Behavioral Health and Community

The perspective of community behavioral health care has been on an evolving trend from seclusion to community-operated services. In the past, the mentally ill were taken care of in self-contained communities and villages referred to as asylums. Hospitals had a traditional way of offering treatment and they also varied in size. Hospital inception was to offer hope, refuge and treatment. Long ago the mentally ill were kept in almshouses and jails. In those days, the treatment was considered to be humane and compassionate (Bazemore, 2005). The hospitals also offered educational programs to those that lived within the vicinity. Due to the persistence of the mental illness the patients were abandoned by their families which made them be buried in simple graves with little information about the person. These hospitals have maintained and still playing a vibrant role in the state mental healthcare (Bazemore, 2005).

Healthcare evolution has resulted in community-based health care. This process has resulted in creating awareness to the people since they are able to work, learn, live and participate in the community activities. This has resulted in the ability of the community to be productive despite any disability (Oss, 2004). This has been facilitated by the shift from being patient to a partner in a collaborative process. There has been an emphasis that has supported evidence-based practices which are fundamental in clinic services. By a way of using medical algorithms and clinical practice guidelines have greatly enhanced the trend (Oss, 2004).

There have been questions whether health professional want to be viewed as an industrial enterprise. The work that is carried out in the Behavioral healthcare has an industrial component. The outcomes, standard and the metrics are some of the requirements needed in both behavioral health care and any industrial entity (Edwards, 2005). It conflicts because behavioral health care is seemed to concentrate more on helping others professionally which seems to be a cold and an impassionate way of describing an industry. Caring for the mentally ill takes a special quality in fulfilling it as compared to other industries (Edwards, 2005).

Mental health principles in the community have been developed through various plans and budgets that establish a comprehensive community-based treatment. The plans thrust both the public and the private sector (Ahr, 2005). This has led to early intervention and prevention of the illness. This has greatly lead to the reduction of illness and proper uptake of the illness in case of any occurrence.  Despite the obstacles of funding, there have been efforts to see the ongoing. There has been a great shift of isolating the sick the level that they are offered treatment in their homes. This has resulted in home-based support that has resulted in the problem of inpatient capacity being solved (Ahr, 2005).

Isolation principles of institutional care and the community-based services today have their similarity and differences. They both aimed at providing healthcare to the mentally ill but with the current community-based services they have gone a step further to create awareness to the community which has resulted in home-based care services. Community-based services are better to those who have persistent mental illness since they don’t have to be isolated or jailed and they can also enjoy personalized home care services (Oss, 2004). Providing institutional healthcare to individuals with persistent mental illness plays a great role in ensuring proper medication is administered to the individuals (Ahr, 2005). This also ensures that every step of treatment is taken well to enhance rehabilitation. The institutional care is important to the individuals with mental illness and the community at large.

 

 

Reference

Ahr, P. (2005, January). Community mental health principles: A 40-year  case study. Behavioral Health             Management, 25(1), 15–17.
Bazemore, P. (2005, July). When state hospitals were communities.  Behavioral Health     Management,             25(4), 10–12.
Oss, M. (2004, May). All roads lead to community-based care. Behavioral Health Management, 24(2), 6.
Edwards, D. J. (2005). The Behavioral Health Industry. Behavioral Health |Management, 25(3), 49.