2 Medical perspectives
A medical approach to mental health, as represented by the work of GPs and psychiatrists, does not rule out the impact of social and psychological factors in causing mental health problems. However, this approach does tend to take biological factors into account, and medical practitioners can use pharmaceutical drugs as part of their toolkit when treating someone with mental health problems. Scientific research in this field often looks at the structures and the physical processes going on within the brain. So this approach is often referred to as being based on a ‘bio-medical’ model of mental health.