Introduction
Mental illness prevents most people from performing their daily tasks by altering their lifestyles. This issue can take several forms, affecting the person’s personality, character, and social interactions. Mental health issues can cause physical, emotional, or psychological symptoms (Henriksen et al., 2020). Biochemical imbalances can lead to mental health issues by causing adverse reactions to the environment and its pressures. Due to constant pressure, people dealing with a stressful situation or a series of stressors over time are more likely to be mentally affected. Social, cultural, and political factors significantly contribute to the formation of mental health issues; hence, the role of therapy approaches and ethical principles in addressing mental health disparities is vital.
Personal Factors of Vulnerability
Mental health individuals are faced with the challenge of the weak capability to provide mental stability themselves, making them more vulnerable to healthcare negligence and other risk factors. This limits their potential to rise to higher positions or participate in public activities. Vulnerability can eventually lead to mental health deterioration in the individual, thus, incapacity to earn a living (McPhail et al., 2018). However, I agree with the statement of Hart Abney et al. (2019) that therapy approaches lead to a significant decrease in the vulnerability of life. In my opinion, individuals are likely to suffer on a personal level mainly due to the side effects of the medication prescribed to them.
The side effects of medications and mental health treatments are varied and much worse for a person’s overall health than therapy interventions. They include such symptoms as memory lapses and emotional triggers, and their ability to execute actions and interact with other people is negatively affected as well (Lebni et al., 2020). Conversely, according to Hart Abney et al. (2019), the use of therapy approaches in mental health treatment improves mental symptoms, learning, and the ability to perform daily activities. I think that personal vulnerability factors do not necessarily result in stigmatization, especially when therapy approaches are incorporated.
Ethical Principles
Respect
Clinicians in the mental health sector are faced with problems related to autonomy, informed consent, and critical decision-making, which have to be respected in accordance with their patient’s preferences. The application of the UK Equality Act 2010 is essential in protecting such personal vulnerabilities if they exist. Using the act, mentally ill people are legally protected from discrimination in the workplace and in broader society. These issues mainly arise from attending to the healthcare needs of individuals suffering from mental health (Ventura et al., 2021). According to Martinez-Martin et al. (2018), because of a lack of self-governance by patients, clinicians are prohibited from performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in cases where the patient stops breathing and is required to seek informed consent from proxies. However, bypassing informed consent is acceptable when patients lack the ability (competence) to offer personal consent during treatment to save a life (Lin et al., 2019). Due to this controversy, as a professional clinician, I would seek clinician advice from senior medical practitioners to avoid legal repercussions.
Integrity
The maintenance of strict patient confidentiality is an essential component of the integrity principle, which plays a vital role in the operation of any healthcare facility. According to Meynen (2019), it is considered unethical to violate the confidentiality of an individual. This act requires clinicians to protect the privacy of their patient’s medical records and also specifies who is allowed to access those records. Clinicians are required to comply with this requirement by building trust between patients and the healthcare clinicians who deliver them medication. On the contrary, I prefer Malfait et al. (2018) statement that a patient’s privacy can be breached during bedside handovers in an attempt to avoid medical errors that might cause injury to the mentally ill patient. Therefore, as a professional clinician, I would have employed non-maleficence when advocating for evidence-based treatment for clients’ mental health.
Responsibility
Fidelity as an ethical principle is described as being accountable for providing appropriate healthcare. It is the clinician’s responsibility to inform the patients of their health status and provide treatment options for them. Pujol and Moore (2019) point out that there are adverse effects of withholding information from the patient about their mental health status. Nonetheless, the research carried out by Vaitheswaran et al. (2021) argues that in exceptional cases where individuals are incapable of making informed decisions, withholding information may be ethically acceptable. Deps et al. (2022) also support the research by Pujol and Moore (2019) by intensively covering mental health patients who, in most cases, are incapable of making decisions on their own; hence, any medical information cannot be effectively communicated to them. As a result, clinicians are advised to consult with the patient’s close family members or an ethics committee in cases of dilemma.
Competence
The principle of competence in the health care setting entails the clinicians’ capability to identify any ethical issues and the ability to make the right decisions to manage the problem identified. Meynen (2019) argues that the patient has a right to know their health condition, which they conclude by providing a solution of offering full disclosure once the patient is able to receive and comprehend the information. However, Brådvik (2018) claims that disclosure of information can be withheld in mental illness if the patient is at risk of such harm as suicide. As for me, this definitely dismisses the option of waiting on the patient to get better to convey their mental health status and provide necessary feedback. However, clinicians should assess the needs and expectations before deciding on disclosure or non-disclosure.
Social Factors
Many theories describe how society and mental disease are interconnected in the development of mental health difficulties. Jambawo (2018) proposed that severe mental illness results from social disorder. Due to gender-related exposure and sensitivity to unfavorable social, economic, and environmental conditions, specific demographic subgroups are at higher risk for mental illnesses (Ventriglio et al., 2021). Makwana (2019) shows that much research supports recognizing and treating physical and mental health imbalances in later life. However, Yang et al. (2019) argue that mental illness is not directly related to social disorder. According to Yang et al. (2019), life course activities improve birth, growth, living, working, and aging, hence not interrelated to mental illness. As a result, clinicians should advocate for emotional support because adequate emotional support in society can have a solid social life with minimal instances of anxiety and depression.
