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| Is a mental health diagnosis necessary to avoid prison? Photo: Liam Quinn |
The British Psychological Society’s report ‘Understanding Psychosis and
Schizophrenia’ has challenged many commonly held beliefs about serious
mental health problems. While the report has been widely
welcomed, it has also prompted questions, particularly focusing on the
report’s key recommendation that we move beyond seeing distress as a symptom of
disease:
‘services should not insist that people accept any one
framework of understanding, for example the idea that their problems are
symptoms of an underlying illness’.
This issue has been addressed on this site
on a number
of occasions and it’s clearly one that arouses strong feelings. The
disease-model of modern psychiatry views emotional distress as the result of
illnesses or disorders. Treating such problems in this way, as healthcare issues,
is often seen
as essential for ensuring that people get the help they need, and vital in avoiding
inappropriate treatment. In particular, some
colleagues have suggested
that viewing people as ‘mentally ill’ prevents them being blamed for actions
for which they are not responsible. Rather than being seen as bad you can be
mad (or more accurately sick) and more likely to be treated rather than simply
punished. Removing this protection (the
argument continues) may even result in people being sent to prison
inappropriately. These are clearly serious concerns and deserve careful
consideration.
