Deviation from ideal mental health

• Behaviour that does not meet established ‘healthy’ criteria
• Considers what makes someone ‘normal’, and therefore identify anyone who deviates
• ’Ideal’ mental health

  • No symptoms or distress
  • Rational perceptions of ourselves
  • Self actualisation (reaching potential)
  • Cope with stress
  • realistic view of the world
  • good self esteem - lack guilt
  • Independent of other people
  • Successfully work - love and enjoy our leisure
• Can overlap with failure to function, EG inability to keep a job as a result of being unable to cope with stress
• Strengths:

  • A positive approach through defining normality
• Weaknesses:

  • Lacks utility through the criteria being very strict
  • Culture bias / lacks population validity as its based towards an individualistic culture, where collectivist cultures are more orientated to group needs
  • difficult to measure reality is subjective