While it's unlikely we will achieve a perfect medical system, in your personal opinion, what are the pros and cons of the medical model of illness and the biomedical, Western view of medicine?

 

Medical Model of Illness

The medical model of illness school of thought is that mental disorders are believed to be the product of physiological factors. The medical model, which is more widely used by psychiatrists than psychologists, treats mental disorders as physical diseases whereby medication is often used in treatment.

The Pros of Medical Model of Illness

1. It is generally succinct, tangible and easily understandable.
2. It is viewed as objective objective, being based on mature biological science.
3. It is in accordance with a scientific method which relies primarily on objective and measurable observation. This enables it to offer terminology, formulations and explanations which can seemingly be unambiguously understood and handled in an identical fashion by all similarly trained people.
4. It has given sight into the causes of some conditions, such as GPI and Alzheimer's disease, an organic condition causing confusion in the elderly.
5. Treatment is quick and, relative to alternatives, cheap and easy to administer.

The Cons of Medical Model of Illness

1. The treatments have serious side effects, for example ECT can cause memory loss, and they are not always effective. The drugs might not not 'cure' the condition, but simply act as chemical straitjacket.
2. It support the false notion of dualism in health, where biological and psychological problems are treated separately.
3. The failure to find convincing physical causes foremost mental illnesses must throw the validity of the medical model into question .
4. It focuses too heavily on disability and impartment rather than on individual's abilities strengths.
5. Labelling someone mentally ill comes along ethical issues. Labelling can lead to discrimination and loss of rights.
6. Psychiatric diagnostic manuals such as the DSM and ICD are not works of objective science, but rather works of culture since they have largely been developed through clinical consensus and voting.

Biomedical Model

According to the biomedical model, health constitutions the freedom from disease, pain, or defect, making the normal human condition "healthy". The model's focus on the physical processes does not take into account the role of social factors or individual subjectivity. It focuses on purely biological factors and excludes psychological, environmental, and social influences. It is considered to be leading modern way for health are professionals to diagnose and treat a condition in most western countries.

 The Pros of Biomedical Model

1. It encourages research into illness, rather than assuming nothing can be done.
2. The knowledge of causes helps us to avoid illness.
3. Many successful treatments have been developed as a result of research.
4. Relieves symptoms such as hallucinations, a rapid heartbeat or constant worrying so that the individual starts to feel better.
5. Provides access to help and support can help to alleviate some of the things that trouble the individual such as being able to to go shopping.

The Cons of Biomedical Model

1. It ignores the view that health and illness are relative and are socially constructed.
2. It assumes that the cause f mental illness lies within the individual so the focus of treatment is on bodily symptoms.
3. It focuses too much on treatment, rather than prevention.
4. It assumes that there is a focus on what is normal so that medical judgements determine what is not normal.
5. Coward (1989) points out that it suggests health problems are individual and ignores the social factors which can cause illness.
6. Latrogenesis could be used as a disadvantage because it states that the illness is actually brought on by the healer.