History of Psychiatric Treatment in the United States - Essay Example

? History of Psychiatric Treatment in United s Task The history of psychiatric management in the US is exceptionally vital to mental health caregivers. It helps them to appreciate its source and the growth of service delivery, handling techniques and therapeutic interferences. In the US, the mental illness on health and production has long been miscalculated, though, it is one of the major death causes among the other disorders (Thornicroft, Szmukler, Mueser and Drake, 2011). The history of treatment of people with mental illness has revolved from abandonment or putting them in an institution to more kind treatment in the public. Before looking to present efforts to mental illness, it is important to look to the history of the historical efforts to challenge this issue in the United States. Before World War 2, people with mental illness in the colonial America were taken care of by their families or secluded caregivers. Those who were not taken care of by either of these were taken care of by the native community. According to McKenzie, Pinger, and Kotecki, population growth in the 1700s led to the institutionalization of people with mental illness (2011). Although they began institutionalization, the houses they were housed in were exceptionally dilapidated. The conditions deteriorated in the end of the 1700s and 1800s due to growth in populace, which led to increase in number of people with mental illness. This resulted in the building of Pennsylvania mental infirmity hospital by Doctor Thomas Bond in 1751 as an effort to disconnect these people according to the type of the disability (Niles, 2010). The conditions in this institution were inferior because the caregivers were unable to reinforce patients for self-control, and this resulted to physical restrictive practical. Susceptible funding by the government to these institutions discouraged their health workers; therefore, treatment and care of the mentally ill became nearly non-existent. However, by 1940, population growth in the states’ mental institutions declined funding by the government and few workers resulted to only survival care being provided to people suffering from mental illness. To solve these problems, there was an introduction of electroconvulsive therapy and lobotomy treatments (Portal, Suck and Hinkle, 2010). In electroconvulsive treatment, convulsions were produced in the patient by use of electric current which is in use to date due its convenience, whereas, in lobotomy the nerves fibers of the brain are detached by surgical cut (Sundararaman, 2009). However, it was after Moniz won the Nobel Prize that the lobotomy practices became famous, though, it was made irrelevant by the introduction of antipsychotic and anti-depressive drugs in 1950s. After World War 2, several factors led to government involvement in mental illness care. National hope for mentally ill people, military experts and civilian testaments led to passage of act of National mental health, which established NIMH. The reasons why the NIMH was established were to nurture and assist investigation associated to the cause, analysis and neuropsychiatric illnesses (Wendy, 2007). To provide training and give grants to people who were working in mental institutions, and, to assist the government on deterrence and handling of people with mental illness. This era was still characterized by deinstitutionalization of people who were suffering from mental illness that resulted to less care being taken to them. According to Wendy, in 1950s, the public got involved in the conditions of mental ill people and this led to new approaches of attending to mentally ill people (2007). These improved the treatment of mental ill people because many organizations emerged and later merged to work as one in funding their treatments. In 1980s, augmentation of poor homeless people in US resulted to an increase in populace of the mentally ill. This was solved by passage of parity legislation, which gave mental ill people equal coverage like any other person. This was further emphasized in 1996 by the federal government. In 2000, the announcement by the General Accounting Office that the employers who were supposed to obey the parity law were abusing it resulted to improvement on the treatments of the mental ill persons at their place of work (Pickersgill, 2010). The establishment of New Freedom Commission on Mental health on 2003 helped to solve the three major hindrances of mental health amenities. These hindrances were the humiliation of mental illness, financial and cover confines and numerous, rambling and dysfunctional distribution of mental illness services in the United States. In addition, the medication of mental disorders improved with time in the US, although, up to date they have not reached their best. The US has realized the challenge posed to their work of mental ill treatment by the numerous and growing population of mental ill people. Therefore, to react to their needs have made them improve the care of mentally ill people, to lessen their anguish, and to avoid worsening in their conditions. The US legislatures have provided adequate financial funds and political backing to offer effective, excellent mental health care for people who need it. These funds have enabled them to employ and maintain more qualified mental health staff and preserve them to high routine values. In addition, they have delivered adequate studied amenities for critical mental ill people, and maintained liberated specialists to take on careful