Teaching Mental Illness

Every 12.3 minutes, an American dies by suicide (Suicide: 2016 Facts & Figures). Mental illness is the cluster of symptoms that interfere with a person’s ability to function normally every day. Mental illness affects at least 50% of people at some point in their life (McNally 1). It is important to be educated on the effects of these disorders on people. People should be taught about mental illness early on in order to educate about potential treatments, increase awareness about prevalent mental disorders in age groups, especially in teens, and prevent suicides.
People who believe mental health is not a major issue believe psychiatrists “medicalise” human suffering (Hicks). For example, in 1850, a physician named Samuel Cartwright reported
Education about potential treatments is essential in understanding mental illness. To explain, psychiatrists treat mental illnesses by prescribing psychotropic drugs to patients in order to change the levels of neurochemicals and enhance communication among neurons in the brain. They also use various techniques such as psychotherapy to help patients change their maladaptive behaviors. Medications falls into 3 major classes: antipsychotics, anxiolytics, and antidepressants (Lurigio 1549-50). Each type of medication helps treat various mental
Based on research, there are four advantages for RTI. The first is that the early identification of behavioral difficulties will increase the likelihood of getting rid of the problem behaviors before they escalate severely. The fact that there are known advantages to certain treatments further proves that it should be taught about (Mosley-Howard, Susan, Witte 3). The second advantage is that an RTI approach stresses a risk versus a deficit treatment model. A risk model assumes the intervention will improve the student’s problem, rather than adjusting services to the student's functioning without expecting a change (Mosley-Howard, Susan, Witte 3). The third benefit of using standardized screening procedures is that it potentially reduces the likelihood that referrals are teacher biases rather than the student needs (Mosley-Howard, Susan, Witte 3). The fourth and final benefit is the placement of students in programs established for those with a higher likelihood of failure in school have an increased probability of a positive outcome (Mosley-Howard, Susan, Witte 3). There are assessment systems designed to identify depression and anxiety early on, before they teach a clinical level. These systems are important because children and adults that experience a clinically significant depressive