Mental Illnesses
Mental Illness History
Throughout history, there have been many different cases of mental illnesses and how they were handled. Some were so extreme such as poorly done lobotomys to simply killing the people when they become mentally unstable such as the spartains did. Fortunately, this is the twenty first centry and there have been many developments in understanding and treating mental illnesses, and the future can only get brighter from this point on. There are many organizations today that are leading factors in the development of treatment and diagnosis of mental illnesses such as Mental Health America and the National Alliance on Mental Illnesses. These have developed in the past 100 years to help create the best environments, health safety, and treatment for mental illnesses throughout the world, not just the United States. There have been more developments in the understanding of treatments of mental illnesses in the past 100 years than there have ever been before.
Mental Health America facilitated the creation of more than 100 child guidance clinics in the United States aimed at prevention, early intervention and treatment. (1910)
At the request of the Surgeon General, Mental Health America drafted a mental ‘hygiene’ program, which was adopted by the Army and the Navy, in preparation for the First World War. (1917)
The “National Mental Health Act,” which created the National Institute of Mental Health, passed as a result of Mental Health America’s advocacy. (1946)
Mental Health America launched Mental Health Week (which eventually became Mental Health Month) with the Jaycees to educate Americans about mental illness and mental health. (1949)
Mental Health America released the first-ever survey of children that reported that 78 percent of teens who were gay or thought to be gay were teased or bullied in their schools and communities. (2002)
Mental Health America released the results of a survey on national awareness of bipolar disorder, which showed that two-thirds of Americans hold limited, if any, knowledge of this common illness. (2003)
Mental Health America’s advocacy resulted in a landmark Supreme Court ruling declaring the death penalty for juvenile offenders unconstitutional, thereby removing 73 individuals from death row. (2005)