Reflections on the face of the person with mental illness: An american perspective

Resumen

One in five adults and children in the United States experience some form of mental illness. Although there have been amazing developments in science, improved education of a cadre of mental health professionals, enhanced drug therapy, more public funding, and innovative trauma informed care, significant mental health disparities persist. Enduring myths about mental illness, separate but unequal physical and mental health delivery systems, lack of mental health parity in benefits, payments and access to health insurance, inadequate and un-coordinated community-based services, and an established mode of health delivery that values profit margins and rewards high technology medicine contribute to the burden of the person with mental illness. Poor individuals and families, members of minority groups, children in foster care, and persons who experience or witness violence are most at risk for mental disorders. These groups are untreated and lack access to the Social Determinants of Health. The great promise of the Community Mental Health Act of 1963 remains unfulfilled. Will the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and Medicaid expansion enable persons with mental disorders to obtain health insurance and find community-based delivery systems to help them cope with their treatable chronic disease? Good will is not enough. Social justice is an action theory. It invites us to stand in solidarity with the mentally oppressed and share their burdens. We are invited us to look into the faces of persons with mental illness with respect.