S.689: Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2013
Introduction
In the course of proper identification, evaluation, and treatment, children and adolescents suffering with mental illness can conduct positive, normal lives. Nevertheless, the devastating majority of children with mental illnesses are unsuccessfully identified and the lack of treatment or support services have led to a subordinate worth of life and violence. The Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2013 (S. 689) is an inclusive bill proposed to address the extensive issue of mental health. By strongly considering the United States’ struggle against mental illness and school violence, as well as utilizing theoretical constructs to examine the Senate’s bill, a social worker can develop a more holistic perspective that can productively integrate practical insights reached from a variety of different points of view.
Part A: Legislation and Political Context Senate (S.) 689 is the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2013, which resanctions and increases critical behavioral health programs through superior federal education and healthcare programs related to awareness, early identification, and prevention of mental illness (The Library of Congress, 2013). United States Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) pioneered S. 689 on April 9, 2013 (The Library of Congress, 2013). There are 23 co-sponsors of the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2013, including 14
People with mental illness have always been discriminated against; to have an exclusion such as this go through Congress without being repealed is reprehensible. The IMD Exclusion provides the states with financial incentives to provide substandard care, or no care at all. It encourages states to shift costs by placing mentally ill patients anywhere but psychiatric hospitals (Davoli, 2003).
Mental health services and mental health awareness will ensure that our youth are not only physically healthy but mentally as well. Although it is not always the youth who commit these violent acts involving guns, I believe that reaching the youth is the best way for prevention. Robert Ross said it best: “Early detection and treatment is the key. We need to reach troubled children when problems first emerge, while there’s still time to guide them back on the right track” (Ross, 2015, p. 507). According to the United States Government, one out of every four or five adolescents meets the specification for a mental disorder. However, Mental health not only refers to the lack of a mental disorder or disease, but also to well-being emotionally, socially, and psychologically. Children who are mentally healthy are able to adapt to their changing environment, develop healthy relationships, use coping techniques, and more (U.S Government, n.d.). It is important to understand what mental health is and means so that society may better recognize an individual that does not quite meet those metal health standards; this will better aid us in violence prevention.
They had gotten to be too extensive, cumbersome and the framework had opened itself up to manhandle. In 1961 the Minister of Health, Enoch Powell was welcome to talk at the AGM of the National Association for Mental Health. In his discourse he reported that it the administration of the day proposed to "the disposal of by a long shot most of the nation's mental clinics." in the meantime, territorial loads up were requested that "guarantee that no more cash than should be expected is spent on redesigning and reconditioning". This declaration had paralyzed the therapeutic callings, as there had been no sign that the legislature was going to travel in this heading; just a modest bunch of trial group care programs existed around the nation. It would
The Mental Health Services Act is a monumental proposition that has helped many people for more than a decade. In California alone, close to 1.2 million adults and around 422,000 children live with a serious mental illness (State 2010). Without the proper treatment, suicide is the leading cause of death for a person battling an untreated mental illness (State 2010). With over thirteen billion dollars raised so far, MHSA has been the root of funding for mental health in California (Williams 2015). MHSA is still a work in progress. The act is nowhere near perfect, as a recent audit has shown, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.
This essay will research and reflect a service user’s perspective on what legal and ethical implications John and his family may go through during his admission onto section 2 and how it will affect different aspects of his life such as; employment, relationships, continuing treatments and engagement issues.
The goal of the Excellence in Mental Health Act (EMHA) is not to direct healthcare professionals on how they should provide care, instead, the EMHA is designed to aid a facility in its ability to provide each client with an excellent standard of care despite his or her particular situation. The act offers quality objectives that intend to place a renewed focus on person-center care as well as the quality of the care delivered.
The policy I will be analysing is called The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act (MHPAEA) of 2008. This act requires the same level of benefits for substance use treatment and mental services as one would receive for medical care from their health insurance. The MHPAEA’s requirements were expanded by the Affordable Care Act that some health insurance plans should cover mental health and substance abuse treatment and services. This act will allow many social workers to treat more patients with low incomes and that have substance use disorders. It can further aid to impoverished substance abusers that normally would not be able to receive treatment.
Starting in 1996, Congress passed The Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, designating mental health and substance use disorder services be improved (Mann, 2013). The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) expanded mental health and substance use disorder benefits to include parity laws at the state level (Beronio, Po, Skopec, & Glied, 2013). These laws, in accordance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), have helped 16.4 million uninsured people to obtain health insurance coverage including those with a serious mental illness (Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, 2015).
