Acknowledgements The content acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions) and is used under licence. Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit: The material acknowledged below contains Proprietary content which is used under licence (not subject to <
1 The Chinese Welfare Association's Carer Support Project, Belfast This audio unit features a project that was set up in Northern Ireland specifically to support Chinese carers. It is one of several projects being run by the Chinese Welfare Association in Belfast at that time. The Chinese Welfare Association is a voluntary orga 1.3 Models of understanding in mental health Because mental health is such a complex area, it is important that the models of understanding which are applied to it are broader than the ‘biomedical’ one alone, which focuses simply on professional activity and on diagnoses and treatment. The box below provides a quick summary of the biomedical model. 1.1 The biological effects of ethanol This section investigates some of the harmful effects that a high level of blood-ethanol can have on the body: both short-term problems such as ‘hangover’, and long-term health problems that are associated with regular heavy drinking. Whilst this section is primarily about the biological effects that ethanol has on various organs of the body, it is important to remember that the socioeconomic effects of heavy drinking are also very serious (Paton, 2005). 4.5 Vulnerability and rights One of the assumptions that is made in order to justify social workers making such life-changing judgements is that some people are vulnerable and therefore need decisions made on their behalf. This assumption is not held by everyone and is often challenged by groups and individuals representing service users and by service users themselves. Learning outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to: begin to recognise how elite sport is funded in the UK. 3.5 Benzodiazepine tranquillisers, Prozac and the SSRIs One of the most significant ranges of drugs ever produced is the benzodiazepine tranquillisers (usually classed as ‘minor tranquillisers’ or ‘hypnotics’), often prescribed as a remedy for ‘minor’ disorders such as depression, sleeplessness and anxiety. In effect, they extended the range of conditions that could be treated by medication. The best-known example is probably Valium. 1.2.2 Boundaries of difference One of the things that language does is define and give a name to differences between people – to delineate the boundaries that separate them. In the mental health field, the ‘mad’ are at one end of the social divide that separates the ‘normal’ from the ‘abnormal’. They are ‘the other’, a point made in the article by Perkins (above): ‘To be mad is to be defined as “other”’. This is a recurring theme in the mental health field. In the following passage Abina Par Introduction This unit takes you on a journey of discovery where you are invited to challenge ideas, both new and old, in relation to mental health. It is made up of a series of three extracts. The first extract, ‘Boundaries of explanation’, sets out the theme of boundaries: boundaries within and between groups; within and between explanatory frameworks; and within and between experiences of mental health and distress. The second extract, ‘Whose risk is it anyway?’, considers a critical account of 3.4.3 Respecting autonomy is the foremost ethical principle in health care Some commentators believe the pendulum has swung so far in favour of respecting autonomy that it leaves little scope for users to be passive recipients of healing. The desire to make each user an active participant in their own healing process can make it hard, or even impossible, for a user to refuse to engage in active decision making, and leave the decision to the benevolent practitioner. In this case, the user may waive his or her rights, by choosing not to be kept informed about changes 2.6 The failure of CAM therapeutic relationships Although therapeutic relationships have the capacity to heal, they can also harm. In reality, the outcome of most therapeutic encounters and relationships lies somewhere on a continuum between good and harm. Few therapeutic relationships are a complete success but, judging by the number of complaints, even fewer are a complete disaster. Studies of therapeutic encounters invariably show high levels of patient satisfaction (see, for example, Sharma, 1992; Kelner et al., 2000). None the less, it 1.2 What is health? What do the words ‘health’ and ‘healthy’ mean or imply? Superficially this seems a fairly straightforward question: for example, you may recognise that a house plant does not look too healthy. Does this mean it is diseased or is going to die, or that it requires some attention? When applied to humans the term ‘healthy’ is often associated with a variety of other, more elaborate concepts. For example, it may mean that a person looks ‘well’, as a result of being fit (doing Introduction The stresses of modern living take their toll in terms of our health. This unit is formed from three extracts. The first extract is called ‘Understanding why people use complementary and alternative medicine'. This part discusses: the meaning of health, its origins in terms of components and beliefs. Also models of health care delivery are discussed together with concepts and beliefs about complementary and alternative medicine. Extract two 'Critical issues in the therapeutic relationship' Acknowledgements The content acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions). This content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit: 1.6.6 Professional bodies and societies Consider joining a learned society or professional organisation. They can be very useful for conference bulletins as well as in-house publications, often included in the subscription. Don't forget to ask about student rates. Try looking for the websites of learned societies associated with your subject area (e.g. The Royal Society , the Institute of Electrica 1.6.4 Blogs The founder ofTechnorati claims that the number of ‘blogs’doubles every five months and that the creation rate is approaching two per second. One estimate I read in July 2010 put the number at 400 million ‘blogs’. Because these online diaries offer instant publishing opportunities, you potentially have access to a wealth of knowledge from commentators and experts (if they blog) in a wi Learning outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to answer the following questions: What can very young babies do? How can adults and older children involve babies fully in everyday life and help them feel valued? References 5.3 Teaching and learning Vygotsky proposed that through contact with other, more able people children appropriate new ways of thinking and doing. Indeed Vygotsky saw learning as best supported when there is a degree of inequality in skills and understanding between two people. People of different abilities working together can create what Vygotsky termed a zone of proximal development (ZPD) – the difference between what a child can do unaided, and what the same child can do with the help of more able others. 5.2 Thought and language For Piaget the development of thought and language was dependent on underlying ‘intelligence’. Language is therefore simply a reflection of mental ability: intelligence precedes language and is independent of it. Vygotsky (1986) however, proposed that language has two functions: inner speech, used for mental reasoning, and external speech, used for communication with other people. He suggested that these two functions arise separately. That is, before the age of about 2 years, child
The Chinese Welfare Association
The biomedical model
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