Mental Health Awareness

Professionals, academics, and policy makers in the field of child and adolescent development tend to use theoretical frameworks stemming from traditional classified disciplines of psychology, sociology, political science, economics, education, and social work. This book creates an opportunity for experts to use interdisciplinary approaches and perspectives, and provides evidence-based knowledge to deal with the stresses of children and adolescents living in poverty, difficult socioeconomic conditions, and varied cultures.It also conveys the message that shared understandings can promote well-meaning and well-reasoned intervention success in similar contexts across nations in which children and adolescents are growing up in complex and risky environments.The contributors, from multiple disciplines, weave their knowledge around the development of children in contemporary society. They highlight the necessary conversations that schools, families, communities, individuals, and nation-states need to have and, most importantly, the responsibility for everyone to develop an understanding of the mental-health needs of the new generation.

Philosophers discuss Jerome Wakefield's influential view of mental disorder as "harmful dysfunction," with detailed responses from Wakefield himself. One of the most pressing theoretical problems of psychiatry is the definition of mental disorder. Jerome Wakefield's proposal that mental disorder is "harmful dysfunction" has been both influential and widely debated; philosophers have been notably skeptical about it. This volume provides the first book-length collection of responses by philosophers to Wakefield's harmful dysfunction analysis (HDA), offering a survey of philosophical critiques as well as extensive and detailed replies by Wakefield himself.

LGBTQ Mental Health: International Perspectives and Experiences expands our understanding of mental health by considering the unique challenges faced by LGBTQ communities in the Majority World. Increased globalization and migration has highlighted the need for mental health clinicians to better understand these communities' experiences and needs. This book provides an overview of LGBTQ mental health in non-Western countries or regions that have heretofore received little attention in the psychology literature. Chapters focus on the cultural, social, legal, political, and psychological experiences of various LGBTQ subpopulations in Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Jamaica, Russia, Mongolia, India, Malaysia, Thailand, and sub-Saharan Africa. Contributors summarize existing research on mental health outcomes for LGBTQ individuals in these countries or regions; offer key insights that challenge culturally-specific conceptions of normative, LGBTQ mental health and behavior; and offer recommendations for further research and mental health practice with these populations.

Many music therapists work in adult mental health settings after qualifying. For many, it will be a challenging and even daunting prospect. Yet until now, there has been no psychiatric music therapy text providing advice on illness management and recovery. The new edition of this established and acclaimed text provides the necessary breadth and depth to inform readers of the psychotherapeutic research base and show how music therapy can effectively and efficiently function within a clinical scenario. The book takes an illness management and recovery approach to music therapy specific to contemporary group-based practice. It is also valuable for administrators of music therapy, providing innovative theory-based approaches to psychiatric music therapy, developing and describing new ways to conceptualize psychiatric music therapy treatment, educating music therapists, stimulating research and employment, and influencing legislative policies. For the new edition, all chapters have been updated, and 2 new chapters added - on substance abuse, and the therapeutic alliance. An important aim of the book is to stimulate both critical thought and lifelong learning concerning issues, ideas, and concepts related to mental illness and music therapy. Critical thinking and lifelong learning have been - and will likely continue to be - essential aspirations in higher education. Moreover, contemporary views concerning evidence-based practice rely heavily upon the clinician's ability to think critically, seek a breadth of contradicting and confirmatory evidence, implement meta-cognition to monitor thoughts throughout processes, and synthesize and evaluate knowledge to make informed clinical decisions relevant and applicable to idiosyncratic contextual parameters. For both students and clinicians in music therapy, this is an indispensable text to help them learn, develop, and hone their skills in music therapy.

Public Mental Health equips a new generation of public health students, researchers and practitioners with the most innovative social. biological, and behavioral science approaches to mental health challenges at the population level. Incorporating insights from multiple health and science disciplines, this new edition introduces novel concepts and methodologies for understanding the occurrence of mental disorders in populations worldwide. Reflecting the disciplinary diversity and expertise of an internationally-recognized roster of contributors, its nineteen chapters include coverage of such essential topics as: estimates of global prevalence based on new data from the Global Burden of Disease Study, the complex way in which genes, other biological factors, and life stresses increase risk, mental health disparities among population subgroups, population-level mental health consequences of violence and natural disasters, the logic and practice of prevention of mental and behavioral disorders. With a perspective that will resonate from the lab to the legislature floor, Public Mental Health offers a much-need core text for students, researchers, and practitioners.

