Mental health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mental health - Essay Example Due to this broad concept of mental health there have been a set of studies but a number of writers out of which some are supporting each other and some are contradictory. Mental health has been studies in the different form it gets manifested and with different factors that either directly or indirectly influence mental health. These studies have focused on different influential factors from the society, personal, and cultural components of a living being. We will be focusing on the work done by four writers Pedersen, Patterson, Weinrach, and Speight. All these writers have written a number of articles which are presenting different views. Weinrach and speight say â€Å"Although racial discrimination exists, both within and outside of the counseling context, the Competencies do little to combat it. In fact, the Competencies actually promote viewing persons primarily as members of specific racial and ethnic groups. The Competencies exist at a symbolic and an applied level. Significa nt problems exist for mental health counselors at both of these levels. The Competencies greatest flaw is their preoccupation with perceived deficits in clients, the counseling profession, and American society. It is virtually impossible to separate the content of the Competencies from the political process that has surrounded efforts to promote their universal adoption† (Weinrach and Thomass 2004). Most of their work is focused on multicultural counseling and mental development and also the impact of one’s competencies and mental development secondary to that. This in conclusion means that culture has a major role to play in mental development though competencies might do the same but not as efficiently as multicultural counseling. â€Å"At the macro level, individuals and families are the target and the mental health practitioners derive their