Historically, psychological distress has been conceptualised primarily through the medical model, which views psychiatric conditions as objective biological illnesses resulting from neurochemical imbalances or genetic defects. Under this paradigm, treatment is heavily reliant on psychiatric diagnoses (such as those in the DSM or ICD) and pharmacological interventions to manage symptoms.
In recent decades, critics of the traditional psychiatric establishment, such as Thomas Szasz, and proponents of psychosocial frameworks have challenged this view. They argue that mental health difficulties are often meaningful, functional responses to adverse social, environmental, or systemic factors (such as trauma, poverty, or isolation) rather than internal pathologies.
Using your knowledge of psychological alternatives to the medical model, suggest practical ways in which a local community mental health service could restructure its approach to support individuals experiencing psychological distress without relying primarily on the medical model.
