Going Mental

John Oliver discusses the cracks in our broken mental health care system, some of the inadequate ways we’ve tried to fill them, and what it all has to do with the gallbladder.
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Author: patd

“But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad." "How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

29 thoughts on “Going Mental”

  2. but maybe help is on the way via an unusual path

    New gun control law puts emphasis on mental health – Marketplace

    Victoria Knight, who covers health policy and Congress at Kaiser Health News, spoke with Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams about the new law.
    […]
    Knight: … Republicans said they would only agree to having some kind of gun reform legislation if it was also packaged with mental health funding. And Democrats said, “OK, we’re OK with that. We want more funding for mental health, and if that is the way to get you guys to agree to some gun reform, then we’ll do it.” And that’s kind of how it happened. But I will say that mental health advocates, they feel conflicted that it was packaged with the gun reform legislation right beside it all in one bill because it does, I think, especially to the American public, kind of give a message that these two things are related, when really research shows that people with mental health disorders are not violent. Only 3% to 5% of violent acts are committed by people with serious mental illnesses. It’s a very, very low number, but packaging them together does continue to perpetuate the idea that gun violence and mental illness are related.
    Adams: So what exactly is in this particular law in terms of mental health?
    Knight: So there is a lot in terms of mental health. The total bill cost is $13 billion, and most of that is going towards mental health funding. So a really big chunk, $1 billion, is going to amp up the number of mental health counselors in schools. Then another really, really large chunk of $8.6 billion is for the buildout of something called certified community behavioral health clinics. And right now, those clinics are set up in 10 states. They were done through a pilot Medicaid program. But this bill would allow that to expand to all states if states want to do it. Basically, these are clinics where anyone who is experiencing a mental health crisis can show up and get treatment, no matter whether they have health insurance. And they’ve been shown to have some success in the states that they already exist in. And one other notable thing that mental health advocates are really excited about is $150 million being allocated for the new 988 suicide prevention hotline, which actually rolled out this past weekend.

  3. John is right. It is absolutely true that access to mental health services is limited, and the limitations are tied to both lack of capacity in the mental health services profession and lack of insurance coverage for mental health treatment. Taking the idea to the gun rights/gun violence issue, with respect to the idea that disclosure of mental health treatment for at risk folks who want to buy guns and commit murder absolutely ignores the reality of low utilization of mental health services by at risk individuals prior to (a) purchase of firearms and (b) commission of their criminal acts and the lack of any system to provide mental health records for such individuals to the purchase or use of any weapon. And never mind that any system that might be developed to make such records or concerns by mental health professionals would by nature be wildly arbitrary and would be both over and under inclusive (and wildly violative of whatever expectation of privacy mental health patients now have). Sounds like a great idea but scratch the surface and it isn’t going to be anything more than window dressing. 

  7. Stewart and veterans slam Republicans over stalling bill to help those affected by toxic burn pits (msn.com)

    Comedian Jon Stewart and veterans’ advocates on Monday called on senators to stay overnight when they return to Capitol Hill to pass a stalled bill aimed at expanding health care access for military veterans who became ill after being exposed to toxic burn pits.
    “They’re allowed to stay open past five,” Stewart said on the US Capitol steps Monday morning, joining burn pit protesters who have remained there over the weekend as the bill remains in limbo. “So my suggestion to this Senate would be when you come back, if all the members aren’t here, keep the lights on. Keep the doors open. And don’t leave here tonight, until you do the right thing by these folks.”
    […]
    “We’re going to stay here until this gets done because we’re doing this for the people who have died. We’re doing this for the people who are dying,” Zeller said. “And we’re going to do this most importantly for the people who will die if we don’t do this now.”
    […]
    “You can attack me all you want, and you can troll me online,” he said. “But here’s the beautiful thing. I don’t give a shit. I’m not scared of you. And I don’t care. These are the people that I owe a debt of gratitude to and we all owe a debt of gratitude to, and it’s about time we start paying it off.”
    “Can we please not force veterans, disabled from their heroism and sacrifice, to stand outside the Capitol building, days on end, waiting on this Congress to do the thing they already did on June 16? It passed 84 to 14. Nothing changed in it,” Stewart said Monday.

  9. parody project’s latest

    Parody of The Times They Are a-Changing – Bob Dylan Parody Lyrics by David Cohen Performance by Don Caron Executive Producers Don Caron and Jerry Pender

  10. and here’s the latest from lincoln project

    Nothing to see here. Just a totally normal conversation between Trump lackeys Matt Gaetz and Roger Stone.

    one of the comments about the above:
    “Its like listening to FBI recordings of John Gotti and Sammy the bull. This is madness”

  13. Best new Dylan song I’ve seen in years.  Hats off to those guys, , that was like a diamond.

  14. Arizona has lost its mind. 
    South Carolina not far behind.
    Amazing what people can do when they put their mind to it.

  15. That new assault  weapons bill –
    My rep said this , along with   the usual  “defending home and hearth ” and  random  shooters  , it’s  about a ” coercive  government “. 
    Watch them roll out this phrase , it’s very new  in the gun fight.  As wordsmiths these bastards are at the top of   their game. 
     ” coercive  government  ”
    Talk about a dog wistle
     
     
     

  16. Them guys are about to see some coercive government up close and personal. They think their Cheese is still calling the shots. 

  18. Here’s the  thing about  this  mid term. 
    In my life I never seen so many reasons for Dems to vote.  Big reasons. 
     
    I don’t  think polling is measuring that. 
    I’m pissed  about inflation , but  Biden didn’t do that.

  24. 46 years ago  I woke up  to the Big Thompson flood .
    I learned a lot , there was no FEMA   then. 
    But what I mainly  learned  is  a flood like this  grinds the  human body to a paste. 

  26. Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has been killed in a CIA drone strike in Afghanistan, U.S. officials tell Reuters, the biggest blow to the militant group since its founder Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011

  27. I am  not happy  about this  event ,
    But the idea of let’s dig  coal we  won’t pay  the price , that’s a real wake up call.
    The world is covered  in alarm bells. 
    This Ky. flood  is  a spit in a bucket . 

  28. Although it sounds like old news the killing of another Al Qaeda leader is still very important.  Dems need to trumpet the news that anyone who attacks America will pay the price. That will be anytime,now or the future. 
     
    Then a hint of what SFB and his Russian friends did and may still be doing.  That includes operatives like Flynn, Stone, and the like.  Turn the FBI loose to root out the bastards in America.  Let the CIA find them in other countries. Make them feel the pain.
     
    Russia and China have more to lose than to gain.  It is time to get rid of the cult that took over the republican party. They have nothing to offer a better United States.

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