"Frank Dresser" wrote in message
...

"Mark S. Holden" wrote in message
...


As someone who has been a volunteer board member for a private non
profit
mental health center for over 15 years this sounds like good news.

My primary concern is government programs tend to become bloated.

There will have to be a whole new mental health bureaucracy. Actually
two,
as there would have to be both a private and federal ureaucracy. Are
there
really enough trained professionals to seriously evaluate the mental
health
of every American? And can they do it competently? If so, what penalty
should we give to people who refuse treatment? Criminal or civil
penalties?

And how can we know if the diagnosis is correct and was made properly?
How
will we guarantee the rights of Americans?



We test for hearing and vision problems in schools, we might as well
test
for mental illness.

Vision and hearing tests are pretty objective. But three different
experts
might say a given kid is hyperactive, has ADD or is just acting like a
normal boy. Alot of parents don't want their kids on such drugs as
Ritalin.
I think they may very well have a point. Strangely, European kids seem to
have a much lower need for Ritalin supplements.

How do we deal with such parents who think they are acting in their own
child's interest? What penalty should be enforced?



Statistically, one out of ten teenagers will have a bout with mental
illness. Throughout your life, odds are one in four that you'll have at
least one mental health problem - even if it's just short term depression.

And most of us will be OK. Or maybe not, depending where the standards
are
set. It gets a bit subjective.



One of the biggest problems with mental health care is the stigma of
mental illness makes people afraid to seek treatment.


Or, every time somebody acts a bit unusual, they haul him in for a
"Government Mental Health Evaluation". Hey, just like the Soviet Union!
Only here in the US, we can force the miscreant to pay for his evaluation
and treatment. And, if the courts are in a good mood, they won't have the
same Constitution hang-up they have with criminal procedures.

Absolutely right.. as the Supreme Court has already decided that the
so-called mentally ill have no legal recourse. Forcing them to take
medication or institutionalization is considered to be not a punishment but
an administrative move. Therefore, Constitutional protections for the
criminally accused do not apply.

This proposal has a chance to reduce or eliminate that stigma.

The proposal is to screen every citizen. What about those who refuse
because they feel they should be left the hell alone as long as they
aren't
bothering anyone or there's no compelling emergency? That's me. I'll
refuse when I get my Mental Health letter from Uncle Sam.

As will I, and most of the people I know. This sort of thing can have no
good end or outcome.