The purpose of this study was to examine people with professional experiences involving young men’s tendency to seek professional help, and also to analyse male standards and masculinities influence, due to the high statistics of mental illness and suicide among young men in Sweden. We used a qualitative method and obtained the material by semistructured interviews. Four participants, from three different organisations, participated in this study and shared their perception about the current situation. The material was examined through a thematic analysis. The result showed that male standards and masculinities are a contributing factor to why young men are reluctant to seek professional help, but also why it is more complicated for young men then young women to show their emotional needs. The informants were however clear on emphasising that this is far from the only reason and that committing suicide is an issue which goes beyond gender. / <p>2019-01-15</p>

General practitioners (GP’s) are often the first point of entry when seeking medical treatment. They are responsible for treating members of the community and thus their understanding and conceptualisation of mental illness will influence patient care. Additionally, GP’s religious and cultural affiliations play an influential role in the aetiology and treatment of mental illness. Thus this study explored perceptions of mental illness in a sample of 10 Muslim GP’s (5 male, 5 female) of Indo-Pak ancestry in the Lenasia area (Johannesburg, South Africa). Semi structured interviews were conducted with each GP which entailed 37 questions related to the GP’s context, GP’s perceptions of mental illness, the understanding of religion and culture, the treatment of mental illness and the aspect of spiritual illness. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. From the results obtained, eight themes were salient; namely definitions and aetiology of mental illness as understood by GP’s, the role of culture, the assimilated identity, Islamic beliefs regarding mental illness, GP’s beliefs regarding spiritual illness, collaboration and referral to other healthcare professionals and finally influential factors affecting GP’s. Based on the above themes it can be concluded that more awareness regarding the stigmatization of mental illness needs to be addressed. Furthermore, it is vital that healthcare professionals possess an understanding of the use of traditional healing as a mode of treatment amongst certain South African population groups. This study therefore paves the way for further research regarding the incorporation of cultural beliefs into mainstream theory.

It has been well documented that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) lead to unfavorable outcomes in later life, especially with regard to health and psychological outcomes. Recent research has demonstrated the impact of early childhood adversity on the onset of aggression and illegal behavior. However, often those with mental illness diagnoses with comorbid behavioral problems exhibit trajectories that include both arrest and hospitalization. While some are arrested for their criminal behavior, others are hospitalized. This begs the question: are those with mental illness and behavioral problems more likely to be arrested, or hospitalized, for their early behavioral problems? In the current study, it was hypothesized that arrest precedes hospitalization for the majority of these offenders, and that specific diagnoses of a mental illness are related to outcome. It was also hypothesized that early exposure to environmental adversity, as measured by the age of earliest ACE and total ACE score, would significantly predict whether offenders were arrested or hospitalized first. Other socio-ecological factors were also studied. The data for this study were gathered from a sample of 182 adult psychiatric inpatients in a secure forensic facility. Data were archival and retrospective in nature. All participants had been hospitalized following acts of violence or aggression, exhibiting a history of both behavioral problems as well as mental illness. A series of logistic and linear regressions were used to examine the relationship between reason for first admission to a psychiatric facility, diagnosis of a mental disorder, and early childhood adversity to clarify whether early problematic behaviors resulted in initial arrest or psychiatric hospitalization. Results indicate that subjects were much more likely to be hospitalized initially than arrested (33.5% arrested first, 66.5% hospitalized first). A diagnosis of impulse control disorder was significantly related to whether initial incident led to arrest or hospitalization (p=0.030), while the diagnosis of ADHD neared significance (p=0.056). No significant relationship was found between incidence of initial arrest or hospitalization and age that drug/alcohol abuse began. Other findings and implications for future research will be discussed.

Mental health stigma is an important topic as it has an influence on the care clients receive, as well as resources allocated by society. Previous research has primarily investigated the topic of stigma associated with schizophrenia and various factors that may influence the endorsement of stigmatizing beliefs. Few studies have investigated whether the type of mental disorder has an influence on the level of stigma. The current study evaluated the difference in the level of stereotypes endorsed across three conditions: schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and a typical person. Additionally, this study evaluated the reliability of using a global stereotype score obtained from summing the responses of the Attribution Questionnaire (AQ-27). The results of this study showed that there is a significant difference in the level of global stereotype scores across the three conditions and that a global stereotype score from the AQ-27 is reliable.

