There are doctors and hospitals that specialize in healing broken bones, injuries and diseases. They exist because those problems prevent people from living a full life. The same can be said about mental health. Whatever the cause or reason for a mental disorder, mental health care aims to cure, treat or manage it. This article will explore various aspects of mental health care.
History
Forms of mental health care date as far back as early Egyptian society. The Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal states that in 2900 B.C., Egyptians used herbs to treat people based on what ailments they described. These maladies would be described as dreams and manifestations. The Egyptians established centers to distribute and apply these herbs.
The first true doctor of mental health was Muhammad ibn Zakariya Razi, a Persian physician who was able to describe different mental temperaments and establish treatment plans for them in the early first century. He could describe psychological conditions and establish physiological links to them. From his works, illnesses such as neurosis and depression were defined and treated.
Professionals
There are different levels of professionals who can give mental health care to varying degrees. Psychotherapists at the Masters level can conduct individual, couple and group counseling. Social workers can provide counseling for socially related issues such as stress management and family relations. Clinical psychologists tend to treat deeper-rooted issues like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, with the ability to recommend prescriptions of medications that may be needed for treatment. Psychiatrists can prescribe those medications; they often counsel patients with the more severe cases of mental disorders.
Facilities
Modern mental health care can involve the use of facilities to protect patients from themselves or others. Psychiatric hospitals focus on long-term care for the more severe patients. These facilities regulate medication distribution. Some of the first established mental health care facilities in America were the Hartford Hospital in Connecticut and the Brattleboro Retreat in Vermont.
DSM-IV
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is known as the DSM-IV. This is the major resource that mental health care professionals use to help define any particular disorders a patient might have. The DSM-IV takes into account five different levels of a disorder known as axes. Depression, anxiety disorders and phobias can be considered Axis 1 issues, which are attributed to clinical disorders and learning disorders. Since the DSM-IV is considered a standard guideline and not the absolute, it is recommended that only professionals with extensive training use it to properly diagnose any illnesses.
5150
For emergency situations regarding a person's mental state, California has laws that can provide involuntary institutionalization. This California Welfare and Institutions Code is referred to as 5150, which is the specific code outlining this procedure. A qualified officer such as a peace officer or governmental clinician can make a request to institutionalize someone they deem mentally unstable. Should confinement happen, the person is observed and held for no more than 72 hours. At the end of that period, a psychiatrist assesses the patient to determine if she is ready for release. If the psychiatrist still feels the patient is in danger, he can request another 14 days of confinement should the person refuse a voluntary admission.
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