Abnormal Psychology and Advocacy for the Mentally Ill

Practical Application
Knowledge of abnormal psychology is valuable to all students, no matter what your field of study, and this knowledge will help you both personally and professionally throughout your lives. If you are in the field of business, you may have employees or coworkers who may experience depression or anxiety. In the field of criminal justice, this knowledge will help you understand how criminal behavior develops. In the paralegal profession, many cases that you will be involved with may involve people who have one or another psychological disorder. Thus, your understanding of this field and knowledge will help you in virtually every profession.
One way to help others better understand mental illness and decrease stigma is to be an advocate. Advocacy takes many different forms, from being one in a professional setting to being an advocate in our daily lives by simply educating others. For more information on advocacy, please read the following:
Fuller, K. (2020, June 24). What does it mean to be a mental health advocate? National Alliance on Mental Illness. https://www(dot)nami(dot)org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/June-2020/What-Does-It-Mean-to-Be-a-Mental-Health-Advocate
Tartakovsky, M. (2019, March 21). What it means to become a mental health advocate - and how to become one. PsychCentral. https://psychcentral(dot)com/blog/what-it-means-to-be-a-mental-health-advocate-and-how-to-become-one#6
Answer the following questions:
· How has this course changed your view of the field of abnormal psychology?
· What practical application may this material have in the career of your choice?
· How might this knowledge help you personally?
· How can you act as an advocate for the mentally ill moving forward?