On average 322 million people worldwide are affected by depression. It is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and is often paired with anxiety. Although there are several ways to treat both depression and anxiety, the most popular way is through the use of anti-depressant medication. Typical alternative methods are talk therapy and acupuncture, which brings me to my question: Are anti-depressants truly the most effective way to treat depression or are they ultimately the most cost effective for patients suffering from the mental illness because they are the type of treatment most covered by insurance companies?

While the great poet, James Whitcomb Riley, a native poet from my hometown of Greenfield, has a strong sense of Indiana and his Hoosier-ness. I compare myself to Whitcomb Riley, only in the sense of place, because my understanding of poetry was shaped around his work growing up in Hancock County. I am personally influenced by other poets such as Sylvia Plath, Walt Whitman, and James Wright in style and in content. My poetry contains a mixture of confessionalism and pastoral poems and doesn’t shy away from critiquing every aspect of place, family, and mental illness. These intersecting ideals and styles (confessional and pastoral in fixed forms/free-verse) place me at a crossroads of my own, where navigating my position within these frameworks alters my view of the Midwest and how a mental illness may, in fact, be worse off because of the isolation, dissociation, and perception.

The reductionist tenets of the biomedical model of mental illness generate research methods and clinical practices that neglect significant cultural elements of mental illness. The biomedical model is reductionist because it assumes a view of the mind that lends itself to biological reductionism. Developing a more holistic model of mental illness requires replacing the accepted view of mind with a new one. In this paper, research demonstrating the significance of culture to mental illness will be reviewed in order to illuminate the flaws of the biomedical model. The extended mind theory will be analyzed and discussed as a potential basis for the development of a new paradigm within psychiatry, one which transcends the reductionist tendencies of the biomedical model.

This research study focuses on gathering data on stress among caregivers caring for an individual with special needs. The participants selected were from three agencies in Southern California. Once the participants were selected, an interview was conducted using an audio recording device to gather and analyze the data collected. The researcher dictated the responses provided during the interview if the participants did not wish to be recorded. All participants received a $5 Starbucks gift card for their participation. This study was conducted to inform clinicians and any reader on the daily struggles and challenges caregivers face by caring for individuals with a disability. This study had a sample size of eight participants. Themes that were used were service utilization, social support systems, mental and physical health and self-care. Social workers working with individuals who care for individuals with special needs should be knowledgeable in coping strategies.

This collection of essays, organized with two fiction pieces to every three essays, blends fiction and nonfiction craft elements and is intended to challenge the reader's notion of experienced reality. There were three goals in mind while creating the collection: to give the reader a better understanding of PTSD and its symptoms, to illustrate the ways in which storytelling impacts our perception of reality, and to examine the ways in which a gendered experience affects an individual's reality.

The Critical Incident Team (CIT) training program equips police officers with knowledge regarding mental illness and practical skills for effectively interacting with a mentally ill suspect. In addition to improving officer and suspect safety by decreasing the number of violent encounters between police and the mentally ill, CIT goals include reducing the number of mentally ill individuals who are arrested and providing them with assistance through community resources. However, there is a lack of empirical research on whether CIT training decreases arrest rates and increases diversion rates for mentally ill subjects. The purpose of this quantitative study was to measure the effects of CIT training on arrest and diversion rates of mentally ill subjects. The theoretical foundation for the study was evidence-based policing. Reports from a single police department in the southwestern United States were reviewed, and arrest and diversion incidents from 6-months pre and post CIT training for 30 police officers were collected. A paired-samples t test was used to analyze the data, which indicated that there was not a statistical difference in arrest rates or diversion rates between pre and post CIT training. Results corroborated the findings of other studies showing that arrest and diversion rates are not affected by CIT programs. Law enforcement agencies that currently have or are looking to implement a CIT program may find the study useful, as it reports an increase in resources being provided to mentally ill subjects following contact with a CIT officer. Recommendations include additional research into the effectiveness of the CIT program as well as the continuation of collaboration between community mental health organizations and police, both of which may lead to positive social change.