Compare And Contrast The Bio-Medical Model Of Mental Health

At any one time, one in four people experience mental health problems, it is one of the biggest social issues in the UK today, affecting how we think, act and feel, determining how situations such as stress are handled, the choices we make and the way in which we relate to others (Mind, 2013). Mental health issues can have high costs for the individuals, their families and can also impact on national prosperity and well-being. Mental health issues account for an increasing share of the proportion of ill health. In the 1990’s the largest group of people claiming Incapacity Benefit had back pain; in 2005 the largest group of claimants had depression (Benger, 2005).

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines mental health as ‘a state of well-being

This essay will focus on the bio-medical and the social models of health, within the mental health domain, and will also briefly discuss how these models can be related to other sociological

The model also rests upon a limited view of knowledge and it subjects many aspects of life to medical measurements. The bio-medical model assumes that medical knowledge is scientific and objective and that those who possess the knowledge are able to understand the human body, the cause of an illness and the benefits of intervention. However, it could be argued that members of the medical profession have a vested interest in promoting an overly medical view of life. With the backing of drug companies and limited time available for consultation, medics often rely on using drugs to treat rather than concentrate upon promoting better health and preventing illness (Michael and Viveash,