Cultural Factors
The culture surrounding an individual dramatically affects their mental health. Saltzman et al. (2020) state that a person’s illusions, psychotic symptoms, obsessive thoughts, and phobia reflects their culture’s significance. The occurrence of mental diseases, especially behavioral problems such as suicide attempts and alcoholism, is intimately related to cultural stigma (Furnham and Swami, 2018). The prejudice around mental health is spreading, and many people believe that people should conceal their mental health issues because they are signs of weakness (Rice et al., 2019). This may make it more difficult for people who are having a hard time communicating freely and requesting assistance. However, according to Nathan and Nathan (2020), more often, there is no solid connection between suicides and stigmatization in the community. Nevertheless, clinicians should engage the community where the mentally ill patient comes from to comprehend their beliefs and culture before treating the patient.
Political Factors
Political tension has been linked to an elevated risk of anxiety, despair, and unhealthy lifestyle decisions. Consejo (2022) found that over 40% of Americans blamed politics for their nervousness, sleeplessness, and suicidal thoughts. Young, politically active, or government-opposing people suffered the most (McCartney et al., 2019). Political stress’s impact on mental health warrants further studies, mainly using systematic methods because of the research gap (Yoosefi et al., 2021). Political stress may affect health differently from other chronic stressors. Patients with different perspectives may cause care issues, hence, developing mental health stigma or other related illnesses (Hope et al., 2018). I agree with this statement since it emphasizes the need for therapeutic practice training in political stress identification and treatment and the development of evidence-based coping techniques. On the contrary, positive political factors have led to the rise of community involvement to support and encourage individuals with mental health issues.
Sexual Orientation as a Social Justice
Health psychology associates lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) identities with mental illness and disorder. According to Smith et al. (2022), LGBT+ individuals face disproportionately poorer mental health outcomes, and quality care is not convincing and inconsistent. LGBT+ groups do worse than other communities on practically every metric (Smith et al., 2022). This is intolerable, and society must do more to address the disparities in health. According to Lothwell et al. (2020), LGBTQ people face discrimination and stigma in almost every society, which impacts their mental well-being and access to care. As a result, MacKinnon et al. (2020) urge psychiatrists to learn about LGBTQ mental health issues to help support their patients. Sexual orientation is a person’s self-perception in relation to their sentimental, sensual, or sexual appeal, passion, or love for another individual (Goldhammer et al., 2019). In this regard, if people think about the philosophy of LGBT+ groups, they will notice that sexual behavior does not necessarily match sexuality or individuality. However, sexual orientation aspects are often an individual’s nature rather than a mental disorder.
It is crucial to stress that sexual orientation has no effect on gender identity. Gender identity is how a person sees themselves as male, female, both, or neither. Clinicians must address sexual orientation and social justice. Additionally, healthcare clinicians often lack LGBTQ health knowledge and skills (Komlenac et al., 2019). Urry and Chur-Hansen (2020) argue that Mental Health Strategy prioritizes sexuality and identity in mental health; hence, applicable to LGBTQ. I agree with the statement since this method encourages mental health practitioners and the general public to study sexual orientation and gender inequality. The LGBTQ groups are therefore advised to fight mental illness stigma and work with local mental health experts to serve their community better.
Clinicians are aware of the advantages of being aware of and comprehending a patient’s discrimination based on sexual orientation. The more a patient’s present health state is understood, the more optimal therapeutic decisions can be made by healthcare clinicians who record this information. Health disparity is a common problem for patients in sexual and gender minorities. These populations had more excellent rates of mental or behavioral health problems as well as cigarette smoking use. One step in addressing health inequities, according to health professionals, is detecting patients who might encounter them. Some healthcare professionals have refrained from inquiring about patients’ gender identification or sexual orientation. Clinicians have argued that asking these statements can be seen as being unduly intrusive and could damage the patient-provider relationship.
Additionally, many individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ belong to a second, and occasionally a third or more, oppressed group. These groups include BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or People of Color), those with a physical impairment, those who practice a diverse religion from their neighbors, and those with a poor financial level (Platt et al., 2018). These individuals have complicated life experiences that cannot be effectively handled in a single domain (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2017). As a result, mental illness can be related to individual health issues in LGBTQ and not their sexual orientation. Despite the controversy, clinicians should be guided by ethical standards of quality healthcare delivery irrespective of sex, culture, race, and socio-economic status.
Conclusion
In conclusion, social, cultural, and political factors are the core components that affect mental health disparities in contemporary society. However, with the help of therapy approaches with careful use of ethical principles, such disparities can be bridged. Clinicians should use the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice in delivering health-related treatment with strict adherence to respect, competence, responsibility, and integrity. Moreover, it has been shown that sexual orientation differences cause mental health issues in individuals. In this case, clinicians should adhere to the guidelines and standards set in the UK Equality Act 2010, which legally protects mental health people from discrimination in the workplace and in broader society. As a consequence, the application of therapy approaches is an integral approach to mental health issues in the presence of ethical principles.
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