Theoretical Perspectives on Understanding Mental Distress

Throughout my study’s in psychiatric nursing and previous study in social care, I established many opinions of developmental theories presented in viewing mental distress, Freud’s psychosexual theory was somewhat ungraspable to me which possibly prevented me from developing my knowledge on his theories. Bandura’s social learning theory and Bowlby’s attachment theories resonated more with my thinking. In entering acute adult psychiatric services, I feel any possible lens of viewing mental distress, the how and why people may present with mental health difficulties and reasons for symptoms became less evident for me. The medical model of diagnosis, medication and management of mental distress became part of my every day practice. I spoke about symptoms, severity and the “genuine patient”.   When moving into community Child and Adolescent psychiatry, I became slightly overwhelmed with the priority for treatment being talk therapy orientated rather than medication based and also the in-depth assessment which is not always lead by the “doctor”. I feel that my “self” was very quickly and easily lead into the medical model approach previously and the realisation that it was not the only way of viewing and doing my job was refreshing.   My pre module understanding of the mind was that of a complex structure containing thoughts, behaviours, feelings, values, beliefs all leading to the makeup of what we are. My pre- module understanding of mental distress was varied, is it genetic, is it due to trauma, is it due to environment, is it due to personality or is it due to all of the above. In the following assignment, I hope to demonstrate how my lens has changed, why some theories now play a more important role in my understanding of mental distress and the mind than they previously had. Also looking at how module material, my learning and increased knowledge has influenced this change.
Looking at the history of the Child and Adolescent mental health services in Ireland, where...