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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 9 page discussion of the evolution which psychiatry has experienced in regard to defining and treating mental illness. Uses the experiences of this popular film and book to illuminate some of the atrocities which characterized the institutional setting just a few years ago. Contrasts these atrocities with the current state of psychiatric treatment. Bibliography lists 8 sources.
Page Count:
9 pages (~225 words per page)
File: AM2_PPmental.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Our societal interpretation of mental illness and how we deal with the mentally
ill has changed considerably over time. During the earlier part of the Twentieth Century mental illness was the subject of considerable theorization. Psychoanalyst like Sigmund Freud, for example,
was convinced that abnormal mental manifestations such as neurosis, psychosis, and even dreams were the key to mental function. Freud views dreams as a sort of wish fulfillment (Dixon
and Hayes PG). He and other psychoanalysts, as shall be seen below, had totally reprehensible ideas as to how to deal with mental illness. Many of these ideas
are reflected even in popular movies and books. While some of the ideas as to the root causes and appropriate treatment for mental illness even today are still largely
ineffective, many of the counterproductive techniques of yesterday have thankfully been abandoned. Much can be observed regarding the public perception of mental illness
and the way it is dealt with in the institutional environment in film and literature. One very popular film is "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest", produced during the
1970s. "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" presents a bleak yet amusing picture of the conduct of public administration, government, and indeed society as a whole in relation to
the topic of mental illness. The film holds many relevant lessons for todays sometimes violent and questionable world of institutionalization. It also presents the classical confrontation of a
rebel confronting society (Smith PG). "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" presents insanity as some form of redemption (Caesar PG).
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