MENTALLY ILL FACE BARRIERS IN CARE

Quite a stack of e-mail has accumulated regarding the need to improve the
quality and extent of care available to those who suffer from mental illnesses.

One woman wrote that her son was "a dual-diagnosed patient" (mental illness
and substance abuse), and that far too many people like him are unable to
find programs suited for them.

They may get some treatment for substance abuse, "but that is not the core
of the issue," she said. "The mental illness is." And if that is not
addressed, "they have little chance of succeeding."

Her son committed suicide.

A mother wrote that she and her husband have thus far managed to keep their
26-year-old mentally ill son out of prison, although private treatment has
just about exhausted their financial resources.

They believe that locking him up "would have been the final step to
ruination with his disease." However, the mother said, "we have been told
by officials to let him slide into the criminal-justice system in order to
get help."

The father of a man who has been diagnosed as bipolar and who currently is
in a Texas prison said, "You would not believe what our son has gone
through just trying to survive and obtain proper medication ... correct
care is almost nonexistent."

Intervention delayed

A woman wrote that her brother was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia,
dyslexia and borderline mental retardation, but obtaining that diagnosis
and then securing treatment was extremely difficult and time-consuming.

"Although my family knew from a very young age that my brother had
`emotional problems,' was `talking to himself' by the age of 15, and was
extremely paranoid by the age of 17, he was not diagnosed with paranoid
schizophrenia until he was 21 years old. My brother and entire family
endured a great deal of suffering and frustration because of the lack of
diagnosis and treatment."

She said her brother, now 36, has been receiving limited services from MHMR
in Harris and Travis counties since the early 1980s. He lives in supported
housing and benefits from taking the new generation medications, but "has
difficulty holding a job and struggles every day ... I truly believe that
if his mental illness was identified and treated earlier, he would be in a
better position today and may not need ongoing services from our public
mental health system."

Also, that would have reduced some of the stress and disruption for his
family, the sister said.

"Early intervention and treatment pays off in the long run, both in
financial savings and emotional well-being," she said.

The wife of a 68-year-old man wrote to say that he was diagnosed with
bipolar disorder only 13 years ago. What a great difference that, and the
resulting treatment, made in their lives.

She said that if adequate care had been widely available, making it
possible to detect and treat mental illnesses quickly, "our family would
not have had to endure some of the hardships, frustrations and fears we
suffered."

A `miracle' for one family

A retired registered nurse wrote that her grandson was a "bright young man,
but from a very early age was very aggressive in his behavior, which only
worsened as he grew into adolescence."

She said the boy and his parents tried two different private care
facilities in the neighboring state where they live. But the lad did not
improve in either of them and "was kept in solitary because of his
disruptive behavior most of the time."

After the insurance coverage was exhausted, the boy was referred to a
mental health unit operated by that state, the grandmother said. It was
there that a doctor finally made an adequate diagnosis and prescribed
proper medication.

"In a matter of two weeks it was as though a miracle had taken place," the
grandmother said. "A dramatic change in his behavior occurred," and he has
since become a husband, a father, a college student with A and B grades,
and holds down a job.

"He is such a pleasure to our family now," she said. And because she has
seen how "a simple medication and education to both the parents and patient
could make the difference in being a criminal or a productive member of
society," she believes "it is not more prison beds we need, but more
medical treatment."