Research Paper on Mental Health Facilities

Introduction

Mental health facilities are institutions whose main aim is to provide mental care for people with mental disorders. These facilities can be private or public institutions as long as they are operating under the rules and regulations set out by medical boards in different regions. Different types of mental disorders qualify one to be admitted to any of these institutions, and they include; clinical depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia among other mental disorders. Most of the time people suffering from these disorders refuse to be admitted in mental health facilities, or other people plan to escape from these places. Hence there is a particular way in which the mental health facilities are supposed to be run, operated and maintained to ensure that their patients feel comfortable and are not thinking about escape but instead are focusing on getting better. The following essay, therefore, seeks to explain more about this mental health facilities and demonstrate some of the pros and cons of these facilities.

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History of Mental Health Facilities

Hospitals referred to as bimaristans were constructed throughout Arab countries for housing people who showed mental disturbance and other psychological distresses. These wards were enclosed with iron bars because most of the times the patients admitted there showed a lot of aggression. Western Europe years later also adopted this culture and built several mental health institutions. They, however, recognised that these mental disorders were sensitive and that the patients required to be treated with a lot of compassion and not just being locked up like wild animals. Instead, they treated these institutions as rehabilitation centres where people with mental disorders could get help and become better after undergoing treatment.

Britain became the first country to construct public mental asylums, and this was made possible by passing the County Asylums Act 1808 which allowed the magistrates in Britain to construct asylums in every county. Later on, in 1845, the Lunacy Act made it compulsory for every country to construct asylums. However, these asylums were governed and regulated with certain rules, like constant inspection and every institution was required to have a resident physician. This in return led to a surge increase in the number of people that were being admitted into these institutions in the 19th century. The numbers kept on increasing as years went by until the 20th century where the management and running of these institutions took a different turn. There was a total reformation of these institutions, with the introduction of effective evidence-based treatment plans and more focus on helping the patients to get better and go back to the outside world to lead normal lives. Modern mental health facilities provide state of the art treatment plans and care for patients with mental disorders, and these patients are treated just like any other sick person. This shows the improvement that these facilities have undergone over time.

Admission Process

The mental health act is the main governing criteria of how people showing signs of mental disorders are admitted into mental health facilities. This act serves as a binding contract for patients who have been admitted to these institutions as they cannot leave the premises until they have completed a treatment plan successfully depending on the type of mental disorder. In most cases, people are admitted into these institutions either willingly or non-willingly, and there is a particular procedure for both of these instances.

There are two general terms that are used about the type of admission in mental health facilities. There is voluntary admission whereby the person being admitted willingly acknowledges that they have a mental disorder and a qualified medical officer is satisfied that the patient is likely to benefit from the treatment offered at the institution. The next type of admission is referred to as involuntary admission, whereby the patient is admitted by the mental health act. This means that clinically the person being admitted has a serious mental disorder, and they either fail to recognise, or they neglect that they need help. The first step of this second admission process is a thorough examination of the patient by qualified medical officers to affirm that they indeed are suffering from mental disorders. Secondly, if the medical officer finds it fit that the patient is indeed sick, they are taken into the mental facility most of the times against their will.

Types of Mental Health Facilities

There are different types of mental institutions that have been developed over the years. All these facilities offer services offer help to people who are suffering from various mental disorders. The first type of mental health facility is a crisis stabilisation unit which specialises with emergency cases of mental disorders and people who are violent, suicidal and all the critical patients. Secondly, there are the open units which are not as guarded as the crisis stabilisation units and the patients are allowed a certain degree of freedom and lead almost normal lives in this units. However, the administration of medicine is still done by the doctors and nurses in charge.

Thirdly there are the medium-term units, that are used as observation centres for the patients. Most of the times the medication given to these patients take some time before they take effect and the main purpose of these units is to monitor the progress the patients are making when they are on medication. Fourthly there are juvenile ward units that are set aside for children and also adolescents which specify in handling young children and adults who suffer from mental disorders.

