This is a policy brief I designed for my Family Policy class. The policy brief address the many issues that families face when their loved one does not have appropriate support and access to adequate help throughout their communities.

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You are not Alone: Mental Health Across America
Maggie Miller
University of Georgia

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You are not Alone: Mental Health Across America
Topic Overview
Mental health includes one’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being (Mental
Health Gov., 2019). One of the major issues in America, dealing with mental health, is the lack
of available resources for people who suffer from a mental illness. While attention has been
drawn to the issue, it is still difficult for Americans struggling with mental health disorders to
gain access to the resources they need. Without access to affordable, professional help, the
effects of a mental illness can alter the function of one’s own life and family’s life as well.
Over the past years, more and more Americans have been diagnosed with some type of
mental illness. Approximately 1 in 5 adult experiences some type of mental illness in the span of
a year; whereas 1 in 5 youth experience a mental disorder in their lifetime (NAMI, 2019). Today,
the growing problem in America is the lack of resources available to people who struggle with a
mental illness; and of the resources available, many people with mental illnesses may not be able
to afford the help they need.
Mental illnesses can have a detrimental impact on a family, especially if the illness is
classified as severe, such as schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is chronic mental disorder that affects
the way a person thinks, feels, and behaves, and some of the symptoms associated with this
disorder includes hallucinations, thought disorders, reduced feeling of pleasure, and reduced
speaking (NIH, 2016). A person suffering from schizophrenia is unable to function normally in
the real world. Because of this, people diagnosed usually live with family members. Studies have
shown that these family members who offer care to their loved one with schizophrenia suffer
from high levels of stress and do not receive the assistance they need from mental health
professionals (Saunders, 2003). If policy makers are able to designate a portion of budget money

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to creating more mental health services, throughout the country, with trained professionals, then
the negative effects of the illnesses can be reduced significantly; not only for the person
struggling with the disorder, but also for his/her family and loved ones.
Review of the Literature
Risk Factors
The lack of mental health resources that provide services to people with mental illnesses
impacts a person diagnosed in several ways. Studies on people with mental illnesses, who were
hospitalized, have shown that these people believe they have committed some crime against
society and are being punished (1970, Pg. 8). Because of the lack of resources, many of these
people end up being committed to mental hospitals. The impact of being hospitalized, for a
person with a mental illness, can be that they have a more negative perception of themselves.
Another issue related to mental health services is lack of proper care that is provided,
especially with minority patients. According to an article by the nursing staff at the University of
Southern California (2018), there is not much diversity in mental health providers. Because of
this divide, the health professionals lack understanding about the needs of minorities with mental
illnesses. The lack of a diverse mental health providers leads to minorities not seeking the
treatment they desperately need and their conditions could potentially worsen.
The lack of community health services can lead to worsening problems that can be
irreversible if left untreated. Individuals diagnosed with a mental illness are at an increased risk
for self-harm, including suicide (2017). Most suicide attempts are made by people suffering from
an untreated mental disorder. People with mental disorders that leave their symptoms untreated,
because of limited sources available, may choose to cope with the pain by taking one’s own life.

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One reason people do not seek the help they need, when it comes to mental disorders, is
because of the stigma that surrounds illness. Corrigan, Druss, and Perlick (2014) report that
many people do not seek treatment because of how individuals react to mental illness
stereotypes. For example, people with a diagnosis are scared employers will not hire them
because they are seen as “unpredictable and dangerous.” This can also lead to the person
internalizing the stigma and feel shame about oneself. The stigma that depicts people with a
mental illness discourages them for obtaining the resources they need.
Positive Factors
Mental health services have been a topic of discussion in American for decades. One
topic in particular was the need to decrease the number of individuals hospitalized in mental
institutions dates back to the 1950s. The National Institute of Mental Health was created, and
their main goal was to decrease the number of mental hospitals and put in place community
programs (Grob, 2005). The Community Mental Health Centers Act was created in 1963 to
allocated federal money to help create these community programs. This act outlines the need for
more mental health services available in communities throughout the states, because the
community programs would be a more effective form of treatment than hospitalization.
One state in particular that has attempted for years to reduce the number of mental
hospitalization is Georgia. In 1971, the Committee of Psychiatrics was formed to review mental
health legislation. One of the major takeaways the committee came up with is that mental health
programs need to be created in communities (1971, Pg. 1). The committee explained that the
most effective form of mental health care is in one’s community. With access to community
centers, mental health patients would receive a more appropriate form of treatment.

