An estimated 9.6 million U.S. adults have a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder, according to the latest statistics from National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). That's a daunting number, but even more formidable are the challenges many of these people face. For example, even though there are quite successful evidence-based treatments, many people with a serious mental illness experience long delays before they get the help they need.
In fact, only 58.7 percent of U.S. adults who had a serious mental illness received treatment for a mental health problem, according to a 2008 study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Race and ethnicity also play a large role in who gets treated, which reflects in part the lack of access to appropriate services and the stigma associated with mental illness in minority communities. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans use mental health services half as much as whites. Asian-Americans use them even less — just one-third as often as whites.
These statistics are, of course, unacceptable. That's why APA is committed to working to reduce stigma and to shorten the time between a person's first signs of a serious mental illness and his or her successful treatment.
One way our association supports the needs of this population is through the work of APA's Task Force on Serious Mental Illness and Severe Emotional Disturbances, established in 1994 by the APA Council of Representatives. Among this group's top priorities is championing the unique contributions psychologists can make in improving the lives of people with these conditions. An important goal of this task force — and APA as a whole — is educating the public and policymakers about the fact that people can and do recover from serious mental illnesses.
That idea of recovery is the guiding principle behind one of our most comprehensive efforts in this area: the Recovery to Practice initiative. With a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, APA has contributed to an online library of recovery principles and practices and is helping to train health professionals in recovery tenets nationwide. In August, APA released a curriculum for doctoral, internship and postdoctoral psychology programs that teaches students how to provide recovery-oriented behavioral health care. Known as Reframing Psychology for the Emerging Healthcare Environment: Recovery Curriculum for People with Serious Mental Illnesses and Behavioral Health Disorders, the 15-module curriculum consists of lecture notes, PowerPoint slides, suggestions for learning activities, assessments and much more.
On the federal advocacy level, APA's government relations team educates lawmakers about psychologists' research on recovery, as well as on prevention, early intervention and treatment. Recent legislative provisions that seek to improve access to mental health care are included in legislation sponsored by congressman and psychologist Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), known as the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (H.R. 3717). Early on, Dr. Murphy's office invited APA to comment on the bill. To help inform psychologists about this legislation, the APA Task Force on Serious Mental Illness and Severe Emotional Disturbances and APA Div. 18 (Psychologists in Public Service) hosted a symposium at APA's Annual Convention where Dr. Murphy and Dr. Arthur Evans highlighted the needs of people with serious mental illness.
How can you advocate on behalf of people with serious mental illness? Psychologists' participation at congressional town hall meetings, hearings and briefings, as well as grassroots involvement in the form of constituent meetings and letters, are essential parts of our APA advocacy efforts. Also, you can learn more about the Recovery to Practice initiative and request a free copy of the curriculum by visiting Recovery to Practice.
Working together, we can ensure that recovery becomes a reality for the millions who have serious mental illness.
