Welcome to the Lesson 10 Discussion Question! Some divisive topics…

Question Answered step-by-step Welcome to the Lesson 10 Discussion Question! Some divisive topics… Welcome to the Lesson 10 Discussion Question! Some divisive topics in this lesson potentially – in some ways maybe it would be better to have this one come earlier so we could discuss more in seminar…or not! After you’ve reviewed the lesson videos and reading please respond to the following discussion questions  1) A theme throughout the lesson is how different approaches to treating mental health concerns have changed over time and been influenced by different concerns other than care for people whose mental health is not doing so great: segregating people perceived as deviant from the general population to increase the ‘public’s’ comfort level or perception of safety, governments saving money, and responding to public outrage at the mistreatment of people living in institutions. We also discussed how different mental health “treatment” approaches across time (jails, institutions, community mental health centres, coercive ACT teams, police involvement) may all be similarly “carceral” (prison like) in that they require the capture, control and management of people whose behavior may fall outside the expectations of “normal” in community settings due to mental health concerns. What version of a “community mental health” approach to mental health care could you imagine (with examples from the lesson material, or not) that does not resemble the coercive and containing aspects of the prison system? What would be required for less coercive or segregating forms of mental health care to become possible?   2) In Hamnah’s guest lecture, the role of policing in creating and upholding the colonial project of Canada was described. Arguments were also made for understanding policing and criminalization/stigmatization as a form of structural violence. This may be surprising to some people who understand policing as promoting public safety or who know individual police officers and see them as well-intentioned people who desire to “serve and protect” others in their community. However, as the guest lecture points out, many communities of people do not experience police in these ways. Whenever we encounter ideas (often heavily promoted through strategic campaigns and the promotion of positive representations of police in school settings, children’s literature etc.) that police promote “public” safety or are simply trying to “serve and protect” it is important to ask, “who is included in that “public”?” and “who exactly is a colonial police force meant to serve and protect?”. With these considerations in mind, what would be required for society to move beyond the (fairly recent) idea that we need a police force armed with weapons and authorized to use violence to enforce behavior in community settings? How could we as a society move towards reducing the role of police (defunding) or removing the need for police altogether (abolition)? What role could you play in this ambitious long-term project? What role could there be for individual police officers or people who are interested in going into policing? What kind of world can your radical imagination envision?      Social Science Psychology PSYC 2P90 Share QuestionEmailCopy link Comments (0)