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Another report done in Atlanta, GA stated that, in order to improve treatment and care to
individuals suffering from mental illnesses, the individuals need to be removed from the
hospitals and receive treatment and care closer to home in the form of community services. The
report explained that individuals who have severe mental illness cases should be the only patients
who are hospitalized. The Board of Directors Metropolitan Atlanta Mental Health Association
stated (1970, Pg. 2), “85% of mentally ill patients that are hospitalized can be treated more
effectively as an outpatient and the costs of treatment would be cut significantly.” By creating
community centers dedicated to mental health, individuals seeking help would be able to receive
affordable services closer to their homes.
Mental health disorders are not just limited to adults, they can also be detected in children
and adolescents. Mental illnesses in children and adolescents can have negative impacts in their
academic and emotional development. Reports have shown that more primary care providers are
providing treatment for children who are struggling with a mental disorder because of the lack of
mental health professionals available to provide care and treatment (2009). Parents are also more
likely to follow up with treatment for their child when a primary care giver provides the services
their child needs. If all primary care givers provided mental health treatment to children, more
children with mental illnesses would receive the help they need.
Conclusion
Mental health is a major issue that should not be ignored any longer. For years, policy
makers have been pushing to create community based mental health centers to reduce the
number of people hospitalized who are struggling with mental illnesses (1970, Pg. 2). With
community centers, people would receive a more effective and affordable form of treatment.
Many individuals suffering from a mental health diagnosis are afraid to get help because of the

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stigma that comes with the illness (Corrigan, Druss, and Perlick, 2014). These community
centers could not only act as a treatment facility, but also as a safe space individuals can go to
escape the reality of their illness. Many primary care providers have started to provide treatment
to their patients because of the lack of resources available (2009). Because primary care
providers are assuming this role, children are more likely to continue to receive the treatment
they need to manage their mental illness. The mental health limited resource crisis in America
could be solved if policy makers set aside a portion of the budget to fund mental health centers
with trained professionals in communities throughout the country.
Family Impact Analysis
Looking at the family impact checklist, I would say that the family structure, most
affected by policies that surrounds mental health, would be families who have members with
special needs. I think this family type is the most relevant because people with a mental illness
struggle with cognitive and emotional functioning; depending on the severity of their illness,
some also deal with physical impairments. The creation of mental health community centers
would impact the responsibility of the family by making sure the caretaker of the family member
with a mental illness goes to the center to receive the treatment they need.
In my opinion, I believe that family stability would be most impacted by this policy
change. I believe that community mental health centers would help strengthen the family,
because the centers would be a place for family to receive affordable treatment for their loved
one with a mental illness. The centers will also help strengthen a family’s relationship by
alleviate some of the burden and stress that come with mental disorders. Family diversity would
be strongly impacted by the creation of mental centers in communities with professional trained
on how to relate and treat minorities with mental illnesses. Research shows that most of the

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minority population does not seek treatment because professionals lack understanding about
minorities (2018). Finally, family engagement with be effected by policy change. I believe that
with community mental health centers, patients and their families would both benefit. The
mental health centers would provide services for patients and their families with how to deal and
overcome their struggles.
Policy Options and Camp Perspectives
One policy option is the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act 2016. This policy
aims at improving existing mental health policies and programs on a federal level to be more
evidence-based care (2016). The bill intends to increase the number of professional mental health
care providers in problem areas. The bill also strives to getting psychiatric screening, diagnosis,
and treatment covered by Medicaid for children. The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis
Act would classify as satisfied camp because the change in existing policies is beneficial to the
family.
The Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 falls in the category of impatient camp. The act
was designed to establish no discrepancy when it comes to health insurance coverage (2019).
The policy stated that mental health and general medical benefits should be classified as the
same. This policy is classified as impatient camp because there has been no change in health
insurance coverage in reference to mental health.
The Millennium Development Goals are milestones in development that members of the
United Nations have established (Tasi & Tomlinson, 2015). Some goals that were acknowledge
were maternal health and poverty eradication. One goal that was left off the agenda was mental
health. Most of human suffering comes from mental illnesses. This agenda is classified as
concerned camp because the omitting of mental health is detrimental.

