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Allow about 10 minutes

In the Introduction, you considered two opposing views on the medicalisation of mental health. Now that you have worked through most of the chapter, try to list a few reasons why some people might consider medicalisation to be a helpful approach to mental health, and a few reasons why others might consider it unhelpful. Only move on to the activity discussion once you have compiled your list.

Discussion

Those outlining the advantages of medicalisation might note that it:

 quickly and efficiently enables access to medical treatments

 can increase the reliability of diagnoses through its use of rigid categories

 provides clear, succinct categories that can be tested and modified.

Those outlining the drawbacks might note that it:

 restricts the ability to explore contextual and individual factors

 can reduce the validity of diagnosis, particularly as new disorders might be proposed for experiences not previously regarded as mental health problems

 can result in overly broad diagnostic categories

 can lead to the prescription of unnecessary medication.