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The documentary Mental A History of the Madhouse discloses the way the mental health system has been managed in the United Kingdom. The main issue that this documentary focuses on is that the mental health patients were kept in the asylums located in the old Victorian buildings. Moreover, some of the methods used by the medical professionals to treat these patients were barbarian. Eventually, these asylums were closed, but the patients who suffered from these unscientific treatments were left alone and had to deal with the difficult memories and the consequences on their own. This paper is a reflection on the documentary about the asylums in the United Kingdom.
After watching the documentary Mental A History of the Madhouse, I learned about the history of the mental health healthcare system. Evidently, some of the practices and approaches used in these asylums were counter-scientific and against the ethics. Moreover, I learned that some patients who had conditions that could be treated through therapy were admitted to an asylum for full-time living. For example, the woman at the beginning of the documentary, Joan Tugwell, suffered from panic attacks and phobias (JLO Production, 2014). However, these are not conditions that endanger her or others around her and would not require hospitalization.
Another surprising thing I learned after watching this documentary is that the conditions in which the patients lived were not good. For example, they slept in dormitories with 30 people in one room, which is concerning. Prior to watching this documentary, I knew about the history of mental health science from the viewpoint of the development of main theories and treatment methods. However, I did not know a lot about the actual application of these methods and how some mental health professionals experimented on their patients, which is unacceptable. Moreover, based on this documentary, there were not many activities for the patients that would aid them in developing necessary social skills and support their development. Currently, recreational activities that engage patients are crucial for adequate patient care, and patients typically enroll in some type of physical or cognitive activity.
Based on this documentary, the deinstitutionalizing of asylums and the approach toward community care options has more pros. For example, community care implies that the patients would receive care in smaller institutions, as opposed to asylums. Therefore, institutions that care for thousands of mental health patients would not exist. This is a positive aspect because it is difficult to deliver patient-centered care and ensure the quality of these services when there are thousands of patients. With community care, the benefits are a lesser number of patients, a better understanding of the cultural and personal factors that impact these individuals, and the ability to give more attention to these patients.
The current status of mental health treatment options is quite adequate as there are many evidence-based methodologies, and patients are treated following protocols and strategies that were tested following the standards of ethics. However, the complexity of mental health illnesses requires further development of treatment options. Current therapies and the prevailing mental health care paradigm do not fully address the complex issues of mental illness, which accounts for nearly one-third of adult disabilities worldwide. These circumstances necessitate fundamental shifts in the paradigm and practices of mental health treatment, such as raising clinician training standards, establishing new research methodologies, and reimagining present forms of mental health care delivery. In the future, I would want to work in a mental health care facility.
Reference
JLO Production. (2014). BBC mental a history of the madhouse full documentary [YouTube]. Web.
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