An unapologetic exploration of the Black mental health crisis--and a comprehensive road map to getting the care you deserve in an unequal system. We can't deny it any longer: there is a Black mental health crisis in our world today. Black people die at disproportionately high rates due to chronic illness, suffer from poverty, under-education, and the effects of racism. This book is an exploration of Black mental health in today's world, the forces that have undermined mental health progress for African Americans, and what needs to happen for African Americans to heal psychological distress, find community, and undo years of stigma and marginalization in order to access effective mental health care. In The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health, psychologist and African American mental health expert Rheeda Walker offers important information on the mental health crisis in the Black community, how to combat stigma, spot potential mental illness, how to practice emotional wellness, and how to get the best care possible in system steeped in racial bias. This breakthrough book will help you: Recognize mental and emotional health problems Understand the myriad ways in which these problems impact overall health and quality of life and relationships Develop psychological tools to neutralize ongoing stressors and live more fully Navigate a mental health care system that is unequal   It's past time to take Black mental health seriously. Whether you suffer yourself, have a loved one who needs help, or are a mental health professional working with the Black community, this book is an essential and much-needed resource.

A bold, expert, and actionable map for the re-invention of America's broken mental health care system. "Healing is truly one of the best books ever written about mental illness, and I think I've read them all." --Pete Earley, author of Crazy As director of the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Thomas Insel was giving a presentation when the father of a boy with schizophrenia yelled from the back of the room, "Our house is on fire and you're telling me about the chemistry of the paint! What are you doing to put out the fire?" Dr. Insel knew in his heart that the answer was not nearly enough. The gargantuan American mental health industry was not healing millions who were desperately in need. He left his position atop the mental health research world to investigate all that was broken--and what a better path to mental health might look like.   In the United States, we have treatments that work, but our system fails at every stage to deliver care well. Even before COVID, mental illness was claiming a life every eleven minutes by suicide. Quality of care varies widely, and much of the field lacks accountability. We focus on drug therapies for symptom reduction rather than on plans for long-term recovery. Care is often unaffordable and unavailable, particularly for those who need it most and are homeless or incarcerated. Where was the justice for the millions of Americans suffering from mental illness? Who was helping their families?   But Dr. Insel also found that we do have approaches that work, both in the U.S. and globally. Mental illnesses are medical problems, but he discovers that the cures for the crisis are not just medical, but social. This path to healing, built upon what he calls the three Ps (people, place, and purpose), is more straightforward than we might imagine. Dr. Insel offers a comprehensive plan for our failing system and for families trying to discern the way forward.   The fruit of a lifetime of expertise and a global quest for answers, Healing is a hopeful, actionable account and achievable vision for us all in this time of mental health crisis.

With increasing prevalence, paramedics are commonly dispatched to pre-hospital settings where mental health and mental illness are essential considerations in paramedic practice and approaches to treatment. Mental Health and Mental Illness in Paramedic Practice is the first text of its kind - a resource specifically written by expert clinicians and academics solely for the Australian and New Zealand paramedic context. The text introduces fundamental concepts and theories in mental health and mental illness in the context of paramedic principles of care. It delves into topics such as person-centred mental healthcare; communication and the therapeutic relationship; and legal and ethical issues - all within the realm of paramedic practice. The textbook steps students through common patient presentations in the pre-hospital setting and offers practical guidance in applying appropriate approaches to treatment. Case studies accompanied by critical thinking questions are incorporated throughout to assist with application to practice Demonstrates relevance to real-life scenarios through consumer vignettes and paramedic stories Special considerations embedded in each chapter, including: cultural considerations; ethics and ethical dilemmas; inter-professional practice, application and considerations; and ongoing care / other modes of care Review questions included at the end of each chapter to ensure reflection on key topics and concepts Strong focus on evidence-based research and practice Core components of undergraduate paramedicine addressed An eBook included in all print purchases

