Bellevue: Inside Out

In the video Bellevue: Inside Out there were many patients that had similar diagnoses but very different symptoms. They all responded differently to their medications and acted differently. The most common diagnosis was Bipolar disorder and Schizophrenia. Many of the patients were a danger to themselves and others. The video was created to help the knowledge of Abnormal Psychology and help students understand what goes on in a psychiatric ward. Many people do believe that it was wrong for the APA to make a video about these people when they weren’t in their right minds from the heavy use of medication. The patients may not have been in the right mind but the video still helped us get a better understanding of mental illnesses. The medications were given to the patients at Bellevue to calm them down and stop some of their symptoms. For some symptoms it is necessary because some of the patients were a danger to themselves and those around them. Not all of the patients needed as much medication as others did. The medication was heavy duty stuff, it made some people have difficulties walking and difficulties speaking. A lot of the patients come and go even when they have serious problems. Bellevue should change the rules for people that have life threatening problems.

The patients that volunteered to be at Bellevue didn’t all have problems, one man just abused the resources that were given to him. When the patients go to Bellevue they should stay until the doctors know they will use their medication and when the doctor say it is okay to leave. The video did help advance the knowledge of Abnormal Psychology because before the video most people didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. The video helped many people understand what was going on at a psychiatric ward. Without the video there wouldn’t be a good understanding of mental illnesses. The patients may not have been in the right mind with all of the medication that they are given but the video helped advance the knowledge of abnormal psychology. Most of the treatment towards patients were ethical, like Cheryl was treated very well and she felt like she didn’t deserve such treatment. Having to tie down some of the patients that weren’t a threat was kind of overkill, some would have walked or sat nicely on the bed when they were taken into Bellevue.

Tying the patients to the bed is what made them very mad and pushed them over the edge. Some of the patients that could leave Bellevue should have slowly gone into the outside world instead of just letting them go on their own, without any help. Bruce should have taken the medication instead of going to court to have Bellevue not give him medication. Without the medication he wouldn’t get any better. The hospital could have met him in the middle and given him a smaller dose of the medication that would still help him without the side effects that would make him depressed or have difficulties with speech and movement. Without the medication Bruce couldn’t be helped in anyway.

The employees at Bellevue take their job very seriously and they do everything in their power to calm down patients when they have a break down or dangerous outburst. The employees manage to laugh at some things, like having their finger be bitten off by a man. They are very professional do, they try to be as honest as they can to the patients, even if they are only partial truths. One of the patients asked an employee if god was punishing her for something and that was why she was the way she was, the employee said that she wasn’t being punished and tried to find words that would make her feel better without lying completely. The employees seem to try to be nice to their patients even if they drive them insane at times.