Month: October 2019

In this article, the author calls studies “bunk.” He is arguing that most studies that  are shown today are not reliable. He notes in the article that “studies show whatever someone wants them to.” He also uses Malcolm Goodwell and his book “Outlier” as an example .Gladwell argues how everyone is born the same and no one is born better than anyone else.

 

I feel for the paradigm shift it is important to stay away from bunked research. Is it really representing the whole population? Also some studies are biased or use specific people for studies so it is very easy to get a bunked study. It is also very concerning that most of the experimenters were unable to repeat their own experiment, or even someone else’s experiment. Once again, there are a lot of studies out there, but this shows that very few are reliable and can be repeated. For research for a paradigm shift, the research that you are presenting, especially to show the shift, has to be very reliable and valid.

Mental health can be considered as a paradigm shift. A paradigm shift as defined in the dictionary as “a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions.” In the 1800s, mental illness was seen as punishment. If you were mentally ill, you were in need of religion or possessed. There was a negative connotation to mental illness, as people that were mentally ill were institutionalized. There was great stigmatization when it came to mental health. They were neglected and so was the subject. Mental health was really thought of as a “private matter” between families and was not really discussed in the public.

 

When deinstitutionalization occurred, the idea of mental health came more out to the public. People were less isolated and more exposed. This was mainly because of the harsh conditions they were living in, and it was also cheaper. There is also a big shift when Kennedy signs into law the Community Mental Health act. This act helped change the delivery of mental health services and led to mental health care facilities being built throughout the country. This forced people to talk about the subject instead of avoiding it.

 

Is there starting to be another shift in mental health? In today’s society, the topic of mental health is growing rapidly. It has evolved even more since then, and is also very controversial with the recent events that have been going on around the United States. Almost every time there is a mass shooting or school shooting, most people claim the shooter has mental health issues. Many can  argue that the idea of mental health and mental illnesses today is a common excuse when hate crimes occur.