AN APPLE BOOKS PICK OF THE MONTH "Masterfully written, distinctively researched, deeply humane . . . Genius."--ANTHONY SWOFFORD, author of Jarhead "A major contribution . . . A necessary book."--JOHANN HARI, author of Lost Connections "This book is a triumph of the spirit and the flesh."--ELIZA GRISWOLD, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Amity and Prosperity In this stunning debut--both a memoir and a work of investigative journalism--writer Sarah Fay explores the ways we pathologize human experiences. Over thirty years, doctors diagnosed Sarah Fay with six different mental illnesses--anorexia, major depressive disorder (MDD), anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and bipolar disorder.Pathological is the gripping story of what it was like to live with those diagnoses, and the crippling impact each had on her life. It is also a rigorous investigation into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)--psychiatry's "bible," the manual from which all mental illness diagnoses come. Yet as Fay found out, some of our most prominent psychiatrists have been trying to warn us that the DSM is fiction sold to the public as fact.  In Pathological, former advisory editor at The Paris Review and award-winning writer Fay calls for a new conversation about mental health diagnosis, one based on rigorous transparency. With exquisite detail and a precise presentation of fact, she digs up her own life at the root to finally ask, Is a diagnosis a lifeline or a self-fulfilling prophecy? Powerful, mesmerizing, and unputdownable, Pathological sits alongside the other brave and inspiring classics of our time that explore a more intelligent, forgiving, and nuanced approach to human suffering.

Some studies indicate that as many as one in four adult Americans suffers from some kind of mental health concern each year. This issue of The Reference Shelf takes a closer look at mental health in America and the struggle to spread awareness about mental health challenges. Articles in this issue look at topics such as mental health coverage, mental health training for institutions and government officials, and mental health interventions by police. Other topics include mental health and the workplace and efforts to fight the stigma on mental illness.

One in five U.S. adults experiences a mental illness within a given year. With more than 550,000 people working to support this underserved community, the mental healthcare system has grappled with inadequacies and shortcomings in safety, quality, and care delivery. There is a wide range of problems, from access-to-care issues and errors, to complications stemming from poor care. Our country is also on an unsustainable path as our healthcare expenditure keeps growing. To add to all of this, we are facing a rampant epidemic of burnout among healthcare workers. Modern advancements introduced with many promises--such as electronic medical records, newer medications, or advanced treatments--have created unique challenges when ushered into a highly regulated healthcare system. What does it take to provide patients with everything they need--the right quality of care, at the right time, and at the right cost--to keep them healthy? Which process steps add value? Which steps are wasteful? A widely accepted fact is that a conservative 30-50% of every step in the mental healthcare process does not help patients feel better or stay better. When considering delays in care, workarounds, excessive documentation, and an overuse of auditing, the care system has moved highly skilled clinicians away from providing value, as administrative tasks continue to encroach on their time. There is a clear need to rethink and redesign the system of care. This book is a primer for understanding the current state of the mental health system and the performance improvement skills and leadership acumen needed to address existing challenges. Sheppard Pratt, the award-winning, leading institution for mental healthcare in America, provided the focus on mental healthcare and became the laboratory for this body of work over the course of eight years. It hired a seasoned systems thinker with improvement expertise to work with mental health professionals and solve some of their most complex and chronic problems. The book is a result of the collaboration between a practicing psychiatrist in a leadership role and the systems engineer. Working together, they demonstrate how to think about redesigning care and redefining the nature of work to enhance value for both the people served and the healthcare workforce. They crafted a multi-pronged approach towards culture change at Sheppard Pratt, including implementing a course on "Learning to Improve," which introduced staff to a performance improvement methodology. There are several vignettes interwoven throughout the book that describe the complexities and constraints of the system. Solving some of these challenges creates a new paradigm of work while minimizing waste and enhancing value.