Mental Health Information

HereSince1628

(36,063 posts) Fri Mar 22, 2013, 01:25 PM Mar 2013

3 Ways the American Mental Health System Has Fallen Apart [View all]

http://www.policymic.com/articles/30347/3-trends-that-have-crippled-our-nation-s-mental-health-system

Hetali Lodaya inScience, Public Health

Ever since Dorthea Dix’s clarion call for more attention to patients with mental illness, the United States has struggled to find the best way to serve a growing segment of our population – about 26.2% of individuals over the age of 18 have a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.

There have been great successes, like Truman’s 1946 National Mental Health Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act, which finally put mental and physical illness on the same legal footing.

Three trends — de-institutionalization, budget cuts, and the unique state of mental health in the military — consistently plague our national mental health system.

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3 Ways the American Mental Health System Has Fallen Apart [View all] HereSince1628 Mar 2013 OP

I guess lack of parity would fall under #2 and is, imo, the biggest problem. cbayer Mar 2013 #1

wouldn't that be a violation of the parity act? fizzgig Mar 2013 #3

Big holes in that act. cbayer Mar 2013 #5

thanks for the info fizzgig Mar 2013 #6

I suspect parity is in part a problem because of a thing going unnamed... HereSince1628 Mar 2013 #8

Agree with all of that. cbayer Mar 2013 #9

Not entirely true. Neoma Mar 2013 #10

we have done our troops a great disservice when it comes to mental health fizzgig Mar 2013 #2

Besides the stigma, there is a increasingly severe shortage of mental health cbayer Mar 2013 #7

'The right balance between institutions and community-based care is elusive.' elleng Mar 2013 #4