Inadequate Mental Health Care Analysis

Many citizens do not get the help they need because they are afraid of what will happen after telling someone their feelings. Why is that? People with mental illnesses should be okay with telling someone, while not being scared about what they might think of them after getting the help. That is why citizens should get the help they need. Which then when they do not get the help they need it can lead to even worse circumstances. According to a doctor with a PhD, David Susman. The eight reasons people do not get help when they have a mental illness is, one, fear and shame. Two, limited awareness; three, lack of insight; four, feelings of inadequacy; five, distrust; six, hopefulness; seven, unavailability; lastly, practical barriers. Although that most likely did not make any sense to the reader, citizens with or without a mental illness should address the problem so people with mental illness do not feel like they are alone. If the depression does not get help thoughts of suicide become a natural occurrence, the depression can become worse, likewise other medical issues can arise. Such as pains/aches can happen all over the person with a mental illness, the brain chemistry of a person with a mental disorder changes which can lead to strokes or even a heart attack. The well being of those who have a mental health issue that do not get help, remains appalling, alarming, furthermore the people with mental health issues have perpetual

Mental illness is one problem that will most likely never go away. Our population gets bigger by the day and more and more people are being diagnosed with mental illnesses every hour. Even with this being true, we are continuing to shut down mental health facilities, decrease funding, and so on. Instead, we leave these people to their own. With the large

The Mental Healthcare has failed the patients that they are supposed to be helping. According to Huffingtonpost.com “The national alliance on mental illness in 2009 gave America’s mental health

The lack of treatment for mental illnesses — due partly from the stigma with which it is associated with — comes with a number of public issues: economically,

One of the biggest contributors for poor healthcare is the stigma against mental health. This stigma allows healthcare providers to view those with a mental illness as having low relevance, thus creating disinclination towards providing adequate resources and/or care. This negative stance, based on misinformation and prejudice creates those that have a mental illness to lose their self confidence. Because of this loss, people with mental illness decide not to contribute to their health or livelihood. In the past fifty years, many advances have been made in mental healthcare. However, with the attached stigma, many people choose to not seek out treatment.

According to the World Health Organization, mental illness will affect approximately 25% of people at some point in their life (“WHO Qualityrights”, n.d.). Despite that, the current mental health care system in the United States is inadequate. Many aspects of the system need improving, especially the barriers to service. In fact, approximately 20% of individuals are left without necessary treatment for their mental health disorder (“Mental Health”, 2016). Mentally ill individuals have difficulty accessing necessary mental health care services for various reasons; insurance, socioeconomic status, and mental health stigma can all function as barriers to treatment. Insurance discrimination can make it difficult for individuals to find treatment (Han, Call, Pintor, Alarcon-Espinoza, & Simon, 2015). Gaps in insurance coverage can also be a barrier, as they disrupt the long-term treatment process (Gulley, Rasch, & Chan 2011). Socioeconomic status has been found to negatively affect appointment scheduling (Kugelmass, 2016). Finally, stigma in our society can also stop people from seeking out treatment that they need (Bathje & Pryor, 2011). The mental health system in the United States is not capable of caring for the mentally ill, as insurance, socioeconomic status, and perceived stigma all act as barriers that prevent people from receiving the treatment they need.

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.

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.

Lack of access to mental health care and treatment is one of the top ten reasons that many mental health conditions go untreated. Many private and group health insurance plans only include minimal mental health care coverage or do not incorporate mental health care coverage at all. Over half of adult citizens of the United States of America, who possess a mental illness, do not obtain mental health care treatment. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one out of every five adults in America have endured their own mental health difficulty, and one out of every twenty-five American adults suffer from a severe mental illness, such as major depression, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder. (Top 5 Barriers to Mental Healthcare Access, Social Solutions.com, 2017)

Just last year 1 in 5 Americans suffered from mental illness. Everyday Americans and people in other countries are suffering because of mental illness and they should be treated to matter the cost. Mental health has just as much effect on the body as does physical health. Which that comes to my essential question. Should health care companies cover mental health treatment? One side says yes because that would help millions of people with getting treatment because the cost is too extensive for them. But on one side of the claim some people say that the cost is too severe to cover everyone’s mental health treatment through insurance. Nevertheless, It is extremely essential that no matter the cost that people are being treated for their mental illnesses. Many people are suffering from unfair treatment from insurance companies with mental health issues to prove that I will talk about that people really do suffer, that mental health patients really do want help and lastly that it is legally deemed to be treated the same insurance wise.

The only way for mental health and addictions to be supportive and change is through continuation of education, awareness, and getting bills passed on the floor. Even though the Civil Rights Act passed just over fifty years ago this country still has a problem! So, how in the world do we expect for the government to play a role in something that is still misunderstood? There are those who despise the Affordable Health Care Act, and there are those who ignore the urgency to reform the mental health care for people and families. Sure, billions of dollars are spent on treatments, but it’s not enough. Most of the money is spent towards prescriptions. Other problems such as attitudes and stigmas continue to be barriers to services in our communities.

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

United States have definitely failed on the their responsibility to provide adequate spaces for people with mental health issues. No one should have to be denied treatment because the facility or the hospital they choose to go to doesn't have enough bed to serve patients that need care. People with severe mental illness can no be taken as a joke as some can harm themself or the people around them. We must take in account of the story of what happened to Virginia State Senator Deeds and his son. Just because Deeds want to help his son and get him treated Gus tried to kill his father but instead in the end took his own life. That could of been avoid if the hospital they went to earlier took Gus in when he need help.

When people are mentally ill, they suffer social stigma, have higher health costs, and are at an increased risk of becoming poor. Every one out of five Americans is diagnosed with a mental illness. That 20 percent of the population can negatively influence the normal stresses of life, working productively and fruitfully, and being able to make a contribution the community. When humankind as a whole cannot recognize that mental illness is a serious issue, there is more harm being done than good. Any kind of mental illness can be caused merely by society, but also can worsen due to humanity not understanding how injustice can make a serious impact. The mental health problems that people face can be limited to society learning about the injustice of these illnesses.

This paper will be looking at the public mental health services in Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding areas. It will also be looking at the inter-relationships among systems that influence the quality of life of people in the public mental health system. Such as accesses to care, housing, employment, substance abuse treatment, etc. According to the Arizona Department of Health Services “All Arizona residents touched by the public behavioral health system are easily able to access high quality prevention, support, rehabilitation and treatment services that have resiliency and recovery principles at their core, which assist them in achieving their unique goals for a desired quality of life in their homes and communities” (ADHS). however, this