In a 10,000-word cover story, the Christian Science Monitor (8/4, Paulson) reported that although “mass shooters are the catalyst forcing the public to focus on mental health care, the reality, say psychiatrists, is that predicting the one person in thousands who will act on such violent impulses, even among those suffering from a serious mental illness, is nearly impossible.” However, “the focus on the system is exposing how vastly inadequate it is,” psychiatrists say. Currently, just “four in 10 people with a serious mental illness have access to any treatment” whatsoever, and the number of psychiatric beds is just five percent of what is was five decades ago.
Related Links:
— “Mental health in the US: New ideas on care emerge, “Amanda Paulson, The Christian Science Monitor, August 4, 2013.