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1. Make sure that graduates of clubhouses speak out

Knowing that this program is successful, it might be a good idea for those who once had a mental illness but are now recovered and healthy would be a good idea for those who doubt the program or to convince officials to fund and create other programs like the Fountain House in New York. Of course, not everyone graduating the program would want to speak out and that’s okay, just volunteers would be great.

2. Propose clubhouses as a solution for mental illnesses/a safe haven for those suffering to receive quality treatment

A large problem regarding mental illness is that we have so many ineffective programs that we spend so much money on. If a state or a county were to spend money on clubhouses, it would be expensive, yes, but it would be an incredibly effective way for those suffering to be removed from the community while they are dangerous and to receive care and treatment from qualified professionals so they can be on the road to recovery.

3. Start funding

Clubhouses will be expensive. In order to pay for the staff and medical personnel as well as the land, building, food and other professionals coming in to teach the adults how to pay their bills, or rent an apartment, it will be costly. But if we take away the enormous funding supporting ineffective programs such as Mental Health First Aid, and start funding programs to build clubhouses in each community, the funds would pay off in terms of safety for the community and more adults living up to their full potential.

Another excellent program to help get the seriously ill back in the community are clubhouses. The Fountain House in New York is an incredible model that all communities should attempt to recreate. Keep in mind that these clubhouses are actually physical places, not just an online nonprofit. The seriously mentally ill knock on their door, and are instantly closer to recovery. The clubhouse staff have the recovering people’s backs at all times, even if they revert back to old symptoms, or become hospitalized and incarcerated. The clubhouses not only let them recover, they reintroduce them back to the real world.  In clubhouses, members are a part of the decision making team, although the staff is necessary. The workers try to find jobs for the recovered and even can help in enrolling in schools. Members, as the healing patients are called, complete a variety of tasks that will make their transition back to the community easier. They make meals, clean, talk to various people on the phone, manage their finances and learn how to pay bills, shop, and much more. The Fountain House, operated under Kenn Dudek, has helped many get well and stay that way. The stats show what stabilized patients are saying: it works. Fountain House’s numbers in particular are incredibly positive. 40 percent of their members who were homeless or not in good housing went out to have a 99 percent success rate of finding houses. Out of the 24 percent who were at one point in jail, fewer than 5 percent went back to jail. These numbers should convince everyone that clubhouses work, but SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) does not seem to care. In fact, it hasn’t promoted the models that Fountain House produced. In addition, it doesn’t change that clubhouses aren’t refundable with Medicare and Medicaid. This not only raises costs for the clubhouse, but tears its attention away from those it serves. DJ Jaffe wrote in his book, Insane Consequences, that, “The Clubhouse Model is stellar, and every community should have at least one” (237.)

1. Make SAMHSA more focused on mental illness, not mental health

SAMHSA spends so much money and resources on those who don’t need it as much as others. If we could direct the mass funding to programs that focus on the mentally ill, the mental health industry would be much improved. The definition of a person with a serious mental illness or disability is, “Those mental illnesses that met the criteria of DSM and… resulted in functional impairment which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities” (National Survey on Drug Use and Help). There are many people and programs receiving funding or help that do not fit this definition. If we narrow the amount of people receiving care, it is a win-win. The programs that benefit the seriously mentally ill will receive more funding, which in turn may convince state or government programs to stop trying to get people out of treatment because it costs too much. But that’s a whole other issue.

2. Divert SAMHSA funding away from ineffective programs

This solution goes hand-in-hand with the last one. If we get rid of programs directed towards the whole population, AND those that are ineffective, targeting those with mental illnesses or not. For example, a program may target those with a mental illness, but it may not be effective. SAMHSA as a whole should remove those programs. This, again, leaves more and more funding for those that do work. Said funding could also go towards research or towards building a new nonprofit. Furthermore, the criteria that would decide a program’s effectiveness should not be based on meaningless data, such as happiness, peace of mind, or liking the program in general. Instead, it should be based on data that can be accurately measured and that represents true progress in a person’s life. These include decreased jail time/arrests, less homelessness, and the reduction of those hospitalized.

3. Make the media aware of SAMHSA’s ineffectiveness

As of now, the nation seems to trust SAMHSA and likes to recommend it as a resource. For example, a true crime podcast I recently listened to mentioned SAMHSA as a place to go to in need. What we really need to do is make the country aware of SAMHSA’s shortcomings. This will not only help to improve SAMHSA, but will also help bring truly effective programs to light. These programs should be the ones receiving the funding. Some examples of programs that are effective and dedicated to those with mental illness are the International Mental Health Research Program, the Broad Institute, and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. When we realize that SAMHSA is not only ineffective, but a black hole of funds, we can start to make the journey to helpful, proven programs.

