Essays on Mental Health Services

‘Author’s name’

‘Institution’ Definition: Substance abuse disorder or substance use disorder (SUD) refers to repeated use of alcohol or drugs causing significant damage to health, and disability (SAMHSA, 2015) Epidemiology: A 2013 national survey among Americans 12 years and older revealed that 17.3 million were either dependent or abusing alcohol and 4.2 million Americans were found to be dependent or abusing marijuana. (NIH, 2015) Risk factors: There are many risk factors for SUDs. The risk of developing certain disorders can be traced from family history. The psychological dysregulation including cognitive, behavioral, and emotional domains are also considered risks. Environmental risks include ...

Sex Trafficking Survivors

Muraya, D.N & Fry, D. (2016). Aftercare services for child victims of sex trafficking: A systematic review of policy and practice. Sage, 17(2); 204-220. The study employed the use of current practice, a systematic review of unpublished and published research and organizational policies to explore the various aftercare services that are afforded to the victims of child sex trafficking. The study explored the various services that children survivors involved in sex trafficking are provided with and the policies in place to ensure they are taken care of. There was need for the development of best practices related to the ...

Doctor

ABSTRACT Young people in the United States are battling depression in record numbers, reaching an all-time high of 3 million patients in 2015. Researchers are continuing to search for alternative or additional methods than therapy and medications to improve depressive symptoms in teenagers and young adults. Some studies have demonstrated that as possible option in easing depression is physical exercise. In addition to assisting mental health issues, exercise promotes social interaction, physical health, and appearance. However, research has focused primarily on adults and therefore additional studies are needed with focus on the impact of exercise on depression in young ...

Introduction

Policy development should pass through some analysis processes before drawing the levels of authenticity, credibility and legitimacy required for them to be rated as authoritative. Importantly, policy development follows many deliberations aimed at ensuring that they offer solutions to specific challenges in the society. In most cases, policy developers will engage in debates and stem out the merits and demerits of the policies that they seek to pass as per the demands of the existing challenges. Imperatively, public participation and sensitization is always a core exercise that is always critical to the entire exercise of policy development. In the ...

Disadvantages of Juvenile Justice System

The primary disadvantages found in the juvenile justice system are both interconnected and based largely on what it fails to do as opposed to what it does. Although it was designed to meet the unique needs of children involved in criminal activity as a means of curtailing recidivism, it has not consistently been able to meet the very standards it has set for itself. Worse yet, in failing to do so, the juvenile justice system has acted to complicate the problem even more. Issues of escalating criminal behavior in adulthood, failure to address mental health needs, and racial bias ...

[Street Address] [City, ST ZIP Code]

District Office 12600 West Colfax Avenue

Suite B-400

Lakewood, CO 80215 RE: Mental Health Issues Dear Congressman Ed Perlmutter: Over the course of the years, our nation has had to deal with the loss of innocent lives as a result of individuals struggling with untreated conditions that have been caused by mental health illnesses. Unfortunately, it has hit home here in Denver, Colorado. The violence is not only to others but also to themselves. There are many reasons why this mental illness could have surfaced ranging from emotional to financial problems, however something needs to ...

Introduction

The World Health Organization (n.d) defines substance abuse as the harmful or hazardous uptake of psychoactive chemicals, including illicit drugs and alcohol. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2014), substance abuse refers to the use of legal or illegal drugs inappropriately. This term includes the repeated use of drugs for pleasure, stress alleviation or reality alteration as well as the use of prescription medicines in other ways than prescribed (NIDA, 2014). Substance abuse and addiction can lead to potentially fatal diseases such as lung disease, HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular problems, cancer, and hepatitis (Marsiglia et al., 2014). People who ...

Introduction

Gambling addiction is a problem characterized by persistent and repeated gambling behavior leading to distress. The paper will be a descriptive essay concerning gambling addiction in the United States and Canada, its effects, and treatment. The things that will be found interesting are the number of people of gambling disorder, the reason for the problem, and its effects. The reason why the topic is important is because of the high number of people gamble without knowing how gambling disorder is developed and the effects of gambling. Two sources will be used in writing the essay: a journal article by ...

Community health is regarded as a critical economic driver in developed nations. In the US, the Healthy People Vision 2020 has been developed to identify the community, family, and personal illnesses that cause significant nation burden of disease. Significant emphasis has been laid on healthy communities, as changes have been occurring in the areas of medical financing, focus, and policy (Don, 2016). In view of this, the current paper will assess the community health needs and risks of the King`s County community in Washington. The paper will analyze their needs towards work related injuries in relation to the ...

It is well known that drug addiction is a disease that can be and should be treated. This is a complex and comprehensive treatment, including improvement in human health and physical and mental well-being. So if a problem is psychological then in order to get rid of the substance abuse a person should accept this problem, start to talk about it and change an opinion about it. This person needs help from other people, because to deal with it on one’s own is very difficult. There, the aid of self-help groups comes. Self-help group is a method of ...

