American Psychiatric Association

The early years of psychiatric field have provided the media with material for horror stories for ages now. Starting with colonial America, where people chained their ‘disturbed’ relatives and neighbors to the metal poles or locked them in small rooms for their entire lives, and ending with asylums, where doctors and nurses indulged in cruel behavior toward the patients, experimenting with inhumane methods of subduing the insane with lobotomy and electroconvulsive therapy. But is this picture…

Strategies for Research and Social Change. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2005. Print. Corrigan, Patrick W. et al. “The Impact of Mental Illness Stigma on Seeking and Participating in Mental Health Care.” Psychological Science in the Public Interest, vol. 15, no. 2, Oct. 2014, pp. 37–70. PubMed. Dell 'osso, Bernardo, et al. "Can Long-Term Outcomes be Improved by Shortening the Duration of Untreated Illness in Psychiatric Disorders? A Conceptual Framework." Psychopathology,…

The Post-War World II era saw the start of a transformation in the attitudes toward and the treatment of mental illness in the United States that was most significantly marked by the passing of the Community Mental Health Act of 1963 (CMHA: Public Law 88-164). The Community Mental Health Act––passed under President John F. Kennedy’s administration and notable innitiative––was revolutionary in proposing the implementation of two novel concepts that largely contributed to the…

institution because of the high cost, Dix was not discouraged, instead she used her charm and public appeal to raise funds for the promotion of the moral treatment. Furthermore, Dix also played a role in the creation of the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane (AMSAII). In 1844, when the AMSAII was founded by 13 men, they were very dependent on Dix since she was the organizations devoted unpaid lobbyist in state capitals and in Washington. Also, Dix was…

around during Egyptian and Mesopotamian ages. And throughout the years many things have changed. Many right movements for the mentally ill have been made, along with many different Act’s have been ruled, and a large hand full of associations have been made to support psychiatric patients. Many people have changed their opinions on the mentally ill because they’ve finally opened their eyes to what people have to suffer through. People have been trying to treat mental illnesses since 5000 BCE.…

people who suffer from mental illnesses exhibit seemingly abnormal behaviors that are different from societal norms. As a result, close relatives or authorities often send people suffering from mental conditions to mental hospitals, asylums, or psychiatric wards to heal. However, in the past, some of these patients suffered abuse under the hands of the authorities…

Wrong Thoughts: The Tragedy of Mental Illness The mind bears many titles. It is the brain, the thought provoker, the roadmap, and exclusively the source of all wit and intellect. Just as the famous saying goes: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” Having agency and personality are some of the most distinguishing attributes that characterizes a human being. Despite this fact, the maxim aforementioned as well identifies a well-rooted calamity that is not only plaguing the U.S. but the entire…

these same inmates will be here next week, and the week after that, and after that, too. Some of these inmates will spend the rest of their lives in a place like this. But many of them shouldn’t. According to the National Academy of Sciences, in our American prison system, around 25 percent…

declassified as a disease by the American Psychiatric Association and removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(Vider). Nonetheless, although homosexuality isn 't considered a disease anymore, the treatment, SOCE therapy, is still in full effect today.Now this is a perfectly fine fact for consenting adults who wish to engage in unnecessary psychoanalytic treatment, yet should a child…

Conversion therapy is a therapy method that pressures homosexuals to extreme levels of stress and depression, which ultimately leads to suicide and/or mental disorder. Despite large, credible organizations and doctors, like the American Psychiatric Association, The National Association of Social Workers, the Human Rights Campaign, and many more condemn the use of conversion therapy. Those who exercise conversion therapy have no data to support their claim that it helps change sexual…