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Report of the Presidents New Freedom Commission on Mental Health |
Contact: William Emmet, 703-739-9333 Why Rep. Ron Paul Is Wrong – Wrong about "Universal Mental Health Screening" and Wrong about Mental Health1. Neither the Administration, mental health advocates, nor any other entity has proposed any policy or program of universal or mandatory mental health screening. 2. Congress has not appropriated funds for universal or mandatory screening, and no legislation authorizing such screening has been introduced. 3. As the Congressional Research Service has documented (memorandum of Dec. 15, 2004), the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health did not recommend either universal or mandatory mental health screening. The Commission report (available online at www.mentalhealthcommission.gov) cited the benefits of early identification and treatment of childhood disorders; at the same time it underscored the importance of family involvement (see pages 28-29, 37-38). 4. As the President's New Freedom Commission reported,
for people of all ages, early detection, assessment, and linkage with treatment
and
supports
can prevent
mental health problems from compounding. Unquestionably, early identification
efforts relating to children must take place in appropriate settings,
ensure parental involvement, and fully protect privacy rights. (See
www.mhreform.org.) 5. As the Surgeon General's 1999 report concluded, "Children and
adolescents can and do develop mental disorders that are far more severe
than the 'ups
and downs' in the usual course of development." (p. 193) The
Surgeon General emphasized that, "Mental disorders and mental
health problems appear in families of all social classes and of all
backgrounds. No one is immune." (p.
193) The nation's chief public health officer also reassured readers
that "a
range of efficacious psychosocial and pharmacologic treatments exists
for many mental disorders in children, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder,
depression, and the disruptive disorders." (p. 193) And importantly,
he emphasized the essential role families play in their children's
care. (pp.
188-190) 6. Attacks on a non-existent screening proposal are misplaced, but they do fuel the stigma surrounding mental health that endangers everyone. As the Surgeon General reported, stigma is a major barrier to people seeking mental health care; in fact, nearly two-thirds of all people with diagnosable mental disorders do not seek treatment. The implications of that statistic are alarming, given the finding of the Institute of Medicine that stigma plays an important role in this country's epidemic of suicide. The Institute found that mental disorders are involved in over 90 percent of the 30,000 suicides in this country every year (Reducing Suicide, 2002). # # # The Campaign for Mental Health Reform has been organized as the mental health community’s united voice on federal policy. Its goal is to make access, recovery, and quality in mental health services the hallmarks of our nation’s mental health system. Campaign for Mental Health Reform: American Psychiatric Association * American Psychological Association * CHADD - Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder * Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) * Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health (FFCMH) * Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law * National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) * National Association of County Behavioral Health Directors (NACBHD) * National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) * National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (NCCBH) * National Empowerment Center (NEC) * National Mental Health Association (NMHA) * National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse * Suicide Prevention Action Network USA (SPANUSA) * United States Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (USPRA) Steering Committee: Robert Bernstein, Ph.D., Bazelon Center for Mental Health
Law * Michael Faenza, MSSW, National Mental Health Association * Michael Fitzpatrick,
MSW, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill * Robert W. Glover, Ph.D., National
Association of State Mental Health Program Directors |
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©2003 Campaign for
Mental Health Reform |
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