Reform Mental Health Policy

At one time people could be committed for mental health instability. This ability to commit people without the patient having a say led to horrible atrocities in mental health facilities to perfectly sane individuals. Many were committed that never should have been. The power was abused.
Rightly so, the abuses were brought before the Supreme Court which found that people cannot be committed against their will.
Those who struggle with severe mental health issues no longer have any oversight of their care without their express consent. The problem is, at times, their mental health disability has impaired their judgment so much that they can no longer make good decisions. With nothing available to bridge the gap, many people with severe mental health issues have resorted to drug addiction, homelessness, and incarceration. This issue needs to be fully examined and determine what can be done to help those who cannot help themselves without returning to the forced commitments of the draconian past.

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I agree with this 100%. I don’t know if commitments are the answer but there has to be some way to require those with severe mental illness to get treatment. A large portion of our homeless population are suffering from mental illness and refuse treatment. The current mental health system does nothing to actually help but instead promotes mental illness by ‘affirming’ harmful ideations.
I believe that MAHA should take a hard look at not only food and drugs, but also current practices in mental health. It may also be time to reevaluate the DSM and reinstate some previously removed diagnoses.