We (Massachusetts) can do better for the mentally ill.

THE TREATMENT of people with mental illness has come a long way from the days of back wards, when individuals languished in public hospitals with little hope of returning to their communities. Today, the goal of the more than 700,000 Massachusetts citizens living with mental illness is recovery. Much like people with diabetes or heart conditions, people with mental illness want access to quality treatment and support services.

At the Patrick administration’s request, we chaired a commission studying the Department of Mental Health’s adult psychiatric inpatient system. We understood the stark facts: DMH has a $13 million operating deficit; mental-health services were cut and case managers terminated in the fiscal year just ended; and the overall system is strained.

Three hundred people attended the commission’s five public hearings and many voiced their observations, experiences, and concerns. Much of what we heard was troubling. The system was described as responsible for sentencing individuals to lifelong disability and creating an impoverished underclass through poverty, crisis-focused care, treatment that relies mainly on medication, and a lack of community supports. We received powerful testimony about recovery and peer-directed services - reminders of the importance of the consumer and family voice in all aspects of public mental-health services.

Years of underfunding and budget cuts have resulted in a piecemeal mental-health system that fails to respond to the needs of mental-health consumers. A comprehensive system must offer appropriate levels of treatment consistent with individual need. Our goal was to provide a blueprint for a seamless system of care, treatment, support, and recovery for individuals with serious mental illness.

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http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/07/28/we_can_do_better_for_the_mentally_ill/