Mental Illness And Deminstitutionalization Essay

Mental Illness & Deinstitutionalization
The most serious forms of mental illness are psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which affect the mind and alter a person’s ability to understand reality, think clearly, respond emotionally, communicate effectively, and behave appropriately. People with psychotic disorders may hear nonexistent voices, hallucinate, and make inappropriate behavioral responses. Others exhibit illogical and incoherent thought processes and a lack of insight into their own behavior. They may see themselves as agents of the devil, avenging angels, or the recipients of messages from animals and plants. Research efforts find that offenders who engage in serious, violent crimes often suffer from some
Some medical practitioners and social scientists view deinstitutionalization as a problem because it has contributed to more patients not receiving the treatment they need and to other social problems such as homeless individuals with mental illness. The deinstitutionalized movement sought to release patients from the hospitals so that they could live at home and go about their daily activities. Professionals believed that the patients’ mental disorders could be controlled with medication and treatment through community-based mental health services. Others advocates hoped that deinstitutionalization would remove the stigma attached to hospitalization for mental illness. Although deinstitutionalization had worthwhile goals (projection of civil rights/more humane and less costly treatment), in too many cases it simply moved people out of mental hospitals into the streets and jails. The drastic reduction in state psychiatric facilities and extensive state budget cuts across the U.S. brought about mass closings of public psychiatric facilities over the past 40 years, leaving many persons with mental illness among the homeless in states such as CA and N.Y. Psychiatric care has become a class-based
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