Mental Health Essay - What Is The History Of Community Mental Health Nursing?

Discussion Question

What is the definition of mental health in the community? Mental health is the sense of confidence, well being and having self-esteem. One is said to be mentally healthy when the can use his/her abilities to reach his/her potentials, deal with challenges and have a good relationship with other people around. If one cannot be able to identify himself/herself with the surrounding then his mentality is put to question. In the community, mental health is decentralized to mental health care and other services offered to people with mental illness. Instead of segregating and isolating patients who are mentally ill, community mental health care is established to cater and be responsible for local needs of the people in the community (Merikangas, Nakamura, & Kessler, 2009).

What is the history of community mental health nursing?

Mental illness is viewed as a form punishment or demonic possession in most cultures. In some places such as the Indians and ancient Egyptian believed mental illness was a form of punishment. In treating mental illness, Hippocrates was the pioneer and he used techniques not associated to religion or superstitions. The negative beliefs on mental health continue even in the United States and led to the stigmatization of the mental ill individuals. This was in 18th centaury where institutions were created for the patients
Mental illness is not a new story in our modern world. However the treatment has undergone a lot of changes since 1840s where the patients were highly isolated.Mental health patients in the early part of America’s history were placed in jail-like institutions. The patients were never allowed to live the institutions and were treated cruelly. In 1940, Dorothea Dix a Bostonian conducted a research on the treatment of the mental health patients and her results were startling. She later wrote a letter to the General Assembly of North Carolina and outlined the cruelty the mental ill patients were undergoing. Though the other citizens were content with the treatment, in 1880s this changed and people like Nelly Bly wrote series of articles in condemnation of the treatment the patients received and the public outcry couldn’t be ignored. In the 1900s experts such as Sigmund Freud started to analyze the perception of the outsiders on mental health illness. Determined to eliminate mental illness the practitioners began dabbling cures by 1930s. Due to this intensive study on mental illness chemists started experimenting on different powders and pills that would be of help in treating mental illness. The project was of great success since medication such as lithium could be used to sooth bipolar disorder patients. On the other hand people with schizophrenia disorder were treated using antipsychotic medication (Dual Diognosis.Org, 2010).
Identify and mention some epidemiological mental health factors in your community? Epidemiology is the study of the human behaviour and in this case, it is the study of the prevalence rate of mental health. The factors include; the view of the people about health and who can be affected, the assessment tools used during treatment/ or study of mental health. The diagnostic criterion also differs in the community and affects largely the mental health institutions (Merikangas, Nakamura, & Kessler, 2009).
What are some of the conceptual frameworks for psychiatric-mental health nursing? The conceptual framework comprises of the following components; communication concepts which are the basis for intervention, social systems and developmental theories which are used to assess the mental health illness and finally self-esteem which is the measure of the evaluation of the condition. The conceptual framework is used to give direction for course content and is very useful source of hypotheses that leads to a developed theory.

Reference

Dual Diognosis.Org. (2010, March 20). Dual Diognosis. Retrieved April 8, 2015, from Dual Diognosis: http://www.dualdiagnosis.org/mental-health-and-addiction/history/
Merikangas, K. R., Nakamura, E. F., & Kessler, R. C. (2009). Epidemiology of Mental Disorders inCchildren and Adolescents. PMC US National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health , 7-20.