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Personal Opinion
As an advocate of the importance of mental health, I bring the perspective of locals in the
area who are personally dealing with a mental illness or know someone who has an illness. I am
passionate about the addition of services throughout the community that can assist in treatment
for members of my community. With community mental health centers created, people would
have access to more affordable and effective forms of treatment (1971, Pg. 1). In reference to
which Policy Paradox camp is the best fit, I would say the satisfied camp. The policy that fits
into the category satisfied camp is the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act 2016. This
act strives to improve the number of professional care providers and areas where they are needed
most and make the treatment and care more affordable (2016). With an increase in federal budget
towards mental health, many problems areas across the country would be able to provide the
professional mental care services that are desperately needed to individuals and their families.
Recommendation for Action
As an advocate for mental health services, I would recommend that federal budget money
be allocated towards the issue. Because this is such a big issue that impacts many Americans, I
would also suggest that state governments too set aside budget money to create community
mental health centers throughout their state. This money would go towards hiring trained
professionals in communities that need assistance most. With this recommendation, I hope that
American struggling with mental illnesses will receive the care and treatment they need, and the
number of individuals struggling with an illness will decrease exponentially.
Personal Future Actions
In the future, I plan on pursuing a career in the school systems. From what I have learned,
doing the group policy brief, I have discovered that many adolescent and teenage students

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struggle with some sort of mental illness. Throughout this course, I have found that there are
many ways to get my voice and opinion heard when it comes to policy. It can be as simple as
getting in touch with my state legislator via email. As an educator, I will have to be aware of
different policy and programs that affect children and their families. Resources I can use to be up
to date are the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Kids Count, and Voices for Georgia’s Children. I
think the most important thing I learned this semester in HDFS 4130 is that everyone has a voice,
when it comes to policy, and everyone has the right to let their voice be heard.

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References
Corrigan, P., Druss, B., & Perlick, D. (2014, August 1). The impact of mental illness stigma on
seeking and participating in mental health care. Retrieved from
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/mental-illness-stigma.html.
Grob, G. (2005, September). Public policy and mental illnesses: Jimmy Carter’s presidential
commission on mental health. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2690151/.
NA. (2016, September). Comprehensive mental health reform. Retrieved from
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/09/policy-brief.
NA. (2019). Issue brief: parity. Retrieved from
https://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/issues/issue-brief-parity.
NA. (2019). Mental health by the numbers. Retrieved from https://www.nami.org/learn-
more/mental-health-by-the-numbers.
NA. (2016). Schizophrenia. Retrieved from
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml.
NA. (2009). The advantage of providing mental health services in the primary care setting.
Retrieved from
https://www.nemours.org/content/dam/nemours/wwwv2/filebox/service/healthy-
living/growuphealthy/nhps/policybrief/mentprimcare.pdf.
NA. (2017, January 24). The negative effects of going untreated for a mental health disorder.
Retrieved from https://deserthopetreatment.com/co-occurring-disorders/going-
untreated/.

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NA. (2019, April 5). What is mental health. Retrieved from
http://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health.
Nursing Staff at the University of Southern California. (2018, May 10). Understanding barriers
to minority mental health care. Retrieved from
https://nursing.usc.edu/blog/discrimination-bad-health-minority-mental-healthcare/.
Saunders, J. (2003). Families living with a severe mental illness: a literature review. Mental
Health Nursing, 24(2), 175-198. Retrieved from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01612840305301?casa_token=ooYEf6
YiI7MAAAAA:rsVkUsmSC6faNMxt6WjvC1dm445QF4w1uSRdqPwKTrzZ6xDmz0
GXGMqqdng1apApvrpJ5uj3gMNy.
The Committee on Improved Care and Treatment of Mental Hospital Patients. (1970, January
19). Report and recommendations to the board of directors metropolitan Atlanta
mental health association.
The Georgia Psychiatric Association. (1971, June 1). Mental health programs in Georgia.
Tomlinson, M. & Tsai, A. (2015, June 30). Inequitable and ineffective: exclusion of mental
health from the post-2015 development agenda. Retrieved from
https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001846.

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