Now that you have learned about psychology and the law, including the ways in which the law serves to protect both the Mentally Ill and potential victims of potentially dangerous individuals as well as Thomas Sasz’s thoughts on the matter, we are going to read an article about a man in the midst of a mental health crisis.
read the article “Behind the Yellow Door, a Man’s Mental Illness Worsens Download Behind the Yellow Door, a Man’s Mental Illness Worsens” by Stephanie McCrummen, originally published in the Washington Post on June 28, 2014.
If you agreed with Sasz in your discussion response for Chapter 15, did it change your opinion or stance on the way we treat mental health in regards to the law? Whether you agreed or disagreed with Sasz, do you see any ways the mental health and legal system could be changed to implement further assistance? If this man was your loved one, how would you want him to be treated? He hasn’t broken any laws or harmed himself in any way, Sasz would say to leave him alone until he breaks a law and then incarcerate him without treatment, because who are we to say he’s “abnormal”? Others might say lock him up, take away his rights for good and keep him in the care of the state for the rest of his life. Give me your thoughts!