When it comes to illness, medicine cannot be the only treatment. It is said whenever someone recently had an evasive surgery that “They will need emotional support”. I know someone who recently suffered a a stroke from a car accident and improper dosage of medication. This is an middle aged individual who previously lived a very independent and “supposedly” healthy lifestyle. He had health concerns such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia, but was not given proper dosage (according to the medical professions within the family) which could have heightened the illness instead of decrease and lower them.
In fear that the person might become depressed, the doctors prescribed antidepressants. The issue with that is it is affecting his energy more than it would had he not. This is an individual with seven siblings and a lot of family. This is an individual who grew up in an environment where depression was not something you treat but something you just get over. How do you explain to an individual, that all of a sudden they have to be put on medication for something they do not believe they have.
This is a situation where the biomedical approach would not completely be of use. Medicine does not cure all and in fact this individual might not have been depressed. A situation like this might lead an individual to feel depressed, having the freedom and ability to live an independent lifestyle suddenly taken away from you and the inability to properly communicate with family members. While I do not doubt the intent behind the dosage, I would question if it was the right option for this individual.
The biomedical approach solely focuses on the biological impacts of health, while the newer, more inclusive approach, biopsychosocial focuses on the psychological and social influences that affect the development of an individual. Social influences such as the adoption of good habits as well as understanding how a situation like this might be affecting an individual’s mental are important in aiding the person (Gruman, Schneider, Coutts, 2016). The biopsychosocial model is the best approach for this due to the fact that social factors such as the influence of family and friends seem to be the more promising of helpful effects. Family is making sure to: keep him occupied, moving, as well as trying to find ways to aid in the healing process (try to make sure he can fully verbalize).
Reference:
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology : Understanding and addressing social and practical problems.
I agree with you that the biopsychosocial model is the best approach because it covers both the medical and the emotional aspects in the healing process.
Since one cause of depression is caused by the imbalance between cognitive functions and emotional interactions then it’s safe to say that an approach to dealing with depression is using the biopsychosocial model.(Garcia-Toro, 2007)
Garcia-Toro, M. (2007). Biopsychosocial model in Depression revisited. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17140747/