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.

To first explain the history of SAMHSA, most of you must be wondering what the acronym stands for- the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. However, it was not always called SAMHSA. ADAMHA, or the Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration, came before SAMHSA and was responsible for mental health in the country. ADAMHA specialized in research, but also provided services to those suffering from a decline in their mental health. A slight change in opinion moved ADAMHA’s mental health research over to the National Institute of Mental Health, or NIMH. This was officially done in 1992 by the ADAMHA Reorganization Act. Along with allowing NIMH to take over research, the act also fully got rid of ADAMHA. Now that the research part of the job was with NIMH, the mental health services side of ADAMHA needed to be taken care of. Therefore, SAMHSA was created to head the services. Once SAMHSA was introduced, the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) was formed to focus specifically on mental illness. Under CMHS, another division was created- the Division of Prevention and Traumatic Stress. On a side note, SAMHSA is part of the Health and Human Services Department. The SAMHSA administrator also serves as the assistant secretary between HHS.

SOURCE:

Jaffe, DJ. “Insane Consequences: How the Mental Health Industry Fails the Mentally Ill.” Prometheus Books, 2017. Accessed 5 August 2022.

As different treatments and living situations are explored, AOT, or Assisted Outpatient Treatment, quickly is becoming a very affordable and effective option. AOT is specifically designed for those who do not have the capacity to or do not want to accept voluntary treatment, but are also prone to homelessness, incarceration, or violence. In fact, DJ Jaffe claims that “… there is no more proven, humane, or cost-efficient intervention than Assisted Outpatient Treatment” (229). Essentially, AOT takes place outside hospitals and psychiatric institutes, but the patient is certainly not alone. The way it works is that a patient goes to court, and if necessary, a judge “sentences” patients to a certain period of time. They spend this time living in the community, surrounded and constantly monitored by various doctors, nurses, and family members. During this time of recovery and healing, the patient is not restricted in a hospital room, rather finding his or her place in the community as a sane person. One bonus of AOT is that if it is enacted, the mental health system is ordered to provide the service, leaving no room for the industry to ignore the necessary treatment and claim they have no more room in their hospitals. Even after overwhelmingly positive evidence pointing towards AOT, the mental health industry still convinces counties and states to deny AOT’s effectiveness. When AOT is ordered, other services such as assisted housing, psychotherapy, and substance abuse counseling can be utilized. For those that still do not believe that AOT works, it reduced homelessness by 74 percent, hospitalization 77 percent, arrest 83 percent, incarceration 87 percent, physical harm to others 47 percent, property destruction 46 percent, suicidal behavior 55 percent, substance abuse 48 percent, in the most difficult to treat patients who already accumulated multiple hospitalizations or acts of violence associated with going off treatment. AOT is proven to work, and anecdotes from patients who have experienced it and are now in control of their lives said AOT played a major role in helping them get and stay well. Every county should adopt this program and ignore the industry when it claims AOT isn’t effective, as studies continuously prove the opposite.

SOURCE:

Jaffe, DJ. “Insane Consequences: How the Mental Health Industry Fails the Mentally Ill.” Prometheus Books, 2017. Accessed 5 August 2022.

A couple weeks ago, I was in the car driving home from practice when I heard a doctor come on the radio who was talking during a “mental health minute.” For 60 seconds, she voiced her concerns about mental health in teens and adults and how social media largely impacts children’s brains. I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard that many times from my parents, my school, and commercials advertising against social media companies. I’m not saying that mental health isn’t important; it is. Anxiety, depression, and suicide are only increasing in teenagers, and the stats have hit an all time high. But when the industry continuously directs attention away from those who are seriously mentally ill, it becomes a problem. According to DJ Jaffe, author of Insane Consequences, “One hundred percent of the US population has at some point felt sad, anxious, or nervous and therefore could be considered as having poor mental health. But only 18 percent of the population over eighteen (forty-three million adults) had a mental illness in the past year, and only 4 percent (ten million adults) had a serious mental illness” (60). In summary, while many people may experience mental health struggles in their lifetime, very few actually have a serious mental illness. Some illnesses include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, extreme depression/anxiety, and many more. These illnesses can seriously impact an individual’s ability to function and decide what is right or wrong, leading individuals to commit serious crimes and assault family members. In fact, the infamous Ronald Reagan Shooting was orchestrated by John Hinckley, a mentally ill individual who was off treatment at the time. In conclusion, mental health needs to be respected and treated, but we cannot allow it to overshadow the people who are in the most dire need: those with serious mental illnesses.

SOURCE:

Jaffe, DJ. “Insane Consequences: How the Mental Health Industry Fails the Mentally Ill.” Prometheus Books, 2017. Accessed 5 August 2022.