Sasz (2011)

Question 1

Does he agree with medical model?

Answer 1

Doesn’t disagree, but strongly criticises- believes that society decides what unacceptable behaviour is and then when someone shows this, is taken to be diagnosed by a psychiatrist.

E.g. a child acting out in class is diagnosed with autism but actually just has naughty behaviour.

Question 2

Does he believe mental illness is socially constructed?

Answer 2

Yes, mental illness is a myth as there is always a biological reason behind what is going on (therefore making it just an illness) or the behaviour is perceived abnormal by society but actually is fine.

Question 3

Does Sasz believe in the alternatives to the medical model?

Answer 3

No.
Alternatives include, cognitive and psychodynamic. Neither can be scientifically proven and therefore szasz disagrees with it.

Question 4

Ethical issues:

Answer 4

• no real ethical issues as no pps.
• however his beliefs are highly controversial and can be distressing for someone already diagnosed with mental disorder and receiving treatment (they question whether they need it.

Question 5

Usefulness:

Answer 5

Questions drug therapy and ECT (do they really need to be used or can a person avoid this and their side effects)

This is good.

Question 6

Free will/ determinism:

Answer 6

Quite deterministic as various mental illnesses such as ptsd and schizophrenia are triggered/ can be caused by traumatic events.

However cognitive therapy for schiz. Is freewill and they understand hallucinations aren’t real and can chose how to deal with them.

Question 7

Nature/ Nurture/ situational/ individual

Answer 7

He believes mental illnesses are socially construct and therefore cannot be caused by individual differences such as genes or experiences.

Question 8

Reductionist/ holism/ science?:

Answer 8

• holistic view- it attempts to view wider picture, such as society and psychiatrist labelling using DSM/ ICD
• he believes medical model is reductionism- simple view of human body.
• unscientific as it rejects as an appropriate method

Question 9

What supports sasz?

Answer 9

• culture- cultural differences perceive behaviour in a different way, what is abnormal?
• biomedical model for schiz, it is caused by brain abnormalities/ inheritance. Therefore is an illness as it’s proven, not mental illness
• can avoid using drugs and their side effects- placebo effect of telling someone they’re not mentally I’ll can lead to no treatment being used

Question 10

What does not support sasz?

Answer 10

• no evidence to prove his theory
• people who need treatment might not be getting it
• it is distressing for those who have been diagnosed with a mental illness to be told they’re not actually mentally ill.