Addressing mental health issues- echos from Worcester Masachusettes

These echo opinions were published in the Worcester Telegram  at telegram.com

MaineWriter opinion - one of the most severe problems with providing mental health care is the problem with coverage because the diagnoses are often "pre-existing conditions". OMG!

There are many reasons why only 43 percent of people living with a mental illness are in treatment. Stigma is just wrong. Changes in how mental illness is portrayed by the media will not end this stigma. Given the media’s influence, telling the stories can only help.

Allen J. Brown, J.D., Ph.D., is an associate professor of criminal justice, psychology, and law & society at Anna Maria College

Leonard A. Doerfler  Assumption College: 

Roughly one in five people in the USA will experience some kind of mental disorder in their life.

All around us, there are cases that prove addressing mental health issues can be as difficult as dealing with physical health problems. However, mental health remains significantly less understood. What can or should be put in place, not only to increase the understanding of mental health issues in our society, but also to help those among us suffering from them?

Beth Greenberg  Becker College

There have been substantial improvements over the past several years regarding public awareness and understanding of mental health concerns. Everywhere we look, there are initiatives designed to diminish mental illness stigma and elevate our comfort levels talking about the often-invisible challenges associated with mental illness. Programs and advisory groups have similar missions: to increase awareness and understanding about mental health and improve accessibility to mental health services.

Many professionals continue to promote important goals and initiatives to improve the quality of mental health care. 

While these efforts are important...perhaps critical...there is another approach to mental health that cannot be overlooked. In addition to identifying individuals who are currently struggling with mental health challenges and need services, we must also recognize the value of preventive mental health strategies, implemented in the early years of a person’s life, to mitigate risk factors that may contribute to mental health problems in adolescence and adulthood. Preventive mental health strategies may include the following:

Expand mental health education in elementary and secondary school health curriculum. Teach students how to identify and address mental health concerns.

On a systemic level, identify and reduce factors within the schools that may be contributing to or exacerbating students’ mental health challenges.

Provide training/coaching for school personnel, particularly in preschools and elementary schools, to incorporate specific strategies that help children develop the social and emotional skills needed to effectively navigate personal and interpersonal experiences that are challenging, traumatic and/or increase their risk for mental health problems.

Ultimately, we must expand public understanding about the link between early childhood mental health and difficulties the child has later in life (social, emotional and behavioral). Without the investment of resources for preventive approaches, our current efforts remain incomplete.

Beth Greenberg, Ph.D., is an associate professor of psychology at Becker College