Class 2 / Replies

your responses to TWO other classmates must be at least 200 words each.
responses should be thorough and thoughtful. Just posting an “I agree” or “Good ideas” will not be considered adequate.
1 refrence for each peers
PEERS 1 (AStrid Rangel)
Throughout the years there has been a tremendous improvement in treatment of persons with mental illness in the United States. Although nowadays people with a mental illness can receive treatment at mental health centers, clinics, or other institutions, in the past it was not always possible. In the colonial times, those with a mental illness were maintained at home, almshouses or at private institutions runed by physicians (Sands & Gellis, 2012, p. 26), they could not seek help at mental health centers because those didn’t exist. In addition, Sands and Gillis (2012) mention in the Clinical social work practice in behavioral mental health: Toward evidence-based practice book, that public policies addressing the needs of persons with mental illness did not exit in those days. However, from 1950 through 1980 mental health treatment approaches changed and improved in the United States. In 1963, President Jhon F. Kennedy recognized that issues regarding mental illness and mental retardation needed a new approach (Sands & Gellis, 2012, p. 37). Therefore, later that year, he signed the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Center Construction Act (Sands & Gellis, 2012, p. 37). The creation of the CMHA Act, facilitated the construction of community health centers that would focus on outpatient care for individuals with serious mental illness (Erickson, 2021). Two years later, in 1965 Congress passed legislation to establish the Medicaid and Medicare Act in Title XIX of the Social Security Act (Klees et al., 2009, p. 3). In 1972 the Supplemental Security Income program got established; recipients of this program included disabled individuals, such as people with a mental health illness (Klees et al., 2009, p. 19). Social workers are no longer seen as helpmates because the creation of new mental health centers and mental health legislations, allowed social workers to expand their knowledge in mental illness treatment and approaches (Sands & Gellis, 2012, p. 41).
PEERS 2 (Angelica Carollo)
Throughout history, there have been increasing developments in mental health as more discoveries of need have been brought to light. Through the gain of knowledge about the human body, how the environment plays a factor in mental health, and how services such as community resources are in need, mental health has incorporated improvements. For instance, between 1965 and 1980 federal mental health bills were passed that allocated funds to the construction of community mental health centers, staffing, and resources (Sands & Gellis, 2012, p. 37). These centers created a safe space for individuals with mental health conditions to receive treatment in proactive environments that they had never experienced before. Patients with mental health conditions in previous years were seen as “lunatics,” unsafe for community environments, a threat to society, and harbored in inhumane prisons with individuals that committed crimes (Sands & Gellis, 2012, p.27). These community centers included a mental health system, inpatient treatment, outpatient care, community education, partial hospitalization areas, and emergency services with mental health professionals. These mental health changes laid the foundation for further advancements such as those seen in the twentieth century. For example, the 1987 Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act was passed and it provided funds for special services to the homeless with mental illnesses and the 1990 National Affordable Housing Act authorized funds for housing and services for the homeless with mental health and substance abuse problems (Sands & Gellis, 2012, p. 39). Other improvements include the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act that prohibited discrimination in employment, education, and any public entity against persons with mental as well as physical disabilities (Sands & Gellis, 2012, p.39). This exact act allows me to receive accommodations at UTRGV and the school I am employed for my SEL Lupus and depression/anxiety diagnosis.