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‘Medical practices of diagnosis have always been at the root of the problems faced by the

users of psychiatric services.’

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Introduction

Mental illness is as important as physical illness. Many people do not consider mental

illness important; anxiety, depression, hopelessness, tension, and several other minor mental

states take people towards severe mental illness. The lack of seriousness towards mental illness

is not only analyzed within the public but medical practices of diagnosis have also been

considered as the root of the problems that bring more challenges for patients to get psychiatric

services. Though mental illness is a complicated process, several misunderstood phenomena

have developed. The general public also misunderstands mental illness and declares people as

mad people who cannot live within society. A separate place should be allocated for them.

There is an immense history of mental illness where keeping and locking people with

mental illness. However, isolation creates several other problems and makes their condition

worst. Several studies have analyzed that the lack of medical practices for diagnosing mental

illness leads the general public toward this misunderstanding. The treatment of mentally ill

patients has changed over time, and several variations have been made to diagnose mental

illness. Then treatments have been discovered to treat people without isolating them from

society. Where medical practices of diagnosing mental illness become the root of the problems

for users to take psychiatry services, it has also been analyzed that giving proper knowledge has

made it easier to diagnose mental illness and discover psychiatry services for many people and
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treat their conditions with psychiatry services (Cooper, 2017). Mental illness and psychiatry are

separate ways of treating mentally ill patients. The way medication is necessary for the human

body, psychiatry services are also important for a mental condition. Medical practice for

diagnosing mental issues are the root of increasing mental instability and also makes it difficult

for the users to take psychiatric services.

Main body

There is an immense history of mental illness, which was even discovered among the

people of the Stone Age. The term psychiatry has been traced back to the nineteenth century

when the discovery of psychological treatment became important. Asylums were an example of

psychiatry treatment and development. The early asylums showed that the wrong medical

practices contributed as a root cause of mental illness and made it hard for people to get better

psychiatry services. They were run by businessmen who wanted to make money. The asylums

were in such a bad condition and had such bad medical practices that even a normal person after

spending somedays there would develop mental illness. Those who were disabled, old, or

generally had some psychological issues were sent to the asylums and often treated so brutally,

being locked up and extended the period of living that made the patient more mentally sick

(Grimsley-Smith, 2011).

Many histornians assessed these wrong medical diagnoses of mental illness, and

different social and political rallies stopped the worst treatment of mental illness. They also
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realized the difference between mental treatment and counseling. Later many psychiatrists raised

the issue that every mentally ill person could not be diagnosed as mad and then sent to mental

hospitals or asylums. Mental illness varies among people, similarly, physical illness varies

among people. Many patients joined psychiatrists and agreed to bring change in the diagnosing

and treatment of mental illness (Lambert and Miller, 2001). An anti-psychiatric movement was

publicly made and brought awareness about the difference between patients, their treatment, and

psychiatry practices. Equally, the question of diagnosing was raised during this movement. It

was the beginning of bringing betterment within psychiatry. Another important service user

movement was started to devise people who were shouted out for their rights and other people's

rights. Local and national organizations and groups joined the movement to improve the

treatment of locking down patients all the time (Sude and Gambrel, 2016).

However, other than a social and political change in psychology, a huge change was

also analyzed in the 1800s by many psychologists. Sigmund Freud was one of the early

psychologists who changed psychological treatment. Treatment of hypnotism was first practiced

by him when he discovered conversation or talking therapy with the patient and was concerned

about the unconscious thoughts of these patients to explore the root cause of their mental illness.

He discovered that many hysterical patients' mental state is due to their memories of sexual

abuse in their childhood. Consequentially, different other therapies were discovered over the

years through different experiments. For instance, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy was developed
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in the 1960s. However, this theory dismissed Freud's unconscious therapy. CBT has considered

one of the primary and most authentic ways of treating people through talking therapy (Cosio

and Ariel-Donges, 2020). It consists of evidence and trials and changes the entire approach

through different techniques. Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis developed this theory, and they

understood that depression and anxiety come through an error in the thought processing of a

person and can be resolved with one-to-one talking therapy or group therapy. Carl Rogers also

contributed to psychotherapies. He discovered self-actualization by diagnosing people's mental

states (Lambert and Miller, 2001).