and continuous excellence of care assessments. The US have also, improved the care of mental ill people by varying their accommodation, management, and care rendering to the type and seriousness of their disorders. These tremendous efforts by the US have resulted to improved care of mental ill people. My feedbacks as I develop further knowledge about the history of the psychiatric treatment in US are incredibly imperative in present-day treatment. The US mental health was associated with community, political, and academics’ growths. The history is a clear illustration of how current methodologies develop out of the old, and the understanding of the old results to intelligence of the today. Endless determinations of the earlier generations of nurses to improve the treatment of mental illness led to growth of skills and knowledge on the treatment of mental ill. However, the United States mental nurses have acquired knowledge and skills; they must learn to be compassion and caring which their historical bequest is. The United States’ mentally ill people might receive the best treatment in future if they continue to purge the barriers that hinder their success to the best treatment. From this topic I expected something dissimilar from what I have learned. I had assumed that the US mental health was advanced in past but I have realized from the topic that the treatment moved from worse to better over a long period of time. My anticipation on the topic was that mental health was associated by only states government but I recognize from the topic that even the community, partisan, and professors were involved. I did not expect present awareness to have any relationship with the past knowledge, but it is clear from the topic that the present is as a result past. Generally, I did not anticipate that the US would have for that long time tried to originate the best treatment of mental ill in vain. As a receiver of this knowledge, my understanding of mental ill person has improved and I have learned more about their handling. After all, I have realized that mental ill people are especially important to the community, and they should not be taken as if they are not human. As a receiver of this knowledge, I will learn to be compassionate and caring to the people suffering from mental illness. This acquaintance has helped me to gain more experiences from the way the past nurses used to treat people with mental illness and it helps in lessening the mistakes that were made in past. I have realized it was efforts of earlier generation that the treatments of mentally ill people have enormously improved; therefore, it is our duty to continue improving. This information is exceptionally important to a layperson seeking to learn more about this topic because it gives the basic treatment of mental ill people. The information will help the layperson learn from the beginning how the treatment knowledge of mental ill people developed from neglects to where it is today in the United States. The information will illustrate the determination that led to improvement of treatments of mental ill people that will help the layperson to relate them with the recent efforts. In addition, it helps the layperson contrast the relationship of the past treatment with present and knows how the present treatments were arrived on. It is exceptionally important basic information for persons willing to learn more about this topic especially mental health nurses and families who have a mentally ill person. From the discussion, it clear that to mental health specialists and the American populace, the history of psychiatric treatment is indispensable. It gives a good follow up of how mental treatments in United States have improved since eighteenth century to date. Therefore, it can be used to advance the treatments by eliminating the mistakes that have hindered its success in the past. To the US mental health specialists, it helps them know that the skills and knowledge they have acquired resulted from endless efforts of the earlier nurses. Therefore, it is their duty to be determined to improve the skills, knowledge and better mental treatments to the future generation. The information is incredibly important to the community because they are the ones who live with these people with mental disorders, and it will help them recognize them more and take good care of them. The information is a clear demonstration of how the United States has incessantly fought for better treatment of a mental ill person, and how recent treatments resulted. References McKenzie, J., Pinger, R. and Kotecki, J. (2011). An Introduction to Community Health. London: Jones & Bartlett publisher. Niles, N. (2010). Basics of the U.S. Health Care System. London: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Pickersgill, M. (2010). From psyche to soma? Changing accounts of antisocial personality Disorders in the American Journal of Psychiatry. History of Psychiatry, 21(3) 294–311. Portal, E., Suck, A. and Hinkle, J. (2010). Counseling in Mexico: History, Current Identity, and Future Trends. American Counseling Association. Journal of Counseling & Development, winter 2010, Vol. 88, pp. 33-37. Sundararaman, R. (2009). The U. S. Mental Health Delivery System Infrastructure. New York: Diane publishing. Thornicroft, G., Szmukler, G., Mueser, K. and Drake, R. (2011). Oxford Textbook of Community Mental Health. New York: Oxford University Press. Wendy, B. (2007). Mental Health Issues among Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) People. National Alliance on Mental Illness. Read More