Access Vs. Availability Of Mental Health Care

Barriers to mental health care exist for many populations in the United States and hinder the abilities of preventative care to treat mental health issues effectively. Some barriers to mental health care include: the perception that treatment is not needed, the patient does not finish the course of treatment, or for financial reasons, treatment is unobtainable. A study by Mojtabai, et al. (2011) investigated the barriers, stating, “Desire to handle the problem on one 's own was the most common reason among respondents with perceived need both for not seeking treatment (72.6%)...Attitudinal/evaluative factors were much

Problem Statement: The World Health Association defines ‘good’ health as: “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” However, in the United States, access to care and funding for mental health care are grossly neglected and underfunded in comparison to other aspects of health care.

Due to the State of California cutting back on spending towards people with mental illnesses it affected a lot of people. Some of the people with a mental illness could no longer cover the costs to care for themselves and ended up becoming homeless because of it. Mental health is a serious concern in communities that needs to get resolved or worked on rather than cutting back funding for this issue. In California alone “more than 2 million children, adults, and seniors are affected by potentially disabling mental illnesses every year in California” (mhsoac.ca.gov). There should be adequate funding to make sure that people diagnosed with a mental illness and can

In their article, Carolyn Reinach Wolf and Jamie A. Rosen propose that, “Individuals suffering from a mental illness need increased access to and funding for AOT, outpatient treatment programs, residential treatment programs, psychiatric case management, and appropriate psychiatric housing, among others” (870). Anyone with mental illness should have access to the health care they need, whether they’re an upper class citizen, in the criminal justice system, or even homeless. Having access to proper mental health care can drastically change a person’s mood and outlook on life; it allows them a way to coup with mental illness. Proper mental health care provides surveillance, and the red flag behaviors can be identified and treated before people lash out. Also, to prevent shootings, school systems and workplaces should have a system in place to connect information that indicates a serious issue. Along with this, these facilities should have stronger connections with mental health facilities and law enforcement to keep everyone safe. Communication is key in any society, and if we can communicate with each other, we are more likely to

“Despite many calls for change, mental health care continues to be separate from the rest of health care. Difficulties in accessing mental health care have become a “de facto” in the US. Although screening for mental illness in primary care has increased in recent years, subsequent treatment remains inadequate and referral for specialty treatment continues to suffer from long delays. In the National Comorbidity Study, only 21.7% of individuals with major depressive disorder received adequate treatment (Grembowski, 2002).”

As of now, approximately 1 in 5 Americans has a mental health condition (The State of Mental Health in America), and there is a serious shortage of mental health providers, with an approximately “1:1000 ratio of mental health providers to patients” in the worst states (The State of Mental Health in America). Even in Vermont, the state with the best access to mental health treatment, 43% of adults with mental illness did not receive treatment (The State of Mental Health in America). Since there are not nearly enough mental health professionals to treat everyone who needs help, priority ends up going to those who are the most dangerous. While perhaps focusing on treating the people most likely to be a danger to others (and to a lesser concern, themselves) will help the greatest number of people as no one wants another mass murder perpetrated by someone untreated for relevant mental illnesses, this focus ignores the millions of non-dangerous American adults and children languishing due to psychological distress. I believe one of my friends, who I will call “Sam Harrison”, was unable to obtain proper mental health care for depression for this reason. In our sophomore year of high school, Sam’s grades had taken a nosedive because he could not muster up the

In today’s society, mental hospitals are still a potential solution for the mentally ill, but they are seeing a steady decline in incoming patients. Although there is still a need for the mentally ill to be admitted to mental institutions such as hospitals, the reality is that the heightened cost of treatment deters many potential patients. Instead, the mentally

In our current society, many believe that barriers to mental health treatments are “limited availability and affordability of mental health care services, insufficient mental health care policies, lack of education about mental illness, and stigma” (Unite for Site, 2000-2013). If those barriers exist for

Mental illness is a major burden on society that is not given enough attention or resources, especially in the United States. The continued neglect of these needs concerning related conditions dates back to the beginning of history, while diagnoses and the need for adequate care have only continued to rise. These inequalities in the United States mental health care system create enormous ethical challenges for these individuals in receiving health care. “In 2007 about 11% of adults (23.7 million) in the United States experienced serious psychological distress, such as anxiety and mood disorders, that resulted in functional impairment that impeded one or more major life activities” (Sundararaman, 2009,

In today’s society there is a greater awareness of mental illnesses. With this greater awareness one might assume that there would be a substantial increase in government involvement or funding in the area of mental illness treatment. Unfortunately this isn’t the case in the U.S. today. There are hundreds of thousands of people with mental illness that go untreated. These potential patients go untreated for many reasons. These reasons are discussed in the Time article “Mental Health Reform: What Would it Really Take.

Every year, as many as 8 million Americans who have serious mental illnesses do not receive adequate treatment. Kelly, a mother of three, has battled depression for 15 years. Her psychiatrist tried to have her admitted, but there was not a single available bed. Not in the city, not in the entire state. Kelly is one of the millions of people who were turned away from services. “States looking to save money have pared away both the community health services designed to keep people healthy, as well as the hospital care needed to help them heal after a crisis” (Szabo). Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, states that mental illnesses cost the country at least $444 billion a year, with only one-third of it going towards medical care. States should better fund mental health care because it has been neglected, it is a vital part to a person’s overall health, and it should be listed as a priority.

Response: In today's society, it is apparent that we are facing a mental health crisis. The lack of mental health care has had disastrous effects on this Nation. To address the issue, our society must first concern ourselves with how ordinary people pay for mental health care. The way people pay for mental health services today is not sufficient. Most states have laws in place making it a requirement for insurance companies to provide mental health care. However, because health care providers create limits on how many mental health professionals are on their panel, and thanks to the inordinate amount of people seeking care, health providers purposefully make it difficult to acquire mental health care in order to save money. This intern means that people seeking mental health care often do so at their own monetary expense.

Access to mental health care is not as good as than other forms of medical services. Some Americans have reduced access to mental health care amenities because they are living in a countryside setting. Others cannot get to treatment for the reason of shortage of transportation or vast work and household tasks. In some areas, when a

On the opposing side, there are opinions that raise questions as to whether more federal monies should be allocated to mental health. There is a difference in the diagnosis of a mental health disorder versus a medical diagnosis. Whereas medical diagnoses have precise gauges of a disease, mental health diagnoses are far more difficult and unclear to visually see. Certain clinical psychologists argue that increasing the likelihood and number of mental health diagnosis will leave negative impacts on students of the younger generations. “For children, the lens is still being formed. There is more that can be done to ease some of their difficulties and empower the family to function better” (Westfall, 2011). This is what clinicians argue against

One in five adults has a mental health condition, that's over 40 million Americans; more than the populations of New York and Florida combined (Mental Health in America, 2017). More Americans have access to health care services by the Affordable Care Act. Access to insurance and treatment increased, as healthcare reform has reduced the rates of uninsured adults. The greatest decrease in uninsured adults with mental illnesses was seen in states that expanded Medicaid, but most Americans still lack access to care; 56% of American adults with a mental illness do not receive treatment (Mental Health in America, 2017). Even in Maine, the state with the best access, 41.4% of adults with a mental illness do not receive treatment (Mental Health in America, 2017). There is a serious