Officials Testify About Gaps in Mental Health Services
State health officials delivered a sobering assessment of mental health treatment in Texas, telling a Senate committee Wednesday that waiting lists for services have increased by 642 percent since September 2004 and that there is a severe shortage of psychiatrists and mental health workers available to treat patients.
Overall, nearly 10,000 Texans who have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder are waiting for access to treatment, though the number has decreased slightly since demand reached its peak in 2010.
“Sometimes, they have to go home and wait. Sometimes they end up not getting served and end up in ...
Comments (6)
Jacqueline Lousier via Texas Tribune on Facebook
well we are last in almost every other category why not this one too?
Leesa Monroe via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Shameful
Jim Bates via Texas Tribune on Facebook
That's insane ! ; )
David Whitten
When those with substandard intellectual quotients are in charge of the mental health budget, patients end up getting the raw deal. What inept & incompetent leaders we have in Austin. I am wondering if Pretty Boy Perry needs to hold another prayer orgy to address this serious issue, mental health treatment.
For this misinformed & moronic, it cost significantly more money to treat those with major mental illness inside the walls of a prison. In fact, "it takes a community." Without the necessary safeguards found in outpatient services, many fall through the crack & end up self-medicating themselves.
Face it, mental health outpatient services are overwhelmed in this state. Why? GOPigs & TeaTards have signed pledges to "not raise taxes." Morally, this is reprehensible. Sometimes, taxes need to be raised. But, this type of action requires someone brave enough to tell their constituents this needs to be done. As long as there are politicians dancing to the tune of self-centered citizens, it will end up costing much more in the long run. But, in Texas, we don't have brave politicians. We have political cowards.
Vibeke Mendonca Lee via Texas Tribune on Facebook
and it is actually cheaper to provide adequate treatment than putting people in jail where they truly do not belong.
David Whitten
Given the current state of outpatient mental health services, there are advantages to treating mental health patients inside prison: a) better monitoring of medication compliance, particularly when compelled medication is needed to address psychotic decompensation since noncompliance is a serious issue for some with major mental illness; b) it is sometimes safer inside prison than living beneath a bridge; c) patients are better protected from predators from necessary safeguards. In prison, you know who needs to be watched regarding predatory behavior; d) it is much safer for a intellectually-impaired individual to reside in a special unit as opposed to letting them fend for themselves on the street! Of course, it was even better when this special needs program was not gutted from Austin. At least TDCJ-ID has a system in place to identify, test & isolate these individuals from the general population. Even California doesn't do intelligence screening upon incarceration.