Mentally Ill vs. Families and Law Enforcement
Approximately one in 17 Americans suffer from a mental illness. In addition to this,
“Due to the extreme behavior exhibited by individuals with SMI (Serious Mental Illness),
encounters with police during a crisis sometimes end in tragedy” (Jines, Johnny K.). Mental
illness has the potential to take full control over a person’s life, creating many obstacles from
them to face. This illness may sometimes have effects on the families and Law Enforcement as
well, leaving them with the challenge of taking care of these individuals. Some of the patient’s
conditions are severe while several others are not. Even though these individuals may stand out
to be different from the rest, they still deserve the right to be cared for properly and given a
chance at life.
Families are often the main support system for people affected by mental illness. If a
patient is no longer able to attend a hospital that meets their needs, the lives of the individual’s
family are directly impacted. Dealing with a mentally ill patient can be very stressful, especially
if they are your loved one. It may sometimes consume the family member’s life, causing them
great responsibility. Adequate training and skills are necessary when caring for someone who
suffers from a mental illness. The families of these people have the duty of making sure that the
patient is properly cared for without conflict. Not only must the family
the care of the patient is better served at another facility that can provide certain services
The purpose of Rick Parents (2011) study was to shed a light on policing tactics and use of force when dealing with a situation containing a person suffering from a mental illness, and how to properly distinguish when the use of force in necessary. Rick Parent (2011) has also brought to light the training techniques in place that help officers make the best possible decisions in moments of crisis, and how further examining those training techniques and improving upon them can potentially have an overall positive effect on the officer and the suspect.
The most important elements to consider for an individual with a mental illness after being released from a mental health care facility is how they reintegrate with their family and receive social support. For example, if the individual is going to live with their family the best thing to do is to assess the families home and living situation, so that the environment is not threatening to them. It will undermine the treatment process and ruin any positive outcomes the individual has done up to this point. In order to supplement the
This book goes into helping family members who are dealing with a mentally ill family member. It was written by the medical director of the New York State Office of Mental Health Lloyd Sederer. This book is a support group in print, it has so much information on how to not only deal with but understand what the mentally ill family member is going through. Sederer uses and eight step process to help, one is to “Analyze the Behavior” the rule of thumb with this is if the person is showing signs for at least two weeks. Number two is probably one of the most important it is, "Remember It`s Not Your Fault," so often caregivers are quick to judge and place the blame on themselves. "People fall prey to mental illness because of the way their brains
Interacting with these patient taught me about the challenges they face establishing reliable care. They are often assigned to one of the few clinics in town who will accept such challenging patients for such low reimbursement. Getting to the clinic may require arranging transportation that can deliver the patient to and from an office visit or referral. Often the clinics these patients are assigned to are overcrowded and may not be able to see the patient for weeks or even
It is difficult for anyone to deal with strange thinking and bizarre and unpredictable behavior. Imagine what it must be for families of people with mental illness. It is bewildering, frightening and exhausting. Even when the person is stabilized on medication, the apathy and lack of motivation can be frustrating. A mother mentions how her daughter, when asked to put her clothes in the closet, looked at the freshly pressed blouses for over an hour before making a move to hang them up. What was a matter of routine for this young woman in the past, now seemed to take an inordinate amount of time. Even though the parent knew it was not so, she had to fight the feeling that her daughter was deliberately not doing this one, small task.
Chronic illness in a family member causes a great deal of stress on each member. McCubbin and McCubbin in 1989 explain that family members become stronger when faced with hardships or inevitable change.
To introduce with, the victim’s physical and mental ailments affect the victim, because the victim fears of getting back into the system and having to go through all of the pain and despair that they
Every year, more than seven million people die from cancer (World Health Organization,2006). This means millions more people die every year, because people all across the world, are diagnosed with multiple other terminal illnesses. Whether it be terminal cancer or a different incurable disease, the diagnosis can take a toll on a person’s mental health. Every person’s case is different and everyone reacts different to the news of a diagnoses. When someone receives the news that they only have so much time to live, they may want a way to gain a little bit of control back. It is the right of anyone diagnosed with a life threatening illness, to refuse treatment and to use medicine and physician assistance to decide when they want to die.
disease. Family and friends are affected because they have to watch their loved one go through
Chronic illness doesn’t just affect the person with the condition. The whole family must come to terms with the illness, make major changes in schedules and priorities, and somehow manage to remain a family.
All of these disorders are lifelong debilitating conditions that can impact not only the individual with the disorder but also the family members of these individuals. Psychoeducation pays pertinent attention to the distress and burden experienced by the caregivers of individuals who have a serious mental illness experience. Researchers have identified a negative association between caregiver burden and outcomes for the individual with a mental illness (Madigan et al., 2012). Goldberg, Fristad, and Gavazzi (1999) state, “family caregivers have been described as a stressed and potentially at-risk population whose quantitative problems may equal or even outweigh those of the persons around whom they revolve” (p. 411).
The presence of a mental health problem can have a significant impact to a family and in each of its members. An assessment of the health of a family is a vital tool in preparing a health care plan for an individual client and his/her family. The family experience, the impact, and burden of mental health problems in their roles as the immediate caregiver as well as simply by being a part as a member of the family. This paper will discuss the role of a psychiatric nursing student in the health assessment of a contracted family in the community and what did the writer learned and accomplished on these task. The names of the family were all changed so as to protect their confidentiality and anonymity.
Given that one may have a mental disorder, as a guardian or parent, one must make a decision; send a loved one to a psychiatric unit in order to get help, or choose not to get help. However, what if one refuses treatment? Would this be considered a violation of the medical rights? Some say that forcing treatment has caused a traumatic experience for them because of undesirable practices being used. They are deemed incapable of making decisions for themselves when it is in regards to their own mental health, so presumed consent is used when it comes to involuntary admission. Admission to a psychiatric unit gives a sense of loss, especially of autonomy and individual liberty (Feiring & Ugstad, 2014, p.2). In order to prevent that, one must remember that they are human beings too. There are other alternatives to mental health care and with the creation of alternatives such as support groups or less restrictive treatment programs, it may help with the patient agreeing with treatment instead of restricting it (Cameron, 2007). However, there are also positives in involuntary admission. It is done in order to prevent those who are at higher risk of suicide from killing themselves. Those may not choose to seek help, but loved ones may notice differences, and the only way to get better is to get treated. With that, it increases autonomy so that patients are able to make their own decisions. In the beginning they may be seen incompetent, but receiving treatment increases competency
The support of family and friends are vital to living with mental illness. However, it can be a difficult task for family members and friends to relate and understand a loved one’s mental illness. As someone who suffers from mental illness and attempted time and time again to explain to love ones what I was going through, was a difficult task. I finally realized, they can’t understand something they have never experienced and speaking with a psychiatrist or even a therapist can make it worse for a loved one. The scientific terms along