Health Belief Model

In the past century, many health-based models have been developed and implemented in order to help nursing professionals to identify and incorporate key factors in improving patient-centric services and health outcomes. The Health Belief Model (HBM) is one such model that is associated with the psychological and health behavioural change model associated to change and predict health-related behaviours. The HBM was developed to be incorporated and adopted by healthcare services (Dardis MR, Koharchik LS, Dukes S. 2015). The HBM was developed by key psychologists in 1950 in the US. It is one of accepted theories in the US with ...

Characteristics of a Healthy Community

According to Foley (2013), a healthy community is composed of different components, wherein the people living in the community have the opportunity to become better for the sake of themselves and their loved ones. Also, a healthy community creates a constant and active community between the leaders and all the members. Specifically, a healthy community has 20 different components (Foley, 2013). A healthy community provides no disparity among members; has a stable economic status, as well as opportunities to make a living; has proper allocation for the educational sector; has sufficient health care providers and health centers; has a ...

Abstract

This paper evaluates several sources to try and determine whether the needs of youth in juvenile detention facilities are being met. While most youths consider counselling to be effective, more than half of them do not have the pleasure of working with professional mental health personnel. The education system used in most of these facilities tends to be ineffective because the needs of detained youth are different from the needs of their counterparts in the general population. Further, there are various disruptions, including court proceedings and security procedures that take up plenty of time that would be used for ...

Peer support interventions have a wide range of benefits. They cost less, they reduce the strain on emergency rooms, and they have been proven to be extremely effective in providing support to patients with mental health problem (Gaumond & Whitter, 2009). My personal reaction is that these systems have been working well for some years, particularly in the case of charities such as Alcoholics Anonymous, which provides peer support for people seeking help for substance abuse problems. I think it can be useful to have someone to talk to that has experienced the same thing as the patient, rather than ...

Attitudes and Beliefs of Hypnosis amongst Mental Health Professionals and the Impact on the Availability of Hypnosis Training in Counseling Training Programs

Abstract

Nine out of ten general practitioners are approached by their patients for information regarding alternative and complementary therapies, including hypnotherapy, and three out of four GPs provide referalls for hypnotherapy (Hall & Giles-Corti, 2000). A minority of healthcare providers, however, has ever received formal education and training in hypnosis, and a majority relies on lay information from the media and other non-authoritative sources to form its opinions about the merits or demerits of hypnotherapy. Mental healthcare standards dictate ...

Introduction

Pennsylvania is a vulnerable population on the basis of substance abuse. Seven percent of Pennsylvania residents use illicit drugs and the rate of death as a result of drugs has been reported to be greater than the national average. Among other drugs, heroin is the most commonly drug that is abused by residents of Pennsylvania. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) discovers the data on illicit drugs, alcohol as well as tobacco use, and it reported that 6.5% of residents in Pennsylvania use illicit drugs, with 8.02% as a national average and 3.11% using illicit drugs ...

A homeless individual is a person without a regular, satisfactory, and fixed residence for spending a night. The primary residence of such a person is mostly supervised shelter for providing a temporary accommodation. These shelters include emergency shelters and transitional houses that only provide temporary housing. It is a major concern in the US despite being among the most developed countries in the World. Most of the cities in different states in the US are typically faced with the challenge of homelessness. California is among the states that have high levels of street families. Homeless persons usually experience many ...

Abstract:

Mental illnesses altogether place a significant burden of disorder on young people. They induce adequate negative outcomes short- and long-term in several domains. Many youths with mental illnesses such as Bipolar disorder and Schizophrenia fall into the clutches of the criminal justice system (CJS) due to their risky behavior. This leads to a problematic quality of life. The main objective of the paper is to highlight about the mental illnesses in youth and the criminal justice system. A web search was conducted and quality articles were retrieved. It was observed that mentally ill youth encounter trouble with regard to ...

The Washington County Mental Health Services is an agency that champions for the rights of people who are diagnosed with developmental disabilities, more so mental health. The agency champions for these people to be included in the communities. The agency also champions for these people to be given the liberty and right for self-determination as well as the opportunities to enable their recovery. The Washington County Mental Health Services has been in operation for over five decades, a period in which the agency has weathered many challenges included budgetary cuts and layoffs. The agency developed its strategic plan for ...

Health policy analysis

Introduction Unquestionably, health is an essential part of life without which human existence is under threat of extinction. According to McLaughlin & McLaughlin (2007), maintenance of mental wellness is fundamental to achieving mental sobriety among the members of the society. Unfortunately, the number of people with mental disorders is growing almost in every society (Walt et al., 2008). In America, adult population with mental illness is over 60 million, the majority of who are Africans Americans. The main barrier to access proper mental health care is the soaring costs and people’s perceptions of mental health (America’s Health, 2016). ...

Introduction

The number of mentally ill offenders in American jails continues to grow every year. The Bureau of Justice estimates that approximately 16% of incarcerated persons have been diagnosed with active symptoms of severe mental illness, and about 75% of these people have related drugs and alcohol use disorder ("Mental Health and Criminal Justice", 2000). The presence of mentally ill defendants in the criminal justice system has significant costs on the system and harm on these defendants. It is almost impossible to care for these prison populations; thus, the mental health courts system advocates for the removal of mentally ill ...

