Dr. Ellis’s argument throughout the debate is mostly a response to the theory put forth by Dr. Szasz. All of his points and contentions are his opinions on the theory that Dr. Szasz put forth. Dr. Ellis’s main argument is that mental illness is a real thing and that it is not simply a myth. At the beginning of the debate Dr. Ellis appears very friendly, and even goes as far as to give credit to Dr. Szasz. He agrees with small pieces of Dr. Szasz’s theory. He feels that many psychiatrists do mislabel their patients and over diagnose problems. Dr. Ellis states that doctors misdiagnose many patients, but this doesn’t mean that mental illness is a myth. It simply means that many doctors are incorrect. Dr. Ellis feels that there are certainly people in the world that have mental illness. Examples he provide include criminals who do very deranged things, yet don’t want to commit crimes. The initial argument put forth by Dr. Ellis is very competent and is a good counter to the movement that Dr. Szasz created.…
In this chapter of the book “Sane in insane places” “Lauren Slater, Opening Skinner’s Box” David Rosenhan totally exploited the way doctors diagnosed patients and how patients were treated as almost convicts in mental hospitals. He also proved using psychology is not a consistent way of diagnosing patients with loads of pills most patients didn't need. Also how the same experiment Rosenhan came up with was repeated years later but was due to the fact doctors weren't giving thorough examinations. I agree with the idea that psychology isn’t a good way of diagnosing pseudopatients in medical hospitals because they cannot correctly determine with what is wrong with the patient in need.…
Since the inception of first DSM in the 1952, I believe various psychiatrists have found ways of manipulating the DSM to give a different interpretation of mental disorder just to fit their perception. For instance I noticed DSM I & II observed the patient’s reaction and behavior to a given incident and I found DSM III and IV changed this and ended making people get different perception on mental diseases. I concur with Lane about the recently published researched articles that describe the misanthropy as a defect of pathological without sufficient intellect and history of psychiatry.…
But for a treatment plan to take, the mental health care professionals must stay professional. Seeing as there have been enough instances in the past where these people did not do so that there now exists an “asylum/mental hospital/horror movie” trope, the ethics of mental health professionals can not be stressed enough. These people have the general well-being and lives of these patients in their hands, the slightest mistake can undo every part of a patient's recovery…
Something important in psychology is to differentiate between what is considered normal and abnormal. Psychologists need to do this to decide what to diagnose as a mental illness, and the treatment for this mental illness. Unfortunately, for everyone involved, it is not always easy to discern between what is normal behavior, sometimes called effective psychological functioning, and abnormal behavior, which could possibly be the result of a psychological disorder. To help determine between, psychologists use a few decisive factors. This includes the context in which someone observes the behavior. In relation to context, it means that the situation matters because in one situation a behavior may be normal, but not necessarily in all situations. Another factor is the persistence of the behavior or how often,…
Asylums such as The McLean Asylum for the Insane located in Boston, The Worcester Lunatic Asylum, and The Northampton Lunatic Hospital have been around for many years. Since the 1800s through the 1950s asylums have drastically changed in appearance, treatment, diagnosis and many aspects of the asylum such as the food patients are given to eat, and what work the patients get to do while being treated. The grounds and buildings of asylums have made significant improvements. Treatment has become more moral and orderly as the decades progress. Each asylum has different forms of recreation and work that the patients are allowed to do while being treated in the early asylums.…
Mental illnesses are more readily labeled today than at any other time in history. Today it is estimated that approximately 26 percent of the American adult population suffers from some mental illness. Growth in this number will likely skyrocket as a younger generation grows out of the category of the age of onset ‘teens’ into young adults. When it is commonplace for patients to hesitate before questioning their doctors, the possibility of becoming overwhelmed in a sea of side effects that are worse than the threat they encounter from the disorder grows. While it is difficult to narrow medicine down to a one size fits all answer, a look at a specific personality disorder, in which the patient is often misdiagnosed or labeled as normal…
(2010, p. 359-360). Many medical and psychology doctors alike also agree with Engle that integrating an all -inclusive model in their practice allows practitioners the opportunity to have a deeper understanding of their patients’ health. Two of these doctors are PhD Marco Stier and MD H. Helmchen. Stier comments that “Helmchen rightly cautions against any kind of dogmatism in psychiatry, regardless of whether it is a social, a psychological or a biological one. Instead, he favors the biopsychosocial model as a remedy for ‘the narrowing of conceptions that depict only partial aspects of mental illness’” (2014).…
A question one must ask themselves is are the mentally ill treated correctly and are we responding in the correct way? While reading three pieces of writing that relate to mental illness during the course of my college English class, this was a question that I could never find an answer to. These three works included a book by Roy Porter called “Madness A Brief History,” a book by Sue Klebold titled “A Mother’s Reckoning,” and lastly a piece by Leslie Jamison called “Lost Boys.” These three pieces of work are are different types of writing, the first one titled “Madness A Brief History,” is exactly what it's called, a brief history of madness. This was a great cornerstone of my understanding of what we call madness.…
The challenge that the U.S faces, as noted in the text is that several immigrants are at their doctors' disposal and the fears that make people mentally ill are different from those of the natives. As stated, Native Americans have concerns that they may be attacked by aliens whereas immigrants, for instance, those from Korea believe that men's genital may recede into the body and therefore cause their death. I, therefore, agree in this case because many people may be diagnosed to be mentally ill when they are practicing their cultural beliefs. The primary recommendation here, therefore, is that people's cultural and ethnic beliefs should be taken into consideration.…
In early times, when a person was considered “crazy” they were shipped off the the loony bin but in modern times the world has advanced in knowledge making it easier for those with mental disorders to live a normal happy life. Fourteen disorders are now very treatable amplifying the success of modern day psychologists. When treating a patient, professionals should be as concerned with strengths as weaknesses, interested in bringing good to lives, and making the lives of “normal” people fulfilling. Like all advancements in science, there have been negative effects from psychology. Psychologists have become victimologists forgetting about improving normal lives and not enough positive…
Bibliography: 1. Durand, V. Mark, Barlow, David H. Essentials of Abnormal Psychology, Thomsom Wadsworth (2003): 520- 523…
Laing and Thomas Szasz take on an alternative view that also challenges the validity of diagnosis systems such as the DSM. Both uphold the argument that mental disorders are not biological realities and therefore cannot exist. Laing’s work, for example, suggests that although diagnosis is made within a medical model, the diagnosis is more of a social fact rather than a medical one. There are no reliable biological tests for diagnosing most psychological disorders, only guidance about categorizing behavior, thoughts and emotions. According to social constructivists, we can only infer from people’s behavior that something is wrong, but we know that behavior is subject to cultural and social norms. Therefore, interpretation of behavior is subjective. Szasz also suggested that it is wrong to use a mental illness metaphor to describe behavior that does not conform to our…
To understand what something is, we should also have a clear understanding of what it…
In the science there are many forms of mental disorders. There are the ones that have to do with internal forces and others that occur due to outside forces. The case we looking at today were looking at a disorder is something that can be effected by both external forces but upheld by internalized ones.…