by Katie Mercogliano ’14

In the months after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, numerous questions have been raised about gun control, school security and mental illness. The most alarming and particularly troubling: why do Americans have easier access to guns than they do to mental healthcare?

About one in five American adults experience mental illness during their lifetime, and nearly two million teens have suffered from a major depressive episode in the last year. Of this high rate of Americans dealing with mental illness, only 60 percent are getting treated with any type of mental healthcare.

Since 2008, the U.S. has cut $4 billion from its already ailing public mental health system. Many community mental health programs have disappeared and more than 4,000 psychiatric hospital beds have been eliminated. People can’t get help until they go into crisis.

Americans who have physical illnesses like diabetes get our full support when it comes to their treatment, as they should. The approach taken on those with mental illness should be just as urgent as the approach that would be taken on those who have physical injuries or illness.

Along with the alterations to access to mental healthcare, the attitude towards mental illness needs to be changed. The common misconception that all who are mentally ill are also more prone to violence is not true, but there is a subgroup. Those who are predisposed to violence, who have refused mental illness treatments, and who have a history with substance abuse do violently lash out, similarly to many of the shooters in tragedies throughout history.

Currently, most people are insured by private insurance and have to jump through several hoops to have their mental healthcare covered. By requiring prior approval before seeking mental or substance abuse treatment, private insurance companies are driving many to resort to attempting to treat themselves.

Inclusion of mental health care in the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is a step in the right direction, but it isn’t enough.  More is needed, including consistent mental health screening, yearly evaluation, evidence-based mental health treatment and family education and support.

The solution is not to isolate the mentally ill from society, but to make seeking treatment acceptable and available to everyone in need. Mental illness must be among the top priorities in the United States until there is progress made, not just a fleeting focus after tragedies when it’s too late.