National Initiatives For Mental Health
The Patient Voice is Heard:
"I’m thankful to this day that I started seeing a psychiatrist and a therapist who listened to me and observed my actions. I went through various treatments over a long period of time, trying to find what worked best for me. As time passed, we found the right combination and I began to feel better with a new and clearer outlook on life." --- DBSA website visitor
"Recovery is about individuals taking control of their own lives and not having others determine their care or treatment. The concept has evolved to mean the process by which an individual comes to terms with [an] illness and learns to cope. Recovery does not imply a cure but a life long journey and process."
--- A. Kathryn Power, M.Ed., Director, Center for Mental Health Services
DBSA has known for decades that mental health care is most effective when it is patient- and family-centered. DBSA and other mental health advocacy organizations have informed lawmakers, policy makers, health care providers, mental health consumers and loved ones about the importance of patient-centered care for mood disorders.
At long last, what we have been practicing and advocating is becoming widely accepted. The tide is starting to turn - people who can make changes are listening. Although we have much more to accomplish as consumer and family advocates, we now have something to celebrate.
At DBSA, we have always known that the only way people with depression or bipolar disorder can become truly well is to be active partners with their health care providers in treatment. Today, productive communication and wellness alliances have gained recognition. Patient- and family-centered communication are on their way to becoming the norm, not the exception.
We might not see the results of mental health reform at our next doctor visits. Lasting change will not happen overnight, but it will happen. National insurance parity laws (equal coverage for mental and other physical illnesses) have not been passed; however, statewide parity has been passed or mandated in many states. Mental health advocates are working with U.S. policymakers to analyze, review and recommend ways to change our current system. They are also working to improve access to care for people who receive Medicare or Medicaid. Our cause has the attention of more government and legislative officials than ever before. As long as we stay informed and keep working for change, we can look forward to seeing real results in the future.
“It is time to put some action into the ‘Action Agenda,’” said Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI). "With the Administration's release of its Action Agenda and the Campaign for Mental Health Reform's leadership, I hope we will finally begin to see a level of attention [that matches] the magnitude of the problem.”
We may not realize it, but everyone’s participation in DBSA activities makes a difference. As we all keep working together toward common goals of individual and system-wide wellness and stability, we will be part of the solution.
Campaign for Mental Health Reform Director Charles Konigsberg recommends, “The best way (for consumers) to assist the Campaign in achieving these important reforms in America’s mental health system is by staying in close touch with the organizations (like DBSA) that came together to establish the Campaign…This collective action will get results.”
Mental Health Reform Efforts: A Brief Synopsis of Recent Years
National Initiatives for Mental Health
1999
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U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., issues a Call to Action on Suicide Prevention -
First White House Conference on Mental Health
2000
2001
2002
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New Freedom Initiative is launched by President Bush and New Freedom Commission is formed. In its Interim Report, the Commission affirmed that “Americans deserve a health care system that treats their mental illnesses with the same urgency as it treats their medical illnesses. In an ideal system, all individuals would receive prompt, high quality, effective care with the same priority, regardless of diagnosis.”
2003
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President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health releases Final Report: Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America, which confirmed that, “Recovery is possible; promoting recovery (not just symptom relief) should be a driving goal of a transformed system; and care should be consumer and family driven.” -
Annapolis Coalition on Behavioral Workforce Education releases Best Practices in Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training, recommending that, “consumers and family members should be engaged as teachers of the workforce; consumers and families should be empowered as caregivers and educators; and care should be safe, person-centered, effective, efficient, equitable and timely.”
2005
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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration publishes Transforming Mental Health Care in America: The Federal Action Agenda: First Steps, recommending that reformers, “focus on the desired outcomes of mental health care, which are to attain each individual’s maximum level of employment, self-care, interpersonal relationships and community participation.” -
Campaign for Mental Health Reform (CMHR), a coalition of 16 national mental health advocacy organizations including DBSA, releases Emergency Response: A Roadmap for Federal Action on America’s Mental Health Crisis, entreating America’s government to, “prevent the negative consequences of mental disorders by getting the right services to the right people at the right time; and promote independence by increasing employment, eliminating disincentives for economic self-sufficiency and ending homelessness.” -
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) releases Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions: Quality Chasm Series which addresses the deficiencies in the mental health and substance use care system and describes a multifaceted strategy for improving it, based on improvements made to other systems of health care.
2006
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DBSA releases The State of Depression in America, a thorough analysis of the landscape, economic impact, barriers to care, treatment and quality of care. The accompanying CD-ROM, narrated by Mike Wallace, details several individuals’ battles with depression and successfully drives home the point that depression is not a weakness but a potentially deadly disease.
"It is important for all of us to realize that the mental health system does not get us well, we get ourselves well. The mental health system can do a lot of things to support us, but ultimately, it’s up to us. That’s where self-help comes in… it encompasses a wide range of activities, structures and networks."
--- DBSA Board Member and Advocate Peter C. Ashenden
For more information, visit:
http://www.mhreform.org/
http://www.annapoliscoalition.org/
http://mentalhealthcommission.gov/
Be an Advocate!
Stay in touch with your members of Congress using DBSA’s Advocacy Center.
page created: May 4, 2006 |
page updated: February 5, 2007 |
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