Case Study 5: Mental Disorder Law Case Study Paper

Case Study 5: Mental Disorders
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Case Study 5: Mental Disorders
Concerns more often emerge regarding a criminal defendant's possibility of mental disorders at one point or another in the course of criminal proceedings, including during arrests, preliminary hearing, trials, sentencing, incarceration, and release decision making actions. The mental health disorders have significant relevance on the criminal justice system, where mental disorder can even preclude the defendant from participating in the trial or remedy the capability of the offence, as contextualized in the case of Dusky v. the United States 1960 (Gay, Vitacco & Ragatz, 2017). However, the concept of mental disorder within the precincts of criminal justice is an issue of contestation and volatility: mental disorders and their associated symptoms often lead to variant legal outcomes depending on case scenarios
Compare and Contrast three key similarities and three key differences between mental illnesses and mental disorders. Provide one example of each similarity and difference to support your answer.
Mental illness and mental disorders are often used by mental health professionals interchangeably. However, the two terminologies may denote similar and different meanings in the sphere of mental health. The American Psychiatric Association describes mental illnesses as health conditions that entail changes in emotion, thinking, or behavior or a combination of these three items and are associated with distress and possible malfunctioning in social, work, or family activities. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) defines mental disorders in using five fundamental factors and features (American Psychiatric Association., 2013). First, a mental disorder is either a psychological or behavioral syndrome or patterns that happen to an individual. Second, a mental disorder is a representation of underlying psychobiological disorder. Third, results of mental disorder are associated with clinically significant distress, for example, malfunctioning essential areas. Fourth, mental disorders should not be a mere reaction and expected responses to everyday life stressors and losses. Finally, a mental disorder should constitute social deviance in society.
From the two definitions of mental illness and mental disorders, it is possible to identify both similarities and differences between the two terms. First, both mental illness and disorders have an aspect of malfunctioning in given areas of life, for example, family, life, or work. Second, the two terms may have similar root causes, for example, biochemical causes. Both two terms have and aspect of social deviance, e.g., the people with mental illness and disorders are at greater risk of criminal behaviors, which constitute social deviance patterns.
Differences also exist between mental illness and mental disorder. First, Szasz, who is psychiatrist considered mental illness as a myth, but argues that mental disorder is a valid point (Aftab, 2014). To press this point, we may argue that illness is a disease which results from the pathological process, but we know that the said ‘mental illness may not always result from pathological processes...