SOCIAL WORK WITH ADULTS

Reflections On Working With An Adult Service User Accessing Services, With Particular Emphasis On The Experience From The Services Users' Perspective

Reflections on working with an Adult service user accessing services, with particular emphasis on the experience from the services users' perspective

Introduction

According to the burden of disease assessments conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), mental illness, also known as neuropsychiatric conditions, account for the largest human burden of non-communicable diseases at the global level, representing approximately 14 percent of disease burden in all categories. Mental health is a complex concept to define precisely. It generally refers to a person's state of emotional well-being and an absence/presence of neuroses or other psychiatric conditions. A holistic view includes a wider range of factors: multiple interacting biological, environmental, social, and psychological variables (Espejo, 2012, pp. 62-65). For example, WHO defines good mental health as a state of well-being that signifies the ability to recognize individual abilities, cope with life's normal stresses, work productively, and contribute positively to society.

Physical health is often linked to mental health. Physical conditions may contribute to mental health conditions. For example, the stress of coping with a chronic illness may lead to depression for some women. Mental health conditions can also affect physical health. A woman living with schizophrenia, for instance, may be unable to provide for her own basic physical needs. Worldwide, suicide is a leading cause of premature death among women.

Mental health conditions that disproportionately affect women and girls include phobias and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, and somatic complaints (physical symptoms with no apparent physiological cause). They are less likely than men to experience violent and antisocial mental disorders or substance abuse and equally likely to experience schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, though when these mental illnesses do occur, they manifest differently in terms of symptoms and treatment outcomes (Williams, 2007, pp. 149-53). For example, the onset of recognized symptoms of schizophrenia tends to be later in women than in men. Women are also more likely to experience more than one mental disorder, and this comorbidity contributes to higher rates of disability due to mental illness.

Physiological differences may contribute to gender differences in mental health diagnosis. Differences can frequently be explained by different social conditions. For instance, some studies have found more similarities between men and women when controlling for education and workplace experience. Others have demonstrated the importance of perceived control over one's life in preventing mental illness, and perceived control is an experience that often differs between men and women. Gendered cultural norms regarding emotional expression and help seeking may also contribute to differential diagnosis for some mental disorders (McNally, 2011, pp. 101-106).

Discussion

In this paper, the author highlighted number of areas, as the case basically related to Vicky Marshal, who diagnosed of paranoid schizophrenia and she remained in the community care centre for years due to her poor mental condition. Therefore, in this paper, the author basically highlighted the role Mental Health Act of 1983 and Community Care of 1990. Both these act have direct relation with Vicky's condition because these act are the basis of providing care and support at the national ...