Researching the Origins of Mental Illness, assignment help (8-10 pages)
Your response should be 8-10 pages in length
Within the context of the helping relationship, human services professionals are likely to encounter individuals who are dealing with mental illness. A significant question in the human services field is whether mental illness is caused by biological or social and environmental factors. This topic bears further study since the human services professional’s beliefs about what causes mental illness will determine the way that he helps his clients.
This course has exposed you to developmental theory, effective counseling techniques, multicultural competencies, diversity, and research techniques. The portfolio project will ask you to bring all of these aspects together to research the origins of mental illness.
In a well-written, research-supported paper, please address each of the following topics:
- Which theories (developmental, learning, systems, etc.) best address the origins of mental illness and why?
- How could a research study help to answer this question?
- Propose your own research study to discover the origins of mental illness. Include answers to the following questions:
- Would you choose a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods approach? Why?
- What would your research question be?
- What are the ethical considerations for such a study?
- How would you gather data from your subjects?
Next, let’s assume that the results of your study definitively answer the question of whether mental illness is caused by biology or social and environmental factors (this means your results were valid, reliable, and statistically significant); how might human services professionals need to change their approaches to helping clients dealing with mental illness?
- You may wish to consider the role of theory, cultural competency, the characteristics of an effective human services professional, counseling techniques, and the impact of diversity in your response.
