Mental Illness

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Sociologist Emile Durkheim developed the functionalist perspective of society based off of his interest in social order and stability. This perspective is defined as the sociological approach that views society as a stable, orderly system (Kendall 2014, 17). When the functionalist perspective is applied to the issue of mental illness in society it is believed that mental illness challenges society’s ability to provide a stable, effective treatment. In society, illness is socially defined and considered to be any sort of interference with health (Kendall 2014, 411). The functionalist perspective views mental illness as a form of deviant behavior that can be measured and organized to improve the overall order in society. The functionalist perspective sees society as made up of parts that contribute to the overall stability of the society. In this case, developing treatment for mental illness would contribute to the progress of order and stability in institutions like family, education, and the government in society. Mental illness is something that can be controlled by society once identified in the functionalist perspective. Talcott Parsons was a sociologist that looked at mental illness in society and developed the idea of the “sick role” in 1951. The sick role is the expectations that define the norms and values for those that are considered sick and for those who interact with the sick. Parsons believed that people who were mentally ill were not constructive contributors to society and broke the structure of it. He inquired that the sick role has a few primary characteristics that define it. Individuals who are considered mentally ill are not responsible for their condition and should not continue in their daily roles like work... ... middle of paper ... ...d for so long (Kendall 2014). Nonetheless, this seemed like a viable solution in the 1960s once new psychoactive drugs were being used to treat mental disorders (Kendall 2014). More recently, however, people with mental disorders do not receive professional treatment. Many people seek psychotherapy to help understand their condition (Kendall 2014). Mental illness is, undoubtedly, part of our society. We must learn from our past while looking into the future in order to develop the most ideal treatment options for mental illness. We have learned a lot about mental illness through many different treatments, but some of the most promising options point towards psychotherapy and new drug technology. We also need to take note of these existing theories of mental illness and expand on them in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of mental illness as a whole.

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