Clearing the air on the basic status of care for people living with “severe, persistent mental illness” and addictions in Canada

What ever your view on the weakness’, strengths and follies of adult psychiatry, David Gratzer’s https://davidgratzer.com/ article  A crisis of neglect: How society can help those with mental illness address’ the current status of care services, the need to address the social determinants of health, along with involuntary treatment initiatives for mental health and addictions in Canada.

Its all been said before but to his credit the doctor’s plain speaking assessment brings us to the basics for people living with “severe, persistent mental illness” and addictions.  This article makes it less easy for the neglect to be nudged aside by government news releases of their newest programs.  But what made me sit up was his concluding section, it shifts our view from an individual’s recovery to what surrounds them in their community.

… Dr. Thomas Insel, a psychiatrist, led the U.S. National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), the largest funder of mental-health research in the world, for 13 years. He’s advised American presidents and overseen US$20-billion of funding. He marvels at the incredible advancement in scientific knowledge when it comes to mental disorders. But he also sees deep problems. In a recent conversation, he explains: “In the years I was at NIMH, the suicide rate in the United States went up 30 per cent, and overdose death went up 300 per cent. The numbers of people with serious mental illness who were working, who were housed, who were not incarcerated, all those numbers went down, not up.”

How to address our current problems? He talks about the advice he received from a psychiatrist who works with the homeless. “‘If you really want to make a difference, stop thinking about diagnosis and symptoms, start thinking about recovery.” He said, ‘it’s simple. It’s just the three P’s.’ And I thought: Prozac, Paxil or psychotherapy. He said, ‘No, it’s people, place, and purpose. Social support, a decent environment with housing and food and things that help people to prosper, and people will have to have something to live for.’” …

Here is the article: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-a-crisis-of-neglect-how-society-can-help-those-with-mental-illness/