And how do we reach out to children and adults alike about bullying and mental health? Through my experience from participating in Brock’s MedPlus program, a co- curricular program offered to high achieving academics, I can confidently say that Public Health is a key factor in distributing this information and doing so in an effective manner. I strongly believe that education and conversations with individuals and mentors who can empathise with mental health is an effective tool in reducing stigma. The real challenge is sparking an interest and a willingness to listen in these individuals, this comes more easily with a personal connection. Chances are, most of the individuals we want to reach know someone, work with someone, or have seen some of these signs of mental illness within themselves all we have to do is label these behaviours and feelings and ask the right questions.
Principles of the Mental Health Act. The Mental Health Act 2014 contains a number of principles to guide the provision of mental health services:
Major laws have been indorsed to ensure some safeguard for the mentally ill, and care is now more straightforwardly attainable than ever (Lippman, 1998). In response to this fact, a development that was enacted years ago in determination to get the mentally ill to support themselves, called deinstitutionalization, has attributed to the problem of over 2.2 million homeless mentally ill. Says one scientist: "It's like 2 steps forward and 5 steps back." (Roleff, 2007). In as much as there are mentally ill people who need to be hospitalized and treated with the proper care to ensure healthy life, there are those who only want to live like normal people. Miller wrote about a mentally disturbed 13 year old, Katie Flair, wants to go to school with other children her age who have normal lives. Her mother and father are currently struggling with all they have to guarantee her acceptance in public school, even though the school's claim they have no qualified teachers to accommodate Katie. Her mother self-confidently states, "She will be fine in public school. If she continues in this special school, she will become anonymous. You just don't develop relationships there." (Miller
After introducing oneself to the patient, and going over the patient’s records, capacity needs to be established to provide person-centred care. The Mental Health Act 1983 has 5 sections, of which Jamie has seen sectioned under section 2, which is upon admission to hospital the patient can be detained for up to 28 days in the hospital for assessment requiring 2 Doctors and 1 approved mental health practitioner (Lloyd M, 2012). Section 2 of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) outlined “capacity” as being incapable of making decisions for yourself in relation to the matter because of an impairment or a disturbance in the functioning of the mind or brain. The Act declares that in law it is presumed adults have the capacity to make choices and requires proof if they remain unable to. Jamie was examined by The Older People’s Mental Health team (OPMH) and an
A mental ailment is a lot like a physical ailment in the sense that it is can be very difficult for the patient to overcome if they don’t have access to proper medical care. Diagnosis and treatment are imperative when combating mental illness, and I hope that I can help reduce the number of people that fight the battle alone. I want to try to give any patients of mine the life they deserve in spite of their mental condition. Furthermore, ensuring that victims of mental illness receive proper aid results in a safer environment for the people around them as well. Without treatment the patient's mental condition could become worse, and they could put themselves or others in danger. Mental disorders alone are not necessarily predictors for violence, but can lead to violent acts when left untreated or coupled with something like substance abuse disorder. Substance abuse can potentially amplify pre-existing symptoms in a person suffering from a mental condition, and roughly half of the 20 million individuals that have a substance abuse problem in the US also have a coexisting mental illness. Helping people is an empowering act, but the countless number of lives that could be saved in the process is priceless, and it is another huge reason my heart is set on this career. However, around fifty percent of people with mental disorders still go untreated, and the solution to this problem is much more complex than
Katy was receiving treatment for her psychological disorder under the mental health act (MHA) 1992, which was acknowledged as being a voluntary patient. According to The Ministry of Health (MOH) 2012, voluntary patient means that Katy decided to have treatment for her mental illness, however, she has the right to suspend that treatment and she also has the right to leave at any time while being treated in the hospital. Therefore, the (MHA) 1992 covers the circumstances under which people may be subjected to compulsory mental health assessment and treatment. Mental health disorder is defined as an abnormal state of mind characterised by disorders (MOH, 2012). It is normally identified based on the presenting symptoms the patient is experiencing rather than the clinical analysis (MOH, 2012). The success of treatments for depression is associated to (MHA). It also outlines the circumstances in which people can be treated for a mental health disorder without their permission and their rights and it also respects for different cultural values and beliefs as a significant part of compulsory assessment and treatment (Medical Council of New Zealand, 2013). According to the Citizens Advice Bureau (2015), it has been identified that as an individual goes through the assessment and treatment under the (MHA) and are privileged with 12 patient rights. Katy was placed under section 9, where she received the information on patient rights. Which was than given to the duly authorised officer
There are more than six million children being treated for mental health issues (Hawkins, & Jenson, 2016). For that reason, children with mental health issues are at a higher risk of living with these disorders as they transition into adulthood (Hawkins, & Jenson, 2016). In order to live a productive life with a positive emotional well-being a social worker must verify the reasons why children are feeling depressed and if therapy or medication are effective when treating them. Also, in order to decrease the percentage of children developing mental health issues the social worker will need to help the children and assist them with the best interventions and give them the proper care to develop positive results.