Category Care for Your Mind

Care for Your Mind acknowledges and appreciates the collaboration of the National Network of Depression Centers in developing this series.

Sanjai Rao, M.D., VA Medical Center, San Diego

In my previous post, I addressed the challenging state of mental health care for our nation’s returning veterans and their increased risk of suicide. It’s crucial that we step up and ensure that mental health care is available to all former servicemen and women who need it. Now, I propose some possible solutions.

First, a disclaimer: although I work for the VA, I am writing this post as a private citizen, not a VA employee. The views expressed here are entirely my own and not in any way meant to be reflective of those of VA leadership.

Expanding the VA
In order to ensure the best possible outcomes for veterans in need, the VA needs to grow. With more resources, we can hire and train more mental health professionals, and therefore treat more patients. As I discussed earlier, the VA is by far the best place for veterans to get state-of-the art, evidence-based mental health care, but the VA system doesn’t have the capacity to treat everyone as quickly as they need. We do the best we can with what we have, but ultimately Congress regulates our size and budget. It’s up to our elected officials to provide the funding we need to increase our capacity.

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Tiffany Kaszuba, Vice President Cavarocchi Ruscio Dennis Associates
Manager to the Coalition for Health Funding

We advocate for our own medical care, we advocate to our senators and representatives for laws to improve mental health care, but are we reaching everyone who has a say in mental health care policy and delivery? In fact, most policy is developed, implemented, and enforced by regulatory agencies; there are at least a half-dozen federal agencies charged with aspects of addressing mental health.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll explain the structure and roles of some of these agencies and their programs, including how they are funded. After all, if we are advocating for improvement in the mental health care system, we need to understand what works (and what doesn’t) and what it costs.

Public health is the science and art of protecting and promoting health in communities where we live, work, and learn. Federal investment in public health dates back to 1798 when Congress first authorized the Marine Hospital Service to deliver care to the merchant seamen who were disproportionately affected by disease. Today, the Public Health Service is led by the Office of the Secretary and comprised of 11 operating divisions—including the eight agencies authorized by the Public Health Service Act and three human services agencies.

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Theresa Nguyen, Senior Director of Policy and Programming, Mental Health America 

Depression is a personal experience, different for every individual. One thing many people share, however, is difficulty accessing care. As someone who personally struggles with depression, I understand this challenge all too well. Depression can be a debilitating experience, and in addition to dealing with the painful symptoms of the illness, our healthcare system makes it extremely burdensome to seek help.

For a person paralyzed by fatigue, lack of motivation, sadness, or other common symptoms of depression, concentrating on navigating the many barriers to care can feel impossible. Recently released research confirms this unfortunate state of affairs, and addresses the access issues that I and millions of others have experienced firsthand.

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MA State Representative Ellen Story and U.S. Congresswoman Katherine Clark
with introductions by Dr. Nancy Byatt

Care for Your Mind acknowledges and appreciates the collaboration of the National Network of Depression Centers in developing this series.

Nancy Byatt: If we truly want to fix the state of perinatal mental health care in this country, a collaborative effort is essential. Achieving universal care will take the collective input of many different players – people with lived experience, providers, insurance companies, advocates, legislators, and more.

While every avenue of advancement is important, adopting legislation is a crucial piece of the puzzle; it’s the only way we can ensure pregnant and postpartum women get the care they need.

In Massachusetts, legislative efforts have been the foundation for the success of MCPAP for Moms. This is due in large part to MA Rep. Ellen Story, author of the 2010 Massachusetts Postpartum Depression legislation and co-chair of the Postpartum Depression (PPD) Commission. The Commission offers recommendations on PPD policy to the Massachusetts Departments of Public Health and Mental Health (MDPH and DMH), which in turn funds MCPAP for Moms. Representative Story has been instrumental in helping Massachusetts become a leader in the field of perinatal mental health care.

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We asked and you responded! Here are some of the great answers we received; please add your wish in the comments below. Let us know what you think!

I wish that more companies come to understand the incredible opportunity they have to reduce stigma and help people access needed treatment for mental illnesses.
Clare Miller, director of the Partnership for Workplace Mental Health, APA Foundation

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Medicare beneficiaries received some good news during the recent federal budget negotiations. Due to the fact that there is no Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2016, coupled with an increase in Medicare Part B premiums, 2016 monthly Social Security payments would have been smaller in 2016. But a last minute budget deal prevented that calamity. The budget that passed and was signed by President Obama did not include any Social Security (COLA) increases, but it did remove or delay the Medicare Part B premium increases for the majority of seniors. The net result: most seniors will not see a decrease in their monthly payments.

Additionally, Americans receiving Social Security Disability payments were spared a potential 20 percent decrease for 2016 due to a long-standing deficit in the fund. That’s because, of the 12.4 percent combined employee and employer contribution to the Social Security trust funds only 1.8 percent is allocated to the disability fund. Congress alleviated some of the burden by increasing this contribution to 2.37 percent over the next three years, giving Congress time to come up with a long-term solution.

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In July 2014, Care for Your Mind posted an introduction to the National Institute of Health (NIH)’s “Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies” (BRAIN) initiative and the urgent need for advocacy in Congress to support its funding. Because CFYM is a platform for people living with mood disorders, family members affected by mood disorders, and other stakeholders in mental health care, we have high hopes that research on the brain will yield better treatments and tools for addressing mental health conditions.

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Rev. Douglas Ronsheim, D.Min
Executive Director, American Association of Pastoral Counselors

For many decades, spirituality has been an integral aspect of substance abuse recovery. With the power of faith as part of the equation, 12-step programs have proved effective for millions of participants, saving lives and helping people recover from life-threatening addictions.

In more recent years, the roles of faith and religion have spilled over into the larger conversation surrounding mental health...

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