Psychosocial issues of the person in the case study
Discuss about the Psychological And Social Issues Of Mental Health.
Psychosocial issues are the psychological and social issues that affect the mental health of an individual. The person in the case study has the following psychosocial issues:
Stress
Katie’s mother says that she is not under a lot of stress now that she has got a job meaning she is under stress and that it was worse when she did not have a job. The stress was a lot when she was unemployed but now her mum says she is not under a lot of stress because she is employed (Austin 2016).
Peer pressure
Katie’s mum says that Katie is obsessed with losing weight and being on a diet. This can stem mainly from peer pressure, or social pressures where the world has built the image of perfection is a person that is thin. Therefore, Katie feels the pressure to become thin and thus wants to lose weight by going on a diet (Brownell and Walsh 2017).
Dishonesty
Katie lies to her mum about the meals she has taken. She tells her mum during breakfast that she will have a cappuccino and a muffin on the way to work to avoid eating breakfast. Also, after work, Katie lies to her mum that she has already had a snack and that she ate a large lunch so she cannot take dinner. However, this is a lie so that she can skip dinner and her coworker confirms this by saying that they had not seen Katie eating anything on that day (Davis, Lin, Liu and Sites 2017).
Obsessive- compulsive disorder
According to her mother, Katie is obsessed with being on a diet and losing weight. This causes her to have compulsive behaviors. For instance, her workmate says that she has not eaten all day which is a compulsive behavior that she has developed to satisfy her obsession with losing weight. Katie is also obsessed with being on a diet because she fears to gain weight.
Eating disorder
It is evident that Katie has an eating disorder due to her obsession with losing weight and being on a diet. She rarely eats anything which her co-worker confirms, and she also lies to her mum about eating. Her co-worker says that she vomits a lot at work which is also a sign of an eating disorder (Freeman et al. 2017).
Informal supports available to the person
The informal supports that are available to Katie are:
Her coworkers
When she faints at work, her co-worker calls her mum to come and pick her up. The co-worker also informs her mum of what has been happening such as her vomiting at work and even her not eating that day. In this instance, her workmates are there to support her by providing information on anything that has been going on in the workplace. Her workmates are an informal source of support because they are not qualified or experienced with Katie’s issues but can offer the emotional support she needs.
The general practitioner
The GP is also another informal support that Katie has. They are informal because they are not qualified to treat Katie but can only offer advice because they are doctors as well. Katie’s mum can visit the GP for advice on her daughter and also for the support (Corrigan, Druss and Perlick 2014). The support is given in the form of the assurance that Katie is ok and that it is just a phase that many young women experience.
Parent
Another form of informal support that is available to Katie is her mum. Katie’s mum is concerned about her daughter’s health, and she is willing to provide her with the support that she needs. This is evident in her inquiring about how she is doing and about her eating habits (Funk 2016). She is, therefore, ready to offer the support needed even though she is not qualified. Her mum will be able to provide her with both physical and emotional support.
Therapist
A therapist is a professional that helps patients cope with problems be it mental, emotional physical and behavioural that interfere with the person’s life. Katie is likely to be involved with a therapist to address some of the psychosocial issues that she has. The therapist will help her go through her problems through sharing and in the end solve them. The therapist is supposed to guide her through her feelings and emotions and help her come up with solutions to solve the problem. This way her issues will not interfere with her day to day activities (Taylor, Bee and Haddock 2017).
A psychiatrist is a doctor that has specialised in the treatment of mental disorders as well as emotional and addictive disorders. A psychiatrist prevents and diagnoses these disorders then treats them. Katie is most likely to be referred to a psychiatrist by her GP after her work incident. Since her GP is not qualified to treat her disorder, they will likely refer her to an expert who is a psychiatrist in this instance. The psychiatrist is the physician that can diagnose her and treat her as well. The treatment in this instance usually involves prescription of medicine.
Professional and/or agencies likely to be involved with the person
A psychologist is a physician that studies human behavior and the mental processes involved as well as how individuals relate to each other and the environment. Katie is most likely going to see a psychologist to treat her with her stress which is a psychological problem. The psychologist, however, may not be able to offer treatment in terms of medication and therefore can refer Katie to a psychiatrist. However, they will be able to solve any psychological issues that Katie has.
Community-based psychiatric services are scarce especially in developing countries. In most developing countries people do not believe that a person may have a mental illness. Therefore there are not enough community-based psychiatric services that address mental illness. Most people that suffer from mental health illness in such areas suffer on their own or are even unaware that they are suffering from it. Thus most of them are not treated (Mehler and Andersen 2017).
