Rayvon Marcano

Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination

CAPE Internal Assessment
Communication Studies
Name: Rayvon Marcano
School: Northeastern College
Candidate No:
Centre No:160036
Year: 2018
Teacher: Mr. Sooknanan
Portfolio Theme: Mental Illness- A Serious Cause for Concern

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Table of Contents

Content Page Number

General Introduction 3

Preface 4

Reflection 5

Analysis 8

Conclusion 9

Bibliography 10

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General Introduction
This portfolio focuses on the topic “Mental Illness A Serious Cause for Concern”. This topic
was very intriguing to me given the fact that I have interacted with some persons who have a
mental illness but fail to accept the fact. They have a fear of being labelled as a ‘mad-man or
mad-woman’. My mother is a mental health nurse and she has informed my family and me about
a lot of situations where persons have numerous signs of mental issues and are still not accepting
of the fact that they can be treated. These stories have had a major impact on my life. The main
purpose of selecting this topic is to inform readers especially young persons that the first step to
recovery is acceptance and having a mental illness is not the end of the world.
Analysis and rationalization are important skills in assisting me as a Sociology and
Literature student. This research will help me in analyzing certain texts and scenarios pertaining
to my academic studies. In the future, I would like to become a psychiatrist. The information
gathered from this research will be in helping me understand how to analyze and treat mental
patients.
For my expository piece I will highlight behaviours that are associated with different mental
illnesses, the effects of these illnesses, as well as some suggestions for coping with these
illnesses. In the preface more information would be given on the reflective piece entitled “Mental
illness-Not a taboo.

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Preface
For my reflective piece I have chosen to write a short play entitled “Mental Illness- Not A
Taboo”. The story is centered around a young woman named Carlene Diaz. She is displaying
behaviours that are not deemed as normal. During a meeting with the mental health team her
mother Mrs. Diaz fails to accept the fact that her daughter is mentally ill and needs help. Due to
Mrs. Diaz insubordination it later leads to the demise of her daughter Carlene.
The purpose of the play is to portray the idea that acceptance is very important in treating a
mental illness. The play is meant to help the readers gain knowledge and have a better
understanding about the research topic. It is also an efficient way of communicating the
seriousness of a mental illness and helps to facilitate critical thinking in the reader. After reading
they can inform other persons that there are ways you can be treated and live as close to a normal
life as possible.
The target audience is young persons ranging from ages 16-25. This target audience was chosen
because they tend to be the ones fearful of having a mental illness because they think their peers
will look down at them and think they are less of a human being. They would also see that being
accepting will help them out in the long run.

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Reflection: Mental Illness – Not A Taboo

SCENE 1
Carlene Diaz, a 23-year-old female working as a clinical assistant in the Ministry of Social
Services from the Heights of Aripo, Blanchisseuse was admitted to Motown Psychiatric Institute
for displaying bizarre behavior at home and at her workplace. Mrs. Diaz, her mother and next of
kin were called into a ward conference with the Mental Health Team. The mental health team is
comprised of The Consultant(SMO) Senior Medical Officer, The House Officer, Mental Health
Officers x2(MHO), the Psychiatric Social Worker(PSW), and the nurse. Carlene (the client) was
also present.
The following dialogue shows how the meeting went.
SMO: Pleasant good morning, Mrs. Diaz. We are happy you are able to meet us today to discuss
the welfare of your daughter, Carlene
Mrs. Diaz: Thank you for having me
House Officer: Mrs. Diaz can you describe to us what Carlene has been doing to be deemed
“bizarre”
Mrs. Diaz: Well doc, Carlene doh sleep all night. She does be busy like a lagahoo all nite doing
nutting, and when she talking she always vex, vex. Also, she talking more than one thing at a
time and it nuh even makin sense
MHO 1: (blinking her eyes) That’s strange.
House Officer: Anything else Mrs. Diaz?
Mrs. Diaz: Yes, doc, she keeps putting garbage in her room. When she goes to work I sneak into
her room and remove the garbage. When she gets home and see the garbage is gone she say is
the government doing that and she slams or bangs anything she gets her hands on.
MHO 2:(shakes her head) Oh my! And how does that make you feel Mrs. Diaz?
Mrs. Diaz:(whispers) I feel confused because I doh know wah going on. Wah wrong with meh
chile, tell meh nah?
SMO: Well Carlene what do you have to say? Are these things true?
Carlene:(speaks in a Spanish accent) No habla Ingles
SMO:(a puzzled expression on his face.) Pardon me, can you repeat that?
Carlene:(screaming) Why you asking me meh business? She lying on me.
SMO: Who’s lying Carlene? Please tell me
Carlene: Who’s that woman and why is she here because I don’t know her.
(fidgets as if she was experiencing some discomfort.)

