P3 - M.H. - Historical Context of Mental Health Flashcards
1
Q
Historical views of mental illness
A
- Demonic possession and witchcraft.
- Madhouses and bedlam; mentally ill seen as wild animals.
- Late eighteenth century – emergence of psychogenesis – link between psychology and biology as causes.
- Early 1900s – Psychoanalytical theories and Biological theories develop.
- Behavioural theories develop in the early 20th century.
- Humanistic & Cognitive theories 1950s onwards.
- 1950s – asylums renamed mental hospitals. Rise in drug therapy.
2
Q
Trepanning
A
- The process of drilling holes into the skull to release demons.
- Skulls dating back to 6,500BC
- Some of the skulls have healed, suggesting that some people survived the ‘treatment’.
3
Q
Madness
A
- The idea of madness has been around for a very long time.
- The term ‘madness’ features in the Old Testament and this was perceived as a punishment from God.
- Some treatments have used exorcisms to rid the patient of evil spirits.
4
Q
Hippocrates
A
Hippocrates was the first to suggest that mental illness was a scientific phenomenon.
He suggested that madness was caused by an imbalance of the four bodily humours and could be treated by balancing these four humours:
* Blood
* Phlegm
* Black Bile
* Yellow Bile
5
Q
Impact of the Church
A
- The Greeks continued to investigate mental health as an imbalance but with the growth of the Christian Church in 300AD, the idea of madness as a punishment from God became the dominant theory.
- Religion was also the primary care system; such as the Bethlem Hospital in London.
6
Q
The Middle Ages
A
- In the 1300s and 1400s the burning of witches reached its peak.
- As time went on some believed that these burnings were not related to witchcraft but forms of mental illness, such as hysteria and epilepsy.
7
Q
Moral treatment
A
- As we move through history, the treatments become more patient focused.
- The role of emotions and exposure to stressors became more important.
- This treatment involved:
respect for the patient, a trusting relationship between patient and doctor, a calm environment & a routine.
8
Q
19th century
A
- This century saw the rise in the number of mental hospitals in North America and Britain.
- Psychiatry became a recognised medical speciality.
9
Q
Modern psychology
A
- Beginning in the 1890s, modern psychology has seen many different approaches to mental health.
- Freud’s theories of the unconscious, the humanistic beliefs of self-worth and the behaviourists’ ideas of learned behaviour are just three of the many differing views of the last and this century.
10
Q
Statistical Infrequency
A
A behaviour found only in people 2 or more Standard Deviations from the Mean
11
Q
Acting against social norms
A
- Social norms are expected approved ways of behaving.
- If a man were to dress like it was winter when it was 30 degrees outside, he would be seen as abnormal.
- If abnormality is seen as any behaviour which deviates from social norms, can we conclude that this behaviour indicates the presence of a psychological disorder?
- Why might you have to be careful with this definition, especially when thinking about different cultures?
12
Q
Failure to function adequately
A
- Under this definition, a person is considered abnormal if they are unable to cope with the demands of everyday life.
- They may be unable to perform the behaviours necessary for day-to-day living, e.g. self-care, hold down a job, interact meaningfully with others, make themselves understood, etc.
13
Q
Deviation from ideal mental health
A
- Under this definition, rather than defining what is abnormal, we define what is normal/ideal and anything that deviates from this is regarded as abnormal.
- To have an ideal mental health the patient should:
have a positive attitude of themselves and be capable of some personal growth, be independent and self-rewarding, have an accurate view of reality, have positive social interactions with friends and family.
14
Q
Rosenhan and Seligman (1989)
A
This idea was later extended by Rosenhan and Seligman (1989) to include the following explanations for abnormality:
- Suffering – a person has negative consequences of their behaviour.
- Maladaptiveness – not fitting in with society and maintaining normal social contracts.
- Unconventional behaviour – something that wouldn’t be expected by society.
- Irrationality in behaviours that others wouldn’t be able to understand.
- Unpredictability or loss of control that may be unpredictable to the observer or the person exhibiting the behaviour and is not what we would expect.
- Observer discomfort due to the unpredictability and irrationality of the behaviour.
- Violation of moral standards where behaviour fails to meet the standards set by society.
15
Q
Johoda (1958)
A
Johoda also defined what ideal mental health was:
- Have a positive attitude of themselves.
- Be capable of some personal growth.
- Be independent and self-rewarding.
- Have an accurate view of reality.
- Be resistant to stress.
- Be able to adapt to their environment.
16
Q
Categorising mental disorders
A
- The two main approaches that you need to know about are the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the International Classification of Disorders (ICD).
- DSM is predominantly used in the USA and the ICD is used by the rest of the world. The most recent versions of the two books have seen them become closer in their ideas.
- Both are regularly updated in order to change with society, e.g. the removal of homosexuality as a mental disorder from DSM in 1986.
17
Q
Krimsky and Cosgrove (2012)
A
They found that 69% of the panel working on the new DSM-5 had links with the pharmaceutical industry.
