The Washington Post (8/20, Abutaleb, Wan) reports, “When President Trump targeted mental illness as the cause of the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton that killed 31 people, federal health officials made sure no government experts might contradict him.” An August 5 HHS directive “warned communication staffers not to post anything on social media related to mental health, violence and mass shootings without prior approval,” which “alarmed some government mental health experts who said they felt muzzled.”
Editorial: Better Mental Healthcare Preferable To Increasing Large Mental Health Institutions In an editorial, the Bangor (ME) Daily News (8/20) writes, “President Donald Trump reiterated the flawed notion that mental illness is the root cause of gun violence in America.” The Daily News says Trump’s statements are “a perilous scapegoating that falsely stigmatizes the millions of Americans with mental health concerns.” The editorial references statistics from the US Department of Health and Human Services to say that people with mental illness are more likely to be a victim of a violent crime rather than being perpetrators. However, the editorial agrees with Trump that mental health services “in America need dramatic improvement,” but they want Trump to remember “why mental health institutions were closed or downsized.” It said at these large institutions, patients “often received little treatment and were sometimes abused.” It advocates for legislators and community advocates to be concerned with mental healthcare reimbursement rates and the shortage of mental health professionals.
Related Links:
— “After Trump blames mental illness for mass shootings, health agencies ordered to hold all posts on issue, “Yasmeen Abutaleb and William Wan, The Washington Post, August 20, 2019