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SMO: Please take Ms. Diaz(Carlene) to her room nurse. Thank you
Nurse: Sure, doctor
The nurse removes Carlene from the conference room as quickly as possible.
SMO: Mrs. Diaz it appears your daughter is displaying behavior of Schizophrenia
Mrs. Diaz:(speaking in a muffled voice) Who? What? Chizo?
SMO: Not Chizo but Schizophrenia. This is defined by a series of altered or inconsistent
elements. To put it simpler, Carlene is displaying behavior that she would not normally do. For
example piling garbage in her room, not sleeping and talking things you don’t quite understand.
Mrs. Diaz: (Shakes her head) Doc you saying meh daughter mad. Hmm my Lord I cyah deal
with that! Doc I feel yuh wrong. That is just a phase. She go be normal in a while.
PSW: Mrs. Diaz, we know this may be difficult to understand but with time and education you
will come to understand the condition and be able to manage her.
Mrs. Diaz (with tearful eyes) “With all due respect nutting wrong with meh chile. Thank you for
your help but nutting wrong with meh daughter.”
Mrs. Diaz gets up and is about to leave the room. Sucking her teeth she exclaims “I taking meh
chile with meh now!”
Both the Mental Health Officer and the Psychiatric Social Worker try to stop her but the frown
and disgust on her face warns them not to do so.
SCENE2
It is two months after Carlene and her mother, Mrs. Diaz had the meeting with the mental health
team. Mrs. Diaz has now come to the realization that her daughter really needs help since she
was suspended from work for her indecent behavior. The following is the dialogue between
Carlene and her mother.
Mrs. Diaz looks at Carlene shaking her head whilst tears fall from her eyes.
Carlene: Mom I think I really have a problem and need to truly seek help.
Mrs. Diaz: My baby I really think so too that’s not normal to behave like yuh did. I think we
should really listen to dem people.
Carlene: I agree. Can we go to the clinic tomorrow to see what my options are?
Mrs. Diaz: Sure meh chile. We will go there first ting in the morning.
At the clinic Mrs. Diaz and Carlene speaks to the mental health team again however this time
they listen to the advice that is given. They decide that it is best for Carlene to be admitted for
treatment of her mental illness in the clinic. Carlene is admitted that same day. Mrs. Diaz visits
Carlene twice a week and after about three weeks she can see the changes in her daughter’s
behavior. Carlene is evidently more focused and has regain interest in her old hobbies like doing

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makeup, playing board games and dancing. These changes makes Mrs. Diaz very ecstatic. As the
time passes even the mental health team has seen progression in Carlene’s behavior and tells
Mrs. Diaz that Carlene is free to be discharged from the clinic. Upon leaving the clinic the Senior
Medical Officer (SMO) informs Mrs. Diaz that even though Carlene’s condition is life long with
her medications and clinic the condition is manageable and Carlene will be able to live a normal
life. Mrs. Diaz and Carlene thanks the mental health team and leaves the clinic hand in hand with
one another.

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Analysis
In my reflective piece, the discussion among characters from different social status deal with
different registers, dialectal variations and communicative behaviours. The dialectal variations
include Standard English, Trinidadian Creole and even a bit of Spanish.
Dialectal variation refers to changes in language due to various influences. Throughout the
reflective piece Mrs.Diaz uses [Mesolect]. For example “ She does be busy like a lagahoo all nite
doing nutting, and when she talkin she always vex, vex. The mother’s way of speaking is
influenced by the environment she was from and persons who she interacted with. Mrs.Diaz
shows her strong disagreement with the mental health team’s assessment of her daughter through
body language. She does this by “shakes her head”, “sucks her teeth” and “frown and disgust on
her face”.
Carlene speaks Spanish, Standard English and Trinidadian Creole at different times in the short
play. For example, “No habla ingles”, “Why yuh asking me meh business? and “Who’s that
woman and why is she here because I don’t know her.”
However when the mental health team addressed Carlene and Mrs.Diaz they always maintained
professionalism and spoke Standard English. For example when Mrs. Diaz didn’t understand
what Schizophrenia meant. The Senior Medical Officer (SMO) replied with “Not Chizo but
Schizophrenia. This is defined by a series of altered or inconsistent elements. To put it simpler,
Carlene is displaying behavior that she would not normally do.
Communicative behaviours were used like “She fidgets as if she was experiencing some
discomfort”, she also screams when talking. This behaviour shows that Carlene may not be
telling the truth. In terms of Mrs. Diaz she usually shakes her head or cries when faced with the
fact that her daughter may have a mental disorder. This shows her unwillingness to accept her
daughter’s reality.
In conclusion, dialectal variation was mainly used within the short play. This language variation
was due to the fact that the characters in the play came from different backgrounds and therefore
their experiences were different.

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Conclusion
In conclusion mental disorders or illnesses are not the end of the world. Once the illness is
treated properly the person can live a normal life as shown in the reflective piece. When Carlene
and Mrs. Diaz accepted the fact that Carlene had a mental disorder they were able to treat it
which resulted in Carlene living a better life. The reflective piece aided in bringing about the
purpose of the Internal Assessment which was to inform readers especially young persons that
the first step to recovery is acceptance and having a mental illness is not the end of your life.

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Bibliography
 Amador, X.F (2007). I Am Not Sick I Don't Need Help! Vida Press Retrieved from
[http.// googlebooks.com]

 Richardson Dhalai(2017,8719 Saturday 5th August) Increase In Mental Illness/ News

Writing, / Trinidad and Tobago Newsday/ Page 4/ Retrieved from google/ 09th March
2018/ [http://archives.newsday.co.tt/2017/08/05/increase-in-mental-illness/]

 The World Health Organization. Mental disorders. Retrieved March,8th,2018, from

[http://www.who.int/mental_health/management/en/]

 The World Health Organization. Mental health: strengthening our response. Retrieved
March, 8th, 2018, from [http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs220/en/]
 Walsh, R (2011) Advantages of Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes, and Nutrition and Diet.
Lifestyle and Mental Health, 580,581,582.
[https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-66-7-579.pdf]

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