mental health; topic 3 - szasz

Question 1

What is the AIM of szasz?

Answer 1

revisits his article the Myth of Mental Illness 50 years later - he considers the current medicalisation of abnormal behaviour in light of his earlier arguments

Question 2

What is the PROCEDURE?

Answer 2

article on psychiatry and how it affects those who experience mental health issues

Question 3

What are the FINDINGS from his previous article?

Answer 3

• mental healthy patients are treated no better than prisoners - held against their will
• mental health isn’t the same as a physical illness
• mental health doesn’t exist - foolish to look for causes and cures

Question 4

what are the current FINDINGS?

Answer 4

• all mental health care is provided by the NHS, aims to
  prevent any dangers to patients
• a false belief that is apparent is that mental health can be
  diagnosed and treated accurately
• seen as being a disorder of the brain (ignores the impact of
  the environment)
• mental disorders are labels given to people with
  undesirable behaviours
• medical treatments should not exist

Question 5

what are the CONCLUSIONS?

Answer 5

• the medicalisation and politicisation over the past 50
  years have led to a dehumanised model of care
• rejects the moral legitimacy of psychiatry as it violates
  human liberty

Question 6

what does MEDICALISATION mean?

Answer 6

mental illness can be diagnosed and treated accordingly

Question 7

what does POLITICISATION mean?

Answer 7

mental illness is just like any phsyical illness