The looming disaster in the mental healthcare system

Juliette, then 7 years old, couldn’t process emotions, control impulses, or handle frustration. She was often hostile. Mood swings made her unrecognizable. “The child I knew wasn’t the same child I was living with,” said 32-year old Amodio. “Every ounce of my attention was focused on getting her well.”

Desperate for help, Amodio called over 30 mental heath providers looking for openings. Those who had availability weren’t conveniently located or had months to year-long waiting lists. Others weren’t skilled in dealing with the issues Juliette was having. “There were no options so we had to turn to out-of network providers and pay for everything out of pocket.”

This story is “disastrously common and illustrates the sad state of mental health care in America,” says Jennifer Snow, Public Policy Director at the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization.

With a laundry list of complications plaguing the mental health system — from an extreme shortage of mental health providers, to lack of funding, to confusion over health insurance coverage, to discriminatory attitudes about mental health — “people with mental illness have been getting the short end of the stick for decades,” said Snow.

https://www.yahoo.com/money/afford-mental-health-care-181307283.html