homework for kim woods only

Solution and Advantages  1

Solution and Advantages 

Tammy Johnson

Professor Jeanette Anokye

Eng 215: Research and Writing

February 18, 2018

It seems as though we do not take children and adolescent mental health issues seriously. If we see a child that is acting out, having anger issues or some that seem depressed, people tend to blow off the actions of these children as maybe they are spoiled, or bratty in some sort of way. In many cases as it relates to teenagers, parents and adults typically brushes it off as puberty and/or mood swings due to hormone changes. I remember as a teen I went through minor depression, I would always hear my family members say "oh she is just going through a transitional phase" until the day I just wouldn't come out of my room. We think that the kids will grow out of it, that it isn’t something that needs to be seriously addressed. The problem is that when a mental health issues are ignored they don’t just go away. They often become a lot worse. I know because I have felt the negative impact of stigma toward children’s mental health issues first hand because of my issue and my sons.

Mental health issues are real and can affect people at any age. The longer they are let go untreated the worse they usually get. Children that do not get help for their mental illness can end up having problems with school, develop addictions and get in trouble with the law once they are older. The upside to all this is that the earlier someone is able get help for their mental illness, the easier it usually is to treat. I know this problem all too well having to deal with my own sons issues. He has been in trouble with the law on numerous occasions because of his mental illness. I am sure that we all understand that adolescent mental illness can be difficult to diagnose because we expect teens to typically be moody; however, depression is a serious issue and if any parent or family member see some of these symptoms with the children in their family it would be best to seek professional treatment as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, I will have to discuss the pass weeks issue regarding the shooting that took place in Florida by a teen that some people are stating had a mental illness. This is a part of the self-destruction that comes with adolescent and teen untreated mental illness if that were the case as it relates to the tragedy. Mental illness makes it difficult to cope with school and everyday life for some.

The sufferers of mental illness find it hard to get out of bed because of depression, they have difficulty communicating, some adolescent and children experience communication difficulties, this is the reasoning behind so many behavioral classes within schools. The children are place on specific type drugs that has a significant effect on their growth instead of seeking mental health counseling. The longer mental illness is left untreated, the more likely it is to interfere with your ability to do your job and effectively interact with others.

The stigma is that there is shame and fear as it relates to adolescent and adult mental health. We also have issue with finding good affordable therapy, statistically due to the severe shortage of mental health providers across the country, there are times between referral and treatment. I have found primarily that funding for mental health in the lower income sector is pretty much non-existent. Your child or family member has to literally be hospitalized due to a suicide attempt or some act of violence before social security will step in to assist with funding for mental health patience. The amount just for an injection for your child can cost out-of-pocket up to an amount of over $1,000 - $2000 monthly; these children that will not or cannot take their medicine on their own the shots are imperative for the well-being. While researching the cost of funding you will find in other countries - with the exceptions of Nepal and Pakistan, where out-of-pocket payments are the main way to acquire mental health services .

Financing is such a critical factor for ensuring adolescent/teens and adults are receiving enough funding for assisting with healing and well-being. NAMI and other organization do their best to assist with helping families find funding for families dealing with mental health.

My solution to my thesis statement is simple; we must continuously talk with our children, watch for any differences in behavior; we must also ensure that we are consist with taking our children/family members to the doctor's appointments at the first signs of a disorder appears. We cannot just write it off as someone acting out or hormonal issues.

Once you find a great healthcare provider, have the person evaluated. At the beginning of my sons mental issue - the psychiatrist provided us with a behavior checklist that contained over 100 questions related to his behavior; supposedly there are strict guidelines that providers are supposed to provide when dealing with a mental illness patient. A parents participation should be present and accounted for, it is imperative that the persons dealing with this type of issue has a support system.

When you get a jumpstart on these issues - you can ensure that your family member will have a fruitful life. Some pertinent information that I learned is basically - trust the psychiatrist and staff they are the experts if trust failed to be established, progress could not occur. I actively searched, discarded and searched again for the right fit.

We have to also stabilize the living space for the persons dealing with mental illness; assist them with keeping the space clean, make sure they are getting well-balanced meals, help them with learning how to get back into the swing of life. The most important is ensuring they are taking their medications; most patients do not want to face the fact that they have a mental illness, let alone taking medications for the rest of their lives.

Our country needs to increase mental health funding, provide better care and services.

My child is recovering because his father and I are fighting for his life on a daily basis. What we have learned from the assistance of NAMI is that the positive role of families in mental health care programs tend to have better recovery stats.

Georgia is one state that has not improved on assistance for mental health, like many states the care for mental illness is non-existent; Chicago has torn down mainly every mental facility and most if not all of the patience are now homeless and on the streets or in jail. The inhumane way that we treat mentally ill patients is disgraceful.

As a mother of an adult who was diagnosed with mental illness at 19 years old I believe that I can appeal to my classmates and peers as it relates to how to what I learned about the types of services available, and how to access them. Having a child that is ill is so hard to face as a parent however, the worst part of it all is when people don’t understand it, or see it as behavioral choices and not symptoms. These kinds of stigmas make people reluctant in seeking care they need and keeps families from seeking support, even from relatives

One of many of the parents in my group have stigmas from seeing her daughter that is 14 years old - cover her arms from the scars of cutting, sometimes just writing about these stories makes me so sad as if it were the first time speaking about them.

We as parents have one common denominator which is insurance and access to care has posed a barrier for us all. As I spoke in my last paper, if this were cancer, diabetes, MS or any other illness the same type of treatment limitations would not be tolerated. With respect to insurance companies most won't pay because it relies on the treatment plan developed the children's mental health providers.

· Most mothers have written to legislators and included recommendations such as Requiring insurance carriers to work with mental health professionals to create a list of services needed to adequately treat children and require that carriers cover them.

· Changing the criteria used to determine coverage of mental health services to provide a higher level of deference to the recommendations of a child’s treatment team and put the burden on the insurer to defend a decision to deny treatment recommended by the patient’s clinicians.

· Having the state create incentives to encourage mental health providers to accept insurance. The group suggested school loan forgiveness or tax incentives as possible options.

Quality relevant references

1. Out 50% of individuals with severe  psychiatric  disorders (3.5 million people) are receiving no treatment. (n.d.). Retrieved from  http://mentalillnesspolicy.org/consequences/percentage-mentally-ill-untr...

2. What percentage of individuals with serious mental illnesses are receiving no treatment? (2014, November). Retrieved from  http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/resources/assisted-outpatient-tre...

3. Kliff, Sarah (2012). Seven Facts about America’s Mental Health Care System. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/17/seven-facts-about-americas-mental-health-care-system/

4. Szabo, Liz (2014). The Costs of Not Caring: Nowhere to go. The financial and human toll for neglecting the mentally ill. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/12/mental-health-system-crisis/7746535/

5. Whitaker, Robert (2010). Mad in America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and the Enduring Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill. Basic Books.