NBC Nightly News reported, “The mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard is drawing new attention to the role of” the mental “health system in trying to prevent such violence.” Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, president of the American Psychiatric Association, said of Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis, “If mental healthcare was provided in the routine systematic way that general medical care was, ideally we would have expected that he would have been identified, diagnosed and offered treatment much earlier.” Chief medical editor Nancy Snyderman, MD, said, “While most people with mental illness never turn to violence, mental health advocates say that half or more of those responsible for mass shootings in recent years have suffered from a serious mental illness.”
The Rutland (VT) Herald (9/22, Freedman) quoted Dr. Lieberman, who said, “Historically, the US mental health care system is limited and badly fragmented.” He added, “As result of people lacking access to mental health care, not knowing what to do if loved ones are affected, not having insurance coverage for it, many go untreated.” According to Lieberman, “predicting which mental patient will be violent is less important that expanding treatment so that those with violent tendencies who fly under the radar get the help they need.”
Related Links:
— “Navy Yard tragedy spurs debate on mental health, “Dan Freedman, The Rutland Herald , September 22, 2013.