Questions for On Being Sane in Insane Places - Research Paper Example

Due A Discussion of “On Being Sane in Insane Place How did the pseudo-patients react to their confinement in the various hospitals of the study? All of the pseudo-patients in the Rosenhan study had very similar feelings about their time in the various institutions where they were admitted. They all felt depersonalized, disregard, and not unlike someone with a contagious disease. They very much felt that all the staff could see is the label of mental illness and everything they did, be it writing in a notebook or standing in line for a meal, these normal behaviors were attributed as a side-effect of their mental illness.

They also, complained of sense of helplessness. In instances where staff were being violent with the patients they were unable to act; patients might not be believed and they do not make credible witnesses. (Rosenhan 250-258)2. Regarding the study participants, how were the views of hospital patients and hospital staff different? The reactions of patients and staff were quite different. The other patients were, in fact, suspicious of the pseudo-patients. The sensed that they were not “crazy.

” The staff, on the other hand, paid little attention and had little interaction with the patients. While patients mingled throughout certain parts of the day. The staff would spend most of their time isolated inside a glass room, which allowed then to monitor the floor without actually having much contact with the patients. Those of the greatest importance in this situation, like psychiatrists, psychologists, medical doctors, and nurses, were those that would see the patients the least. The pseudo-patients noticed that the patents on average seldom showed behaviors which would constitute the diagnosis that warrants being institutionalized, however, staff seems to pay little attention to that reality.

(Rosenhan 250-258)3. According to the findings of the Rosenhan study, we cannot objectively or scientifically distinguish sanity from insanity. In that light, how does Rosenhan characterize mental hospital staff members? This story shockingly verifies how truly difficult it is to distinguish between a sane person acting mentally ill and someone mentally ill pretending to be sane. Rosenhan’s study makes it very clear that staff is rather ambivalent to the patients, preferring not to interact with them; they would go so far to not even make eye contact on many occasions.

They treat the patients based on their diagnosis they are given and cannot see anything without seeing through the lens of mental illnesses. Once someone is dubbed clinically insane, no matter what happens in the future, that person will always be insane; mental illness is a lifetime diagnosis, like a black mark or scarlet letter. Rosenhan explains that mental illness is not like a physical illness or injury. If you have a broken leg when it mends you are healed, however, mental illness stays with you.

(Rosenhan 250-258)4. What recommendations does Rosenhan offer for addressing the problems revealed by his research? Rosenhan explains that the problems are so complex that solutions are hard to find. However, he does offer what he calls, “ideas that have promise,”(Rosenhan 250-258) The first suggestion involves improving the quantity and quality of the mental health facilities, crisis intervention centers, and behavior therapies.. Places that can focus on the needs of the patients, spending more in depth time before deciding upon a diagnosis and the stereotyped stigma that that diagnosis carries; hoping for change that results in far less blanket diagnosis.

The second, is increasing the amount of sensitivity training that mental health workers receive. Some could benefit from reading materials that will make them develop better skills for interacting with patients. Other healthcare workers may benefit more from practical experience of what it is like from the patient’s perspective in institutionalized settings. He recommends that this area is deserving of more and greater research, which could, have a profound influence for change in the future of mental illness is.

(Rosenhan 250-258)Work CitedRosenhan, David L. "On Being Sane in Insane Places." Science. 179. (1973): 250-258. Print. .