Several treatment methods were also discovered by analyzing the lack of psychological

diagnosis. For instance, William Stephenson discovered the 50s called the Q-technique. This

method required patients to develop and measure a set of statements regarding their personality

and characteristics. This technique aims to help individuals to diagnose their problems. It has

been analyzed that after using this technique, many patients have changed their approach and

analyze their future the way they want to. This means medical practices lead to the wrong

diagnosis of mental illness. They were the major root cause of increasing the mental illness state

of a patient. This was a major revelation because many patients suffered serious issues only

because of wrong medial practices. After realizing this fact, changes made in the diagnosing

have proved that if they were the root cause, then the right diagnosing of patients' mental state

also helps them to come out of that phase. Once, mental illness was considered taboo due to
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misdiagnosing, and it even made it difficult for medical professionals to discuss and address this

issue with the common public (Bertolote, 2008).

However, the way psychologists took the initiative and realized government to develop

this area of health changed the approach of people. Inaccurate diagnosing leads patients towards

inappropriate treatment. It is important to analyze that the things that work for one person do not

work for everyone. The way physical activities, features, skin, appearance, etc are different for

every person. Similarly, the mental state is different for everyone. The lack of scientific,

evidence-based, and experimental knowledge also greatly contributes to issues in getting

psychiatry services. Though psychiatric diagnosing is not the foundation of any scientific

evidence, it is based on the subjective opinions of psychological experts. The lack of reliability

and validity also contributes to the psychiatric diagnosis problem. The discovery of several

psychological treatments and diagnosing patterns have suggested that diagnosing was a major

problem in treating mentally ill patients. Now right diagnosis has proved that it has also

contributed to developing and treating the mental state in a more organized manner (Allsopp,

2017).

Now psychiatric diagnosing involves complex decision-making and has become a

dominating way that refers to the mental health crisis. The modern definition of mental disorder

has changed psychiatric diagnosing. It has created a scope and shed the social taboos of mental
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illness. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) is an example of improved diagnosing

techniques used to assess hundreds of mental disorders (Cooper, 2017). It helps in classifying

human experience and behaviors. This diagnosing technique has highlighted that people with

several mental illnesses have bipolar disorders and a higher level of functioning and produced

better working results. People with chronic depression make less effort and cannot contribute to

their quality of life. The right diagnosis has helped people to understand that mentally ill patients

have all the right to live in society. Ethical considerations say isolating them is not a good

approach (Spandler, 2014).

Conclusion

It has concluded that medical practices contributed to the wrong diagnosis, leading many

normal people with minimal mental disorders to severe mental illness. The reason was the

history of misdiagnosing and social factors that restrict people from talking about mental illness.

Later, several psychologists and psychiatrists, along with the social workers, break this ice and

start talking about mental disorders and the importance of realizing that mentally ill people are

not mad. They have the right to live within society, and the right diagnosis and treatment would

change their lives. Right diagnosis can majorly impact anyone’s life as they would come out of

their mental disorders and cope with their problems with the help of good psychiatrists. These

diagnoses have also proved that psychiatry services contribute and give proper results when
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accurately executed. This can be done with the help of awareness among society and improving

diagnosing factors. This means that when medical practices were improved, they brought a

change into the diagnosing and treatment and provided a proper way for patients to get better

treatment. The execution of psychiatry services has also improved over time and contributed to

psychology. This makes it easier for people to talk about psychological problems and take

treatment.
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References

Allsopp, K.J. 2017. The Functions of Psychiatric Diagnosis. Springer.

Bertolote, J. 2008. The roots of the concept of mental health. World Psychiatry, [online] 7(2),

pp.113–116. doi:10.1002/j.2051-5545.2008.tb00172.x.

Cooper, R. 2017. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Knowledge

Organization, 44(8), pp.668–676. doi:10.5771/0943-7444-2017-8-668.

Cosio, D. and Ariel-Donges, A. 2020. Does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy increase acceptance

of chronic pain amongst veterans? Journal of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, 21(5).

doi:10.1016/j.jbct.2020.04.002.

Grimsley-Smith, M. 2011. Revisiting a ‘Demographic Freak’: Irish Asylums and Hidden

Hunger. Social History of Medicine, 25(2), pp.307–323. doi:10.1093/shm/hkr140.

Lambert, M.J. and Miller, M.J. 2001. Helping Prospective Patients Avoid Harmful

Psychotherapies. Contemporary Psychology, 46(4), pp.386–388. doi:10.1037/002457.

Spandler, H. 2014. The Problem of Psychiatric Diagnosis. Approved Mental Health Practice,

2(1), pp.66–85. doi:10.1007/978-1-137-00014-9_6.

Sude, M.E. and Gambrel, L.E. 2016. Talking about Versus Talking With: an experiential self of

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