Describe two ways individuals living with a mental illness in the mid- to late-1800s were treated.
1(a) Discussion: Mental Health Movement
Imagine you are suffering from mental illness in the 1800s: You find yourself in a dank basement of a hospital, surrounded by other people in the same situation—some of them quite debilitated. They are only barely clothed, despite the cold conditions. Occasionally, members of the community come to stare at you, as if you are an animal in a zoo.
Today, such scenes are considered unthinkable. Mental health treatment is viewed as part of the holistic care of an individual, and there are laws regulating consent and appropriate treatment conditions. In the 1800s, however, such laws did not exist. A contemporary of the time, advocate Dorothea Dix, aimed to better conditions by petitioning the federal government for more funding.
In this Discussion, you compare mental health treatment in the time of Dorothea Dix to current treatment.
BY DAY 3
Post a response to the following:
Describe two ways individuals living with a mental illness in the mid- to late-1800s were treated.
Identify a mental health program that exists in society today. Explain the mission and population served.
Compare the contemporary program’s perspective on mental health to that of the Dorothea Dix era.
Determine whether these programs support or counter the work of Dorothea Dix, and explain why or why not.
1 (b)Discussion: Social Welfare Services for Veterans
If you were a veteran of the U.S. Civil War, you might have returned home injured, unable to work, and traumatized by what you had seen. As noted in your text, you would have survived a mortality rate of 43%–52% but would nevertheless be in economic and perhaps physical distress. What assistance would be available to you, and would that assistance be the same if you were a Union or Confederate veteran?
For this Discussion, you analyze the aid options for veterans after the U.S. Civil War and consider whether they align with the idea of social justice and with contemporary options and attitudes.
BY DAY 3
Post a response to the following:
Identify and describe two programs and/or policies developed after the U.S. Civil War for veterans.
Describe the populations served by these programs and/or policies.
Determine if these programs and/or policies promoted social justice, and explain why or why not.
Compare the programs you identified to contemporary programs or policies or to current attitudes about veteran welfare.
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