthy.”

scholarly journals Telemental Health Care: A Review of Efficacy and Interventions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calvin T. Schaffer ◽  
Preeti Nakrani ◽  
Paul A. Pirraglia
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Telemental Health ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Health Practitioners

Objective: Mental illness continues to rise in the United States, burdening a healthcare system set to dive further into a shortage of mental health practitioners. The effects of this are already being felt in many rural areas, which are all too frequently understaffed to address the mental health concerns of their populations. To further compound this growing crisis, COVID-19 has led to a reduction in access to in-person care. Furthermore, COVID-19 has led to reduced access to in-person care. As a result, Telehealth has become more essential. Knowledge of the strategies and barriers to implement a successful Telehealth program is necessary to deliver a sustainable, accessible, and quality care. Design: In this review, we analyze published research on the efficacy of Telehealth for mental health, discuss how these services have been implemented, and explore how to address barriers to quality care delivery via Telehealth. Results: Telehealth, when the appropriate resources and supports are considered, is effective in a wide range of patient populations and care locations. Multiple modalities, including via video, apps, and telephone were shown to be efficacious. Interventions have been shown to increase the accessibility to care without compromising quality of care. Conclusions: Telehealth constitutes a well-researched, efficacious tool to address the issues in access to care. Telemental health programs should address the barriers to implementation, including training, access to technology, reimbursement and regulations, and adequate program oversight. Telehealth interventions should be strongly considered in areas facing shortages of mental health practitioners and long wait times for patients with mental health disorders, to reduce the burden of mental illness on healthcare.

History of Gender Identity and Mental Health

2020 ◽  
pp. 24-32
Author(s):  
Lore M. Dickey
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Transgender People ◽  
Statistical Manual ◽  
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Gender

In the past fifty years, gender identity has been closely linked to mental health. This is due, in part, to the classification of gender identity disorder and gender dysphoria being listed as mental health disorders in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This chapter focuses on the history of the intersection of gender identity and mental health. The author explores first the history addressing the intersection of gender identity and mental health and then evidence-based research exploring this intersection. This includes the ways that mental health has and continues to impact transgender people. The author examines co-occurring mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and bipolar disorder as well as the ways that race and ethnicity complicate these disparities. Finally, the author addresses the future directions in the areas of research, clinical practice, and training.

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