Mental Health Treatment in the US

[Belsnickel]

(02-07-2017, 12:41 PM)PhilHos Wrote: I probably shouldn't offer up my opinion because what I know of the mental health system in America comes almost exclusively from movies and TV shows, but assuming they're relatively accurate, I gotta wonder if part of the problem is that we treat these institutions as another form of prison, in terms of punishing people as opposed to actually "reforming" them.

That is part of the problem, to be painfully honest. I mean, in some instances there are people that will never be able to function outside of an institution. But even with that being the case, a lot of these places are very prison-esque in their feel. A lot of the reason for this is because of the funding for them. Every square foot costs money, every bed adds costs, quality staff to do the job aren't cheap. Because of this you get overcrowded, underfunded, understaffed (and the staff that are there have high turnover) institutions that operate more like a prison than a hospital. Patients are there, they have group meetings a couple of times a week, occasional meetings one-on-one with doctors, and they try to keep them occupied. The only addition is the nurses tending to the more basic needs for some of them.