Furthermore, there are long-term care facilities that are used to house patients for a long period. These facilities are mostly located near functioning hospitals or in the same building as hospitals. In as much as they are long-term facilities, they are also aimed at providing ample care and medication to patients so that at least the patients do not spend more than five years in those institutions. These facilities also provide rehabilitation for outpatients who are suffering from mental disorders like depression and eating disorders.

There are also halfway houses that provide assisted living for patients with mental disorders, and their main purpose is to help the patients transition back into society and learn how to live with their conditions and also how to handle it. Lastly, there are secure units that are used to house patients who committed crimes but were found to be mentally unstable when they were doing the crime by a qualified doctor. These patients are taken to these units instead of being admitted to maximum prisons, and extra care is taken when handling them. The main aim of this units is to rehabilitate the patient and also to serve as a sentence for the crimes they have committed while undergoing treatment.

Treatments Offered at Mental Health Facilities

There are various treatments that people diagnosed with mental illness undergo to help them to recover and cope with their mental conditions. There is no specific type of treatment that has been said to work on a particular type of disorder, but instead, the treatments vary from one patient to the next. Most of the times the most effective way of ensuring that mental treatment is working is by combining several treatment plans and observing which treatment works best for each patient.

First of all, there is the use of psychotherapy treatment which is aimed at exploring the thoughts, behaviours and also feelings of a patient in a quest to improve their well-being. Often psychotherapy is paired with medication to produce the best results. There are various approaches used in psychotherapy, and they include; dialectical behaviour therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and finally exposure therapy (Thornicroft, Tansella, 2004).

Secondly, there is the direct use of medication. Medication, however, does not directly cure one's mental disorder, but it is mostly adapted to help contain some of the symptoms that manifest themselves in patients with mental illness like violence and aggression. Thirdly there is the use of case management which normally links the patient with a case manager who is specialised with that particular of disorder and who helps in planning, assessing and also implementing several strategies that are useful in the process of facilitating recovery.

Fourthly there is hospitalisation which is used as a monitoring treatment plan. The patient is kept under 24-hour surveillance, and the doctors observe how they respond to different types of medication and also therapy. In addition to that, there is the use of support groups where the group members openly share their experiences and, in the process, help each other towards recovery. This method is effective because the patient felt at home and understood because other people are going through what they are going through and they feel more motivated to get better together.

Then finally there is the use of complementary and alternative medicine, self-help plans and also peer support groups which are very effective treatment plans for patients with mental illness. As stated earlier the patients will respond to different treatment plans differently hence it is always advisable to test and see which treatment plan works best for the patient. The mental health facilities incorporate all these treatment plans because they are aimed at ensuring that the patient gets better and they get to get back to their normal daily lives. However, in the old mental health facilities some crude and inhumane methods used to be used to treat these patients, it was almost like torture than self-care, and that's why the modern health facilities have adopted new and caring methods of treatments.

Advantages of Mental Health Facilities

Various advantages are associated with mental health facilities, and they include. First of all, they are used for monitoring and containing patients who show signs of suicide or who show signs of hurting themselves in one way or another. The facilities keep such patients under maximum surveillance, and they ensure that anything that can be used to harm themselves is out of their reach. Secondly, the facilities help to contain the patients who may be harmful to other people. Some patients often exhibit signs of violence and also aggression and this aggression and violence is what drives them to harm the people who are close to them including their loved ones. So many deaths have been attributed to people who were mentally unstable, and these facilities help to keep both the patients safe and even the potential victims.

Thirdly the facilities ensure that the patient goes through with their treatment plan and that they do not deviate from it. Some of the mentally unstable patients could avoid taking their medication or follow their treatment plans if they are left to stay at home. Hence the facilities are used to ensure that the patient is sticking to their medicine and also their treatment plan. Fourthly it is easier to give medication to someone who is at the facility than someone who stays at home because they conform to different routines. Therefore, it is advisable that the patient stays within the facility so that they can receive treatment more effectively.

In addition to that, some patients are in constant need of some services like special diet plans and also special programs. These facilities provide the best shelter for this as the patient can find a comfortable place to stay that is in the vicinity of all the special services that they require regularly. Some patients also need extra attention all the time and hence being at a mental facility helps these patients....