Stabenow urges mental services expansion as part of gun bill

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Detroit News

April 10, 2013 at 1:00 am
Stabenow urges mental services expansion as part of gun bill
By Christine Tierney
Detroit News Washington Bureau

Washington — U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, proposed an amendment Tuesday to a gun-control bill in Congress to improve and expand access to mental health services.

There's been a call for a national conversation about guns since the mass shootings in a Newtown, Conn., elementary school, and a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., Stabenow said.

"We also need a conversation about the need for mental health services," she said.

Her bill, which has bipartisan backing, would expand mental health services offered by community mental health centers. They would be required to provide 24-hour crisis care and integrate physical and mental health checkups. In turn, they'd be allowed to bill Medicaid.


Read more: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130410/POLITICS03/304100365#ixzz2Q2aD36zx

[Warpy]

1. That would help a bit

but paranoids don't go to shrinks. They think they're perfectly sane and the rest of us are nuts.

I can't imagine living in that much fear, but the fear prevents them from seeking treatment.

[Union Scribe]

2. Might not impact homicides that much

but with so many gun deaths being suicides, hopefully it will make a big dent there.

[Kolesar]

3. The Chardon mass murderer was dealt with by local intervention services

Funding like the senator mentioned *could* help somebody. Even if it doesn't stop a gun murder, it could help somebody to adjust to society .

[In_The_Wind]

4. Something needs to be done.

[HereSince1628]

5. In addition to having services to offer, the people in crisis must present themselves.

About 2/3s of people with mental illness never get treatment. Based on the database provided in the Mother Jones summary of mass murders since 1982, this number appears to be as true for mass-murderers as the general population.

Many factors can be imagined that would contribute to this failure, but one thing is sure, ignorance and misunderstanding play large roles.

The American public has very poor understanding of mental illness, and a miserably poor understanding of mental illness and violence. Overall, mental illness contributes little to criminal violence, less than alcohol and drug abuse.

Which isn't to say that mental illness is not a factor at all.

But after months of a national 'media conversation' that has been dominated by Wayne LaPierre's paranoia about the army of lunatic monsters in the streets, most Americans still can't name what mental illnesses have the highest associations with gun violence. Most Americans think it's wild eyed schizophrenia with command hallucinations.

It isn't.

It's depression. After that the contributors are bipolar II and behavioral features of a socially isolating personality disorder referred to as schizoid personality.

An estimated 1 in 10 Americans has depression. Most of these people will never kill another or themselves, and most of these people will never seek treatment.

Some will.

The only reasonably cost effective means to locate them and encourage them to treatment is to educate all Americans to both the signs of distress from mental illness AND the value and effectiveness of treatment.

I'm all for mandating more services and providing federal financial support to such state and community based programs, but having buildings and programs isn't enough.

We need, on a national scale, a mental health education program, that will teach us how to help family, friends and co-workers to get beyond the wrong understanding and fear of mental illness, to create within our homes and workplaces the ability to recognize distress and to encourage those who would benefit from treatment to secure it.

[Gregorian]

6. I know it's taboo, but what about a parenting course.

Why not go to the source.

I suspect I'll get raving man replies. People are living their lives at a crazy pace, and for all of the reasons one could use as excuses, children are not being raised with the respect and love they deserve. And then we end up with George Bushes. He would pass a mental health exam, but look at the death and destruction he caused.

Babies are born innocent. This is where I'm coming from. And peers don't cause kids to become monsters if they're healthy and strong. And there are exceptions. But I just know we're going to avoid the issue, and have all of these screenings and programs that are bullshit. And I'm not saying to hold parents responsible for what their kids do.

It's a tough situation. Honor thy mother and father. That needs to change. When are we going to grow up and start treating each other with love and respect. Then we won't even need guns and their laws.

[JNelson6563]

7. I agree with your main point.

But the whole ""honor your mother and father" shouldn't necessarily be in there. Some parents don't deserve to be honored & I'll just leave it at that.

To your main point, if more parents were actually able to raise their own kids it could help. For all the talk of the importance of family in our political arena, no one seems too concerned that most parents have to get out and work full time (or more) leaving little ones to be raised by strangers and then on their own after school when they're older.

We could use more mental health services, for sure. We also need to rethink our priorities. Too often people strive to achieve material "success" while neglecting that which really matters.

Of course we are conditioned to do this, here in America.

Julie

[Gregorian]

9. I actually mentioned the honoring because many, if not most, don't deserve it.

The honoring has become so engrained that even the abused use excuses to support how they were treated.

I wish everyone would read Alice Miller. The core of what she has to say could turn the world around.

We're on the same page, you and I. Even children who are no intended need to be raised with love. Anything less should be a crime.

[xtraxritical]

8. Maybe I'm off topic a bit but it just occured to me -

Why can't all firearms have a "tracking chip" hidden in them so we can find their origin and whereabouts? The chip could be placed so that if it is removed the gun won't fire. Am I a dreamer?