[ANSWER]MENT3000 Critical Review – The Problem with Biomedical Approaches to Mental Health Care: A Critical Analysis and Personal Reflection

[ANSWER PREVIEW] One of the reasons biomedical approaches to mental health care are problematic is their limited reliability in distinguishing the normal from the abnormal as far as mental illness is concerned

Through psychotropic medications, cognitive-behavioural therapy, approaches to mental health and other interventions informed by the biomedical approach, diverse forms of mental illness have been successfully managed over the years. Even so, the shortcomings of this approach are difficult to ignore. Its emphasis on biomedical aspects and inattention to non-biomedical aspects means that it advances a narrow view of mental illness whereby interventions primarily focus on curing symptoms (Deacon, 2013). Just because a person’s mental illness symptoms have resolved does not necessarily mean the root cause of their illness has been addressed.

One of the reasons biomedical approaches to mental health care are problematic is their limited reliability in distinguishing the normal from the abnormal as far as mental illness is concerned. In the world of psychology, abnormality is classically defined as the presence of three Ds: distress, dysfunction, and deviance (Ramsden, 2013).

However, as Bentall (1992) explains in his satirical article, not every behaviour that is regarded as abnormal is necessarily abnormal. Happiness can sometimes lead to distress, dysfunction, and deviance; hence, as per the conceptualisation of psychological abnormality, it should be considered a psychiatric disorder (Bentall, 1992). That happiness can meet the criteria for abnormality is testament of the problem with the interpretation…[Buy Full Answer for Just USD 9: 2110 WORDS] approaches to mental health.

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Type: Essay

Word Count: 2110

Grade/Mark: 85 (Distinction)

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