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In today's society, the prevalence of mental health stigma serves as an issue that inaccurately and negatively labels individuals living with mental illness. Mental health stigma has many consequences, many of which hinder the treatment and care needed for individuals with an illness. In addition to preventing an individual from receiving proper treatment, stigma can cause social isolation, embarrassment, discrimination, and misconceptions of specitic illnesses. During my service learning hours at Behavior Educators, I began to understand the impact that stigma can have on an individual's life, as well as surrounding family members and friends.
For the duration of my last Visit to Behavior Educators, I worked with a mentor, Sue, and a young boy named Charles.
Charles is biologically five and a half years old, but his developmental level is nowhere near the level he should be functioning at. Some examples of Charles's behavior included sporadic bursts and dips of energy, inability to communicate effectively, and a fixation of putting a variety of objects in his mouth.
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Upon my arrival, the first thing Sue said to me was, "This is probably the most difficult child we will end up working with." While Sue was not necessarily stigmatizing Charles, I unintentionally began to think of the stereotypes surrounding children with behavioral disorders. Even without a negative label being attached harles, I can see how easy it is for others to have misconceptions and skewed interpretations of mental ilness. I was never given information regarding Charles" diagnosis, but Sue did inform me that he takes medication for his symptoms.
However, Charles is currently only taking one-third of his prescription due to lack of financial support from the foster family's insurance agency. In relation to Charles' behavioral problems and use of medication, I read an article that described the stigmas attached with the use of psychiatric mediation in children with mental illness (Pescosolido, Perry, Martin, McLeod, Jensen, 2007).
The article focused on two major aspects: stigma connected with receiving mental health care and willingness to use psychiatric medication (Pescosolido et al., 2007). In order to assess stigma in participants, the researchers administered a survey to a representative sample of the United States. The results of the study found that almost half of participants believed "receivingg mental health treatment would make a child an outsider at school and suffer as an adult" (Pescosolido et al., 2007). In addition, the results of Pescosolido et al's (2007) study showed participants believe that psychiatric medication in children: "affect development (68%), give children a flat, "zombie-like affect (53%), and delay solving "real" behavior-related problems (66%). Participants (68%) also expressed a belief that physicians overmedicate children with behavior disorders (Pescosolido et al., 2007). These results help explain the stigmatizing attitudes that exist concerning mental health treatment in children with behavioral disorders.
The study also illustrates a need for further education in the effects of psychiatric medication, which could help lessen the stigmas found. Pescosolido, et al.'s (2007) study relates to my observations with Charles at Behavior Educators in a variety of ways. First off, Sue mentioned that one of Charles" biggest struggles Is the development of his social skills because he is often "shunned" while at school and daycare. Like mentioned betore, I do not have much information regarding Charles' case, but the treatment of Charles at school could definitely be attributed to a stigma regarding his condition. Because Charles has been labeled as a child with extreme behavioral issues, I believe the likelihood of stigma following him throughout life is high, even if he improves his social skills and level of functioning. In relation to the findings of Pescosolido et al. 's study (2007), I believe the results expressing beliefs that "psychiatric medication in children affects development... and delay solving "real" behavior-related problems" is an issue.
In Charles' case, Sue explained to me that his ability to only receive one-third of his prescribed medication causes his behavioral symptoms to escalate, which in turn delays the success of his treatment. The delay in treatment caused by a lack of medication also can establish inaccurate stigmas to be developed, because others (who are unaware of his decreased medication allotment) may believe that psychiatric medication for his disorder does not work, or that individuals with his diagnosis show little chance for improvement. Additionally, mental health stigma may affect Charles' family and friends, because others may begin to shun or exclude them, as seen in the instance of Charles himself. I am anxious to observe other clients at Behavior Educators in order to improve my understanding of mental health stigma and the consequences it has.
Sue has informed me she works with a child with Downs Syndrome, Emmy, and I am interested in observing the differences in childhood behaviors between Charles and Emmy. My experiences so far at Behavior Educators have helped me better understand some traits that exist in childhood behavioral disorders (such as fluctuations in energy level, attention span, and the ability to follow directions) as well as the methods of treatment (reinforcement, punishment, medication, etc.). I look forward to observing a wider range of ages and behavior disorders, and hope that the future sessions are as successful and informative as my session with Charles.
A Discussion on the Consequences of the Mental Health Stigma. (2023, Apr 06). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/a-discussion-on-the-consequences-of-the-mental-health-stigma-essay
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