[ad_1]
Woman feeling sad and desperate
getty
Even as the swift approval of two coronavirus vaccines generates optimism that the end of the pandemic may be in sight, experts warn that a parallel mental health crisis will be with us for years to come. Mental health disorders and problems related to substance abuse can be as deadly as the virus. A coalition of the nation’s leading mental health advocacy organizations and professional associations says this often hidden epidemic deserves urgent and unified action.
“The mental health crisis that has evolved alongside the COVID pandemic is unprecedented,” the executives stated in a joint statement. “Taxes have been broken in an overwhelmed care system and state leaders must act to address mental health care as an integral aspect of their response to the pandemic.”
The coalition’s detailed policy proposals include prominent organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the Kennedy Forum focusing on the public sector. But business leaders will find “A Unified Vision for Transforming Mental Health and Substance Use Care” a useful lens in shaping their health and wellness programs.
Furthermore, the group’s insistence on viewing mental health issues in a broader social context is a timely reminder that the pandemic and our national reckoning with a wide range of social justice issues are highly interconnected.
A “broken” mental health infrastructure
Although it is the coronavirus and the resulting economic slowdown that has brought many Americans to breaking point, the group notes in an op-ed that the current mental health crisis has been brewing for many years.
“For decades, America’s mental health care system has been chronically underfunded and broken, such that people with serious mental illness were more likely to live on the streets, languish in jail, or die two decades prematurely in prison. poverty rather than receiving compassionate treatment. And all of that was before COVID-19 hit. “
The Kaiser Family Foundation also argues that the pandemic has only exacerbated long-standing problems. Deaths from drug overdoses have tripled in the past two decades. Suicide rates among teens have doubled in the past ten years, and suicide is now the second leading cause of death among young people ages 12 to 17.
While there appears to be growing recognition of the pressure of the pandemic on our mental health system, the response from public officials has not kept pace. Of the $ 2.5 trillion in emergency aid approved in June, for example, only $ 425 million (just over one-hundredth of one percent) went to mental health and substance use treatment. Meanwhile, overdose deaths have been on the rise, even as some clinics have been forced to close their doors for lack of resources.
Early identification and prevention
Mental health problems often have deep roots. The “Unified Vision” report cites research showing that 50% of mental health illnesses begin at age 14. Traumas or crises in the early stages of life can have long-lasting consequences. The incidence of “adverse childhood experiences” (or ACEs) was already at alarming levels. With the added stresses of the pandemic, and with the removal of youth from the support systems provided by schools, those numbers can be expected to skyrocket.
Accordingly, the report emphasizes that all settings where children and youth receive services must be “trauma informed” – that is, staff must be trained to detect and identify signs of trauma and equipped to make appropriate referrals.
An eye on fairness
The report is consistent in identifying how mental health issues intersect with broader issues of social justice. This is a particular concern in emergency response to mental health and substance abuse crises. People in crisis need a public health intervention, not a police response.
A recent report from the Brookings Institute also points out how inadequate funding for mental health services causes the police to intervene in situations they are not trained to handle. One study finds that more than 20% of officer-involved deaths were related to mental health or substance abuse. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, people experiencing a mental health crisis are more likely to encounter the police than to receive medical attention.
Thus, mental health is closely tied to other racial and economic justice issues that we are currently grappling with as a nation. The Kaiser Family Foundation also finds that the pandemic is disproportionately affecting women’s mental health. 57% of women say their mental health has been negatively affected by the pandemic, compared to 44% of men. That’s just one sign, they say, of a growing gender gap in mental health.
A holistic view
Part of a holistic vision is to recognize all the ways that mental health intersects with a variety of economic, racial and gender issues. It also means looking at how mental health and substance abuse are sometimes marginalized within the health care system.
Too often the “Unified Vision” report states that mental health care and substance use are “isolated” within health service delivery systems. Isolated care not only results in inferior care, it contributes to the stigma around mental health and discourages many from seeking help. The most effective way to counter this stigma is twofold. First, mental health and substance use screening should be integrated into all primary care services. Second, the primary care system must have adequate care.
Unfortunately, the coronavirus has revealed a healthcare system that is fractured and responds to crises in a piecemeal way. We have seen the exact opposite of a unified vision: in our response to the pandemic itself, to a variety of related social and economic problems, and a parallel epidemic in mental health and substance abuse. The silver lining is that the pandemic has opened our eyes to how multifaceted real well-being is. It really takes a village to ensure healthy and resilient communities. In the future, hopefully we can unite around a new vision of our collective health and well-being.
