The Stigma of the Mentally Ill

While doing some research on the treatment of mental illnesses I realized that I first needed to gather other information. I came across additional information about the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of patients. I thought the information was so exciting I would share it with the rest of you. I would appreciate your comments and feedback.
I now realize how important assessing a patient is. To correctly diagnose a patient we need to have an accurate assessment. Once a patient is assessed the doctor will diagnose and then treat the patient accordingly. Therefore the assessment is directly related to the treatment plan of patients. Once the assessment is complete a diagnosis is given.

Much controversy surrounds the issue of diagnosing, which then leads to a usually negative label. Once a person is diagnosed as having schizophrenia, depression, or many other mental health illnesses, society begins to stereotype them. They are seen as weak, violent, or crazy just to name give few labels. The person diagnosed may then have poor self-esteem, go into a deeper depression, and then isolate themselves (Allpsych, 2003). Unfortunately, some people who need help will not seek it because of the stigma attached to mental illness. But it is of utmost importance that we classify mentally ill patients.

First of all, clinicians need to be able to put all the information in a structured form. When the information is in an organized form we can use it to better treat the patient. Another reason to classify illness is so clinicians can communicate with each other. A precise language is necessary for clinical communication... Of course, it is also crucial for research purposes. Finally, insurance companies are quite strict and they need a formal diagnosis before they will reimburse.