Introduction:

   At some point in your life, you might have described specific behaviors of relatives or friends as unique or odd. Although peculiarities may exist in their behavior, you might not label these relatives or friends as unstable, or even mentally ill. At times, it may appear easier to identify more apparent behaviors of mental illness such as a person plagued by a traumatic event, or a depressed person who might not get out of bed for days. Most individuals suffering from mental illness, however, show little to no signs in behavior. At times, a person’s level of risk and resilience may play a role in masking signs of mental illness. With your future role in the field of psychology, understanding the conceptual differences between mental health and mental illness may allow you to recognize a difference between simply odd behavior and actually abnormal behavior for an accurate diagnosis.   This week, you analyze mental health and mental illness. You also examine the significance of environmental variables, as well as risk and resilience in client diagnosis.  

Objectives: 

1. Analyze mental health and mental illness 

2.  Analyze conceptualization of mental health and mental illness on assessment and diagnosis 

3.  Analyze environmental variables for risk and resilience 

4.  Evaluate environmental variables on client diagnosis 

5. Analyze the interaction of environmental variables with individual variables in the development of psychopathology