Unawareness of mental health illness: Many people are unaware that mental illness exists and often try to substitute signs of mental illness with other diseases that are known. This is a gap in the service delivery because the individuals that have the mental illness are unaware of what they are suffering from and therefore cannot be treated.
The social pressures that exist are also a gap that is evident in the service delivery of mental health illness. A lot of individuals feel the pressure to fit into the society by being thin and watching their diet. Therefore they do not view this as a mental illness and seek treatment but rather as a necessity so that they can belong. Consequently, social pressures contribute to mental health illnesses because individuals prefer belonging to society rather than being at peace mentally. This is because they are scared of the judgments and exclusions that will arise if, for instance, they are obese (Melton et al. 2017).
Another gap in the service of delivery is the lack of knowledge about mental health illnesses. For instance, in the study, Katie’s doctor tells her mum that it is part of growing up and that she will grow out of it. Therefore if the GP knew about mental health illness, they would have been able to evaluate Katie’s situation and distinguish it as a mental illness and not part of growing up. It is therefore correct to say that most people do not know how to establish mental illness from normal behavior and this cause the individuals not to be treated (Clement et al. 2015).
Gaps in service delivery for people with this mental health illness
Finally, lack of the formal support is another gap that exists in the delivery service of mental health illnesses. Formal support includes professionals such as psychiatrists and therapists as well as hospitals that deal with mental health illnesses. Most individuals lack this formal support, and this causes them not to receive treatment for the illnesses. The formal support should be readily available to them just like the GP in the study is readily available.
Advocacy is a means of raising the awareness about issues regarding mental health and that it is put on the agenda of governments. Some of the advocacy needs of people with mental health illnesses include:
The awareness of mental health issues needs to be raised so that more people can be able to acquire the knowledge about mental health issues. For instance, in the study, Katie’s mum knows what is wrong with her daughter but does not know what in particular. By raising awareness, she will be able to offer the help needed to her daughter.
Also, the provision of formal support is another advocacy need that should be established for people with mental health issues. This will ensure that these individuals can get the help they need through appropriate treatment. Katie will be able to overcome her psychosocial issues if she gets the formal support that she needs (Nolen-Hoeksema and Rector 2015).
Social acceptance is also an advocacy need for people with a mental health issue. As a society, we should stop judging or creating ideas of perfect lives because it pressures individuals to fit in causing them to obtain compulsive behaviors such as eating disorders.
References
Austin, S.B., 2016. Accelerating progress in eating disorders prevention: A call for policy translation research and training. Eating disorders, 24(1), pp.6-19.
Brownell, K.D. and Walsh, B.T. eds., 2017. Eating disorders and obesity: A comprehensive handbook. Guilford Publications.
Clement, S., Schauman, O., Graham, T., Maggioni, F., Evans-Lacko, S., Bezborodovs, N., Morgan, C., Rüsch, N., Brown, J.S.L. and Thornicroft, G., 2015. What is the impact of mental health-related stigma on help-seeking? A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies. Psychological medicine, 45(1), pp.11-27.
Corrigan, P.W., Druss, B.G. and Perlick, D.A., 2014. The impact of mental illness stigma on seeking and participating in mental health care. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 15(2), pp.37-70.
Davis, M.A., Lin, L.A., Liu, H. and Sites, B.D., 2017. Prescription opioid use among adults with mental health disorders in the United States. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 30(4), pp.407-417.
Freeman, D., Reeve, S., Robinson, A., Ehlers, A., Clark, D., Spanlang, B. and Slater, M., 2017. Virtual reality in the assessment, understanding, and treatment of mental health disorders. Psychological medicine, 47(14), pp.2393-2400.
Funk, M., 2016. Global burden of mental disorders and the need for a comprehensive, coordinated response from health and social sectors at the country level.
Mehler, P.S. and Andersen, A.E., 2017. Eating disorders: A guide to medical care and complications. JHU Press.
Melton, G.B., Petrila, J., Poythress, N.G., Slobogin, C., Otto, R.K., Mossman, D. and Condie, L.O., 2017. Psychological evaluations for the courts: A handbook for mental health professionals and lawyers. Guilford Publications.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. and Rector, N.A., 2015. Abnormal psychology. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Rogers, A. and Pilgrim, D., 2014. A sociology of mental health and illness. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Taylor, C.D., Bee, P. and Haddock, G., 2017. Does schema therapy change schemas and symptoms? A systematic review across mental health disorders. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 90(3), pp.456-479.
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