Before getting to the fun of traversing mental health from a psychology-based whole-person approach, it is essential to discuss why it is beneficial to use a whole-person approach. How does a whole-person approach benefit individuals? How does it benefit greater society? Does it benefit marginalized communities? The first and second blog posts will address these questions. Once the foundation is laid, questioning and exploration can begin.
Psychology and Mental Health Exploring mental health concerns from a whole-person perspective goes hand-in-hand with the topic of psychology. The whole-person approach utilizes human psychology rather than a medical viewpoint to lay a foundation for understanding human behavior and mental health concerns. For instance, an exploration of the functional purpose of fear and anxiety demonstrates that the experience of fear and anxiety mediates threats by creating heightened attention to threat-related information (So et al., 2016). The information found by this psychological research could help explain the purpose of fear and anxiety, potentially changing individuals' beliefs about the experience of fear and anxiety. Just as psychology will impact the topic of whole-person mental health, the use of a public blog to provide information about mental health will impact readers' understanding and beliefs about psychology, psychological diagnoses, and well-being (Furnham et al., 2015). As such, this blog also has a responsibility to psychology. Therefore, psychology and psychological research will play a central role throughout this blog. How Theoretical Frameworks Shape this Blog The central premise behind this blog is that everything humans do, they do for a reason. For example, there is a reason this paper is being typed versus handwritten. Specifically, this author knows that the data needs to be created in an electronic format to post this information to a blog. The premise that every behavior occurs for a reason is part of what distinguishes a psychology-based framework from the medical model. The medical model infers that an atypical behavior occurs due to a medical illness (Elkins, 2009). A psychological approach seeks to investigate the thoughts, motivations, and experiences that lead to a behavior. To fully explore mental health from a psychological perspective requires using a variety of theoretical frameworks. For example, in his exploration of envy, Leahy (2021) explores envy from several theoretical frameworks, including cognitive-behavior therapy, emotional-schema therapy, and an evolutionary model. Suppose it takes several frameworks to explore the single emotion of envy. In that case, the exploration of topics included in this blog will no doubt require the use of a wide variety of theoretical frameworks. Even though many frameworks will be considered as topics are explored, one consistent framework that will be utilized in this blog is the theoretical framework of social change. Using a framework of social change means creating deliberately engaging actions that promote the improvement of individual and societal ills (Walden University, 2021). Social change will guide the maintenance of this blog. For example, to decrease the influence of big pharma over mental health, this blog will utilize a whole-person, psychological approach for exploring mental health. In addition, topics will be examined from various viewpoints so that diverse populations can benefit from the information provided. Outside authors that represent marginalized groups will also be sought so that the experiences of marginalized voices can be shared firsthand. The exploration of social change birthed this blog and will continue as a guiding theoretical framework. Psychology’s Role in Facilitating for Greater Society as Demonstrated Through a Whole-Person Approach to Mental Health The use of psychology in social change is not new. Nadal (2017) reviews the role of psychology in several social change movements, including ending segregation and the legalization of same-sex marriage. These instances demonstrate that psychology can provide information that directs changes that improve human outcomes. In that same vein, using a psychology-based, whole-person approach to mental health can contribute to a greater society. The contribution of this blog comes in its use of psychology to explore mental health rather than the use of a medical model. The need to move away from the medical model comes from the medical model’s reliance on medication to treat mental health concerns (Gamory et al., 2021). Although medication may decrease symptoms of mental health concerns, it does not consider the psychological and social factors that play a role in mental health concerns. Therefore, many people who use medication for treating mental health concerns experience persistence of their mental health concerns in addition to developing a dependence on medication. In addition, the medical model can lead to the creation of an “illness identity,” which is associated with decreased self-esteem, decreased hope, and impaired relationships (Yanos et al., 2020). In contrast, by educating people about the psychological factors that affect mental health, people can be empowered to make changes that promote mental well-being. References Elkins, D. N. (2009). The medical model in psychotherapy: Its limitations and failures. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 49(1), 66–84. Furnham, A., Lee, V., & Kolzeev, V. (2015). Mental health literacy and borderline personality disorder (BPD): What do the public “make” of those with BPD? Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 50(2), 317–324. Gomory, T., Dunleavy, D. J., & Lieber, A. S. (2021). The solving problems in everyday living model: Toward a demedicalized, education-based approach to “mental health". Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 61(1), 132–151. Leahy, R. L. (2021). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for envy. Cognitive Therapy & Research, 45(3):418-427. Nadal, K. L. (2017). “Let’s get in formation”: On becoming a psychologist–activist in the 21st century. American Psychologist, 72(9), 935–946. So, J., Kuang, K., & Cho, H. (2016). Reexamining fear appeal models from cognitive appraisal theory and functional emotion theory perspectives. Communication Monographs, 83(1), 120–144. Walden University (2021). Walden university student handbook. Retrieved on August 31, 2021 from https://catalog.waldenu.edu/content.php?catoid=182&navoid=66786 Yanos, P. T., DeLuca, J. S., Roe, D., & Lysaker, P. H. (2020). The impact of illness identity on recovery from severe mental illness: A review of the evidence. Psychiatry Research, 288.
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AuthorHello! I am Tina, a master's level licensed psychologist in the state of MN and a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student. If my pursuit of a Ph.D. does not give it away, I love to learn and I love psychology! As you engage this blog, I hope that you develop an appreciation, if not a love, for the great insights about mental health and human behavior that have been discovered through psychology. I also hope that you get inspired to see beyond the medical model of mental health. ArchivesCategories |