Annotated Bibliography

Co-Occurrence and Treatment 1. Annotated Bibliography 1. Ta, V. M., Juon, H. S., Gielen, A. C., Steinwachs, D., & Duggan, A. (2008). Disparities in use of mental health and substance abuse services by Asian and Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander women. The journal of behavioral health services & research, 35(1), 20-36. This study is very recent which is one of the reasons it was selected for inclusion of my annotated bibliography. The researchers aimed to examined comorbidity of mental illness and substance abuse both of which that require treatment. Therefore, this analysis will yield prevalence of comorbidity as well as the ...

The U.S. military has experienced aggressive deployments in recent years. These deployments, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, are usually associated with health, psychological and housing problems. For current purposes, focus remains on homelessness as one post-discharge problem a significant number of veterans experiences. The scope of homelessness is, if anything, unsettling from at least two perspectives. First, homelessness is not properly reported. Upon discharge, inactive service men and women are left out in a civil life completely different from a military one. Fearing negative impact on military career or special benefits gained after discharge, veterans do not report a ...

Orygen Youth Health (OYH) is a leading knowledge and research translation organization in the world that is based in Melbourne Australia. The organization is mostly focused on young people who are mentally ill. Historically, the organization was founded in 1988 as Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Center (EPPIC) at the Aubrey Lewis Unit of the Royal Park Hospital. At the time of its establishment, its main focus was on delivering assistance to young individuals being hospitalized as they experience their fast psychosis episodes. Among the aspirations that led to the dedication of a ward for the special purpose was ...

A majority of Australians suffer from various mental health conditions. Recent researches have shown than quite a number of citizens diagnosed with mental related problems stands at 50% as at 2015 (Perkovic 78). The government is therefore tasked to offer vital mental treatment to protect the productivity of its people and improve the quality of life. Introduction of mental health system reforms have been spearheaded as a means to allow more people to access timely treatment unlike the past where inpatient system dominated the treatment corrido. Government allocation on mental health care has tripled over the past decade. People ...

Abstract

The study has focused on the topic of substance abuse among African American teen residing in Mott Haven area of Bronx United States. The paper has started by giving an overview that entails defining the topic’s key terms. Also, the study has highlighted and discussed the statistics showing the frequency of drug and substance abuse among the African American youngsters. As the report has indicated, the teens fall under the age bracket of 12 to 17 years. The paper has explained the drugs abused most by the youngsters with alcohol taking the lead, followed by marijuana, inhalants as ...

Organization Analysis Part 2

Organization Analysis Part 2 The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) is a national nonprofit organization that has multiple programs to assist families from different backgrounds to improve in their lives. The organization is concerned with issues such as child adoption, child care, child support, child welfare, disabilities, food stamps and temporary assistances for poor families. The organization functions with many affiliates that include American Association of Welfare Attorney, American Association of Food Stamp Directors, among others. The study will carry out organization analysis to find out how the APHSA organization functions (APHSA, 2016). To fully incorporate the functioning ...

Introduction

Outreach programs led by a registered nurse are known to have a significant impact on the quality of care and health outcomes of patients (Toyce, et al. 2015). Nurses involved in post-discharge care such as home safety evaluation, medication compliance, and patient education have a positive impact on patient outcomes (Toyce, et al. 2015). Most patients do not follow instructions laid by the healthcare professional post-discharge which leads to non-compliance and readmission. This problem can be solved by a nurse-led outreach program that helps patients in various activities at home, thus improving health outcomes and reduced readmission rates. Nurses ...

[Institution Title]

Introduction to gender identity disorder

Mental health is the absence of the mental disorder or the level of the psychological wellbeing. Therefore, it is the ability of a person to create an equilibrium between life activities and to enjoy life. It includes the mental, emotional and social being and therefore, it affects how we feel, think and act as we cope with life. Mental fitness determines how we make choices, handle stress, and relate to others and handling stress. Mental disorders affect our thinking, behavior, and mood. Mental disorders are caused by a family history of mental illness, genes and the life ...

The agency I chose to visit for the purposes of this interview was the VA Long Beach Healthcare system, which is an integral part of the Department of Veteran Affairs. The system is currently considered the most diversified one in veteran affairs. It consists of the medical center and clinics, and it provides inpatient, outpatient and extended heath care programs. The clients of this system are veterans, and they receive such services as treatment of physical and mental illnesses and comorbid conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, military sexual trauma, schizophrenia and substance abuse. The ...

Why people abuse prescription medication

Introduction There are several prescription drugs that are abused mostly in the United States. These are opiods, narcotics, pain relievers, depressants and stimulants. People of all ages abuse prescription drugs. The highest rate of abuse however is found in teenagers and young people. In 2008, 1.9 Million teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 abused prescription drugs ( Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2009) The abuse of the drugs increases among the youth as they grow older being very high in the late teens. It begins to reduce past age twenty and declines in the next ...