If inadequate access to mental healthcare in the US is a disease, and I would argue that it can certainly be seen that way in terms of the toll it has taken on American society, then medical school did next to nothing to prepare me to understand its causes; or, to deal with them. After 15 years of treating thousands of patients with psychiatric disorders, I have long struggled to concisely understand and articulate the confluence of factors that determine why my patients do (or do not) have access to mental healthcare.
Recently, whilst watching 60 minutes all that changed. From the story of a young man named Gus Deeds, a clear and concise picture emerged of cause and effect, depicting the factors that largely determine whether a patient in need of mental health care is likely to receive that care.
In this segment, Scott Pelley interviewed Virginia State Senator, Creigh Deeds, about his son Gus, who was 24 years old and had been living with serious mental illness. His struggle culminated, last November, in a tragic ending. The Deeds’ predicament with their son was echoed by other family members of mentally ill children and adults who were also interviewed for this segment.
I was deeply saddened and perturbed by the story and although I had never met any of the people involved and had no inside knowledge of the situation, Senator Deed’s narrative was all too familiar to my ears as a litany of causes for an avoidable tragedy : inadequate mental health resources; resistance to care by the patient; additional obstacles presented by insurance companies, and fragmented treatment options.
Watching the interview, my head reverberated with all the questions I had asked myself when attempting to provide care for patients with serious mental illness.
Understanding Lack of Access to Mental Healthcare in the US: 3 Lessons from the Gus Deeds Story - Mind the Brain
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