A quick recap of the last post: SAMHSA is a government program that was established in 1992 to help the mentally ill and those with substance use issues. Essentially, SAMHSA is the program responsible for all actions regarding mental health policy. In addition, it provides funding for other programs it believes benefits those with a mental illness. As you can probably see, SAMHSA has a major responsibility to those with mental illness and takes the lead on many projects regarding those suffering. SAMHSA could be a huge help and a leader helping advocate for those who can’t advocate for themselves. However, SAMHSA isn’t doing the mental illness community any favors. Instead, it seems comfortable denying their existence and diverting funding to programs that are proven not to work. To illustrate my point, a SAMHSA employee once told Time magazine that, “The behavioral health of the entire population is a priority for SAMHSA.” If SAMHSA is focusing all their attention, resources, and money on those who are totally fine or do not have a severe mental illness, then it leaves a miniscule amount of money to those who need it most. SAMHSA’s main problem is that they target everyone. Not everyone has a mental health problem, and even fewer have a severe mental illness. They focus so many resources on those that don’t need help that many are convinced that SAMHSA doesn’t believe the mentally ill exist. Well, they do, and they are struggling. Without SAMHSA’s immense funding (3.6 billion dollars, to be exact) and awareness resources, the mentally ill are left in the dark. Another major ability SAMHSA has is to certify programs. They refuse to certify those that are proven to benefit the seriously ill, and instead turn to ineffective programs. To find these programs, one can look at the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP). NREPP mainly consists of workshops that are guaranteed to make mental illness practically disappear. In reality, these training sessions waste money that could be better used elsewhere. Although SAMHSA claims that these programs are backed up by evidence, the studies were performed by the creator and profiteer of the workshop. Take for example, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). This workshop is a day-long training that helps community members diagnose those who have mental illness and how to get them the help they require. SAMHSA claims that MHFA is credible and cites three studies- each of the three carried out by the owners. These studies don’t even show if the training works; it just says that those who did it like the program. Well, if they like it, why not devote $83 million dollars to it? Barack Obama gave MHFA $15 million when he was president, Bill de Blasio (previous mayor of New York) set aside $8 million for it, and the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee allocated $60 million to the program. This program is a perfect example of how SAMHSA continuously ignores the mentally ill, and throws millions of dollars away to unproductive programs.
SOURCE:
Jaffe, DJ. “Insane Consequences: How the Mental Health Industry Fails the Mentally Ill.” Prometheus Books, 2017. Accessed 5 August 2022.
Out of My Mind 