Addressing the core issues that deal with mental health such as drug addiction, post traumatic stress or psychological trauma caused by death, emotional abuse, or sexual abuse won't be solved by increasing the numbers of beds in mental health facilities. Russia has dealt with mental health by providing shelter for mentally ill people in Russia. We found out how well that worked during the Soviet Union days when there had been an increase of the bed numbers because psychiatric services had been used to treat dissidents.
Mental health has always been a very low priority in the health care system in Russia. It may surprise some people but according to the WHO (World Health Organization) -- in developed countries, around 66% of people with mental disorders do not receive treatment, but in developing countries this figure reaches 90%. Those are pretty stunning statistics.
Adding beds, then adding more beds to that adding of beds equals what? It equals a lot of mentally ill people being sheltered in sub-standard institutions or long term care facilities that will further drain the resources of our State and Federal government. I've worked in mental health and there is a population of unfortunate people that were born with mental deficiencies and are unable to live on their own but there is a much greater population of mentally ill people who are just not given access to free, or at least affordable, mental health care. This is where we fail as a country, it has nothing to do with numbers of beds for mentally ill.
I'm old and can speak from personal experience because I've been to a mental institution. My first time was when I was a Girl Scout and our 'troop' was taken on a day trip to a mental institution. We were all carrying little gifts to hand out to 'patients' there. I have to say, it was possibly one of the worst memories of my childhood. The photo below was taken in a mental hospital in Ohio during the 1950's. Those State-run mental hospitals were all over the country. They were nothing more than holding bins for people that society wanted to be shielded from, hidden from view. Nearly all mental hospitals are nonexistent in the U.S., for good reason. By adding more beds, and/or opening up State or Federally run 'institutions', aren't we just going backwards in mental health care?
Intractable and/or severe mental illness = Real
National affordable housing crisis = Real
Addressing the core issues that deal with mental health such as drug addiction, post traumatic stress or psychological trauma caused by death, emotional abuse, or sexual abuse won't be solved by increasing the numbers of beds in mental health facilities. Russia has dealt with mental health by providing shelter for mentally ill people in Russia. We found out how well that worked during the Soviet Union days when there had been an increase of the bed numbers because psychiatric services had been used to treat dissidents.
Mental health has always been a very low priority in the health care system in Russia. It may surprise some people but according to the WHO (World Health Organization) -- in developed countries, around 66% of people with mental disorders do not receive treatment, but in developing countries this figure reaches 90%. Those are pretty stunning statistics.
Adding beds, then adding more beds to that adding of beds equals what? It equals a lot of mentally ill people being sheltered in sub-standard institutions or long term care facilities that will further drain the resources of our State and Federal government. I've worked in mental health and there is a population of unfortunate people that were born with mental deficiencies and are unable to live on their own but there is a much greater population of mentally ill people who are just not given access to free, or at least affordable, mental health care. This is where we fail as a country, it has nothing to do with numbers of beds for mentally ill.
I'm old and can speak from personal experience because I've been to a mental institution. My first time was when I was a Girl Scout and our 'troop' was taken on a day trip to a mental institution. We were all carrying little gifts to hand out to 'patients' there. I have to say, it was possibly one of the worst memories of my childhood. The photo below was taken in a mental hospital in Ohio during the 1950's. Those State-run mental hospitals were all over the country. They were nothing more than holding bins for people that society wanted to be shielded from, hidden from view. Nearly all mental hospitals are nonexistent in the U.S., for good reason. By adding more beds, and/or opening up State or Federally run 'institutions', aren't we just going backwards in mental health care?
