Question

How can the mental health services in the US be improved? What steps can be taken to revitalize this failing system?

*Please answer in DETAIL and provide ALL websites used*

This is really important, thank you!

Answer 1

Mental disorders are common worldwide, yet the quality of care for these disorders has not increased to the same extent as that for physical conditions. In the 50 years since the implementation of the Community Mental Health Act, we have learned a great deal about how to improve the mental health of the nation.

Although solution is pretty clear but as a nation our efforts on economic and political grounds are lacking. We should understand that it would greatly reduce the economic burden of mental illness; increase productivity, achievement, and independence; and improve the lives of millions of Americans and their families.

The following are 5 steps America could take that would immediately and greatly improve the existing overburdened mental health system and would help ensure delivery of effective, high quality, coordinated, and evidence-based care for Americans with mental illnesses.

1: Increase Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services

Our nation is often reluctant to make the investments necessary to provide effective prevention, treatment, and recovery services for mental illness as it does for other health conditions despite having knowledge of its shortcomings. These investments would improve care coordination and save money by preventing the use of costly crisis care and hospitalizations and preserve these resources for when they are truly needed. America should invest in increased

1) prevention – that includes reducing the tragedy of suicide

2) integrated treatment and early intervention

3) recovery services – such as supported employment, supportive housing, and peer-operated services – and target much of these efforts for people with serious mental illnesses and their families.

While the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act will help, more resources are required at both the state and federal levels to adequately provide needed quality mental health services.

2: Expand the Mental Health Workforce

Workforce shortages continue to burden an already underfunded and fragmented mental health system. A trauma-informed, recovery-oriented and culturally competent workforce in numbers and locations adequate to meet the need is essential for increased service delivery capacity and system improvement. The delivery of safe, effective, and high-quality coordinated care is dependent on workforce competencies. America should invest in training and education of the mental health workforce including evidence-based and effective clinical and psychosocial innovations that incorporate medications, counseling, crisis prevention and intervention strategies, engagement techniques, community support services, and use of peer and family providers.

3: Widen the Use of Health Information Technology

New information technologies are revolutionizing health and behavioral healthcare and exponentially expand the outreach and engagement of populations into mental health treatment and services via electronic health records, telepsychiatry, self-care applications, on-line psychotherapies, and many other approaches. Such technologies can help to achieve needed efficiencies to address gaps in care availability and accessibility that will enable individuals to attain help in a confidential, easy-to-access manner. Use of these technologies can also help to support the workforce stay abreast of the most recent developments and training opportunities in the behavioral health field.

4: Educate the Public

Negative attitudes, beliefs, and behavior about mental illness and prejudice and discrimination toward individuals with mental illnesses and their families continues to be one of the greatest barriers to improving mental health care and helping those in need. Negative beliefs deter the public from wanting to pay for care, despite the prevalence and impact of mental illness on the lives of Americans. Public rejection often prevents individuals from seeking care. America should invest in multiple, evidence-based public education and awareness strategies, campaigns, and engagement activities to reduce prejudice and discrimination. Such efforts should be done in schools, workplaces, faith communities, and other settings until mental disorders are understood and treated the same as any other set of health conditions, and emotional health development is considered just as important as exercising and resting to take care of our bodies, and preventing death by suicide is just as important as preventing death from cancer.

5: Invest in Research

Despite the gains in our knowledge about mental illness and what works best to ameliorate symptoms, restore and improve functioning, and assist persons with mental illness to live successfully in the community, we still have much to learn. We are just beginning to understand how the brain functions and how our genes and the environment – including trauma – impact our emotional well-being. Bio-markers for mental illnesses are not yet available, making the assessment and treatment of mental illnesses often less precise than other health conditions. Our ability to identify and practice early intervention to prevent long term disability or death from these conditions needs to be further developed. The research about which services and supports work best for different kinds of people and in a variety of circumstances deserves more attention in and from the research community. We also need to understand more about moving what we do know into practice more quickly with a much wider reach. Evidence-based care is possible and more evidence is needed.

References:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/getting-mental-health-on-the-docket/485996/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5775149/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19833/