Surgeon General stresses America?s mental health

Upcoming report is expected to have an impact on public policy.

By Lisa Rabasca
Monitor staff

When U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher releases his report on mental health in late 1999, many psychologists hope that behavioral health will be put on an equal footing with physical health in the public policy arena. A preliminary look at the report shows that Satcher is likely to move mental health into the mainstream of public health issues.

Satcher?s report on mental health is expected to point out the similarities between mental and physical health, according to Rear Adm. Thomas Bornemann, EdD, deputy director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA).

Bornemann previewed the report?which is still being written?at APA?s 1998 Annual Convention in San Francisco. He said it will look at mental health throughout the life span from early development to adulthood to old age.

The report will stress that mental health is a public health concern that can be treated, Bornemann said, and it will emphasize that science has advanced our understanding of the causes of mental illnesses.

Historically, Surgeon General reports have had an impact on public policy. For example, the report on smoking and health in 1964 alerted the public to the dangers of tobacco, Bornemann said, and the report on HIV/AIDS in 1988 changed the public debate on AIDS from a question of morals to a public health concern. 'Mental health belongs alongside these issues,' Bornemann said.

An estimated 44 million American adults and 13.7 million American children experience mental disorders each year, Bornemann said. 'At all levels of severity, mental and emotional disorders can affect school performance, employment, physical health, family structure, housing and quality of life.'

Mental health, he added, has become a global concern. In 1990, half the leading causes of disability worldwide were psychiatric conditions, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Major depression, alcohol use, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder were identified among the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide, Bornemann said. WHO estimates that by the year 2020, major depression will be the second leading cause of disease or injury in the world.

The Surgeon General report on mental health was commissioned in September 1997. The SAMSHA Center for Mental Health Services is leading the report?s development for the Surgeon General in partnership with the National Institute of Mental Health. Howard Goldman, MD, PhD, co-director of the Institute for Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of Maryland School of Medicine will be the report?s senior editor, Bornemann said.

Information about the Surgeon General?s report is available at http://www.mentalhealth.org/.