Question

Briefly summarize the history of the United States mental health care system. What are some of the issues surrounding mental health and mental health care in the United States today? How are we addressing those issues?

Answer 1

Mental illness was regarded by many cultures as a form of religious retribution or demonic possession. Mental illness was defined as a religious or personal issue in ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek, and Roman scriptures. Hippocrates was a pioneer in the 5th century B.C. in treating mentally ill patients with methods not rooted in religion or superstition; instead, he concentrated on modifying the environment or profession of a mentally ill patient, or prescribing such substances as drugs. During the Middle Ages it was assumed that the mentally ill were possessed or in need of faith. In the United States, negative attitudes to mental illness continued into the 18th century,

Although institutionalized care increased patient access to mental health services, the state hospitals were often underfunded and understaffed, and after several high-profile reports of poor living conditions and human rights violations the institutional care system drew harsh criticism. In several countries a drive for deinstitutionalization and outpatient care started by the mid-1950s, encouraged by the introduction of a range of antipsychotic medicines. Deinstitutionalization efforts have represented a predominantly international campaign to change the mental health system based on asylum and shift towards community-oriented treatment

Although the goal of deinstitutionalization – enhancing mental illness care and quality of life – is not controversial, the nature of deinstitutionalization has rendered it a highly polarizing problem. While several studies have reported positive outcomes from community-based mental health services (including changes in behavioral behavior, friendships, and patient satisfaction), many studies have shown that individuals living in family homes or in independent group living environments have substantial deficits in essential health care aspects, including vaccines, cancer screening.

Mental Health America (MHA), originally founded as the National Committee for Mental Hygiene by Clifford Beers in 1909, aims to improve the lives of mentally ill people in the United States through research and lobbying efforts. There were also a number of legislative programs that helped strengthen the U.S. mental health system. Harry Truman passed the National Mental Health Act in 1946, which established the National Mental Health Institute and provided government funds for research into the causes and treatments of mental illness.

Youth mental health is getting worse. From 2012 to 2017, the prevalence of Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in the past year increased from 8.66 per cent to 13.01 per cent among 12-17 youth. Currently more than two million young people have serious disability with MDE. The prevalence of mental health in adults is fairly constant but the ideation of suicide is growing. Adult suicidal ideation rose from 3.77 per cent in 2012 to 4.19 per cent in 2017. That's more than 10.3 million US adults with serious suicide thoughts.

Mental health America approaches politics in a special way. MHA believes that policy should ask people what it takes to lead the lives they want and help them get there. Recovery is based on the idea that when people obtain the help they need, they will take on positive positions in the community given the mental health challenges. The goal of MHA is regeneration for all. Nothing is more important than allowing everyone, and those they care about, to have the opportunity to live the life they want with meaningful roles within the community.