• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.3-8
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• 2012

Understanding the biopsychosocial model of illness is crucial for any meaningful advance of health. The maintenance and promotion of health is achieved by different combinations of physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being. Health is not an objective of living. It is not only a state, but also a resource for everyday life. Health is a positive concept that emphasizes personal and social resources, as well as physical capacities. Understanding the biopsychosocial model of health and disease is very important in the medical system. George Engel challenged the medical profession to reconsider a strict biomedical approach to medical education and care, and to embrace a "new medical model," the biopsychosocial model. He argued that humans are at once biological, psychological, and social beings who behave in certain ways that can promote or harm their health. Although understanding the biopsychosocial model of illness is important, Korea's medical system have mainly been focusing on the biomedical model of illness. I would like to highlight the importance of biopsychosocial model of illness for Korea's medical system and real clinical field according to the 20th anniversary of Korean Society of Psychosomatic Medicine.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.203-233
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• 2004

Rapid process of industrialization and modernization in Korea has caused earning differentials between the rich and the poor, the feeling of alienation followed by excessive competitions among the members of community as well as the conflict between generations. Because of those factors, Koreans have come to undergo several mental problems such as anxiety, melancholy and suicide. However, scarce concern or effort has been given to solve those mental problems in the professional field of mental health. Social work service for mental health in Korea has been delivered on the basis of the Law of Mental Health, most of which are focused on treatment or care of mental patient himself or his family. Therefore ordinary people who have no mental disorder but have desire for mental health have no way to take service in the field of public mental health except for counselling programs given by some of the private social welfare institutions. In this context, the process of clarifying the concept of mental health is demanded before we develop the mental health program. As social welfare is the practical science that helps people seek after happiness and meaningful life, so clarifying the concept of mental health is needed not only for the field of mental health itself but also for every field of social welfare. In order to achieve this purpose, this study firstly arranged concepts of mental health in Korea using Q methodology. As the result, we found 21 dimensions including spiritual one and self-wellbeing one which newly identified in this study as well as 19 dimensions of Jahoda. We also found Koreans perceive concepts of mental health as independently as 5 types of Communalist, Rationalist, Individualist, Humanist, and Religionist. Secondly, on the basis of the result, we suggested that mental health programs in social welfare should be oriented to the positive concept of mental health. This study could furnish fundamental data that enable the concept of mental health to be spread to that of the growth for a better life not limiting on that of the prevention or the treatment of the mental disorder.