For this assignment, Sociocultural and Historical Context impacts the Understanding of Mental Illness, read chapter # 1 ( Overview to Understanding Abnormal Behavior ) subheadings: 'Introduction to the History of Mental Illness' through 'History of Mental illness from the Stone Age to the 20 th Century' and relate FIVE examples of how sociocultural influence and / or historical context impact the understanding of mental illness.
Here is a sample of ONE acceptable answer ( please note you need FIVE of these ) : In the early 1500 s communities were centered on the church. According to Oxford Bibliographies, the Catholic Church was “ the most important institution in colonial Latin America ” . The Church held land, employed the people who lived in the surrounding area, and “ controlled all aspects of life from birth, through marriage, until death. ” Anyone who was deemed unacceptable by the church was cast off from the community, left to fend for themselves. This typically resulted in death because the person had no means to obtain food, employment, shelter or protection. The church had great impact on the way that mental illness was understood, and the way that the individual suffering from mental illness was treated. During the 1500 s , individuals who suffered from mental illness were viewed, according to our text, as having a demonic possession, which was “ contrary to the religious teachings of the time. ” As a result trephination, using a stone instrument to cause a hole in the skull, was used to treat mental illness. This hole was created to allow the evil spirit to escape. The person, while demonstrating mental illness, would be shunned by the community and in many cases, would be cast from the community due to his / her evil influence. In this time of history, the pervasive culture understood mental illness as something evil. Mental illness was understood to be life - threatening, deserving of life - threatening treatment, something to be shunned, something to be hidden, and something to be ashamed of and feared.