A new perception of mental illness is emerging-one that focuses on early intervention, effective treatment, rehabilitation, and recovery. No area of health care is changing more than mental health. Advances are prompted by better science and more research, the information revolution, the important role consumers play in advocating for themselves, and family members who speak out for their loved ones. Barriers to mental illness recovery are falling one by one. More than 30 states have adopted measures to ensure health insurance parity.
Treatment works if a person with a mental illness can get it.
Science has greatly expanded our understanding and treatment of severe mental illnesses. Once forgotten in the back wards of mental institutions, individuals with these disorders have a real chance at reclaiming full and productive lives, but only if they have access to the treatments, services, and programs so vital to recovery. Stigma continues to be the single most significant barrier to people getting the help they need. As underscored by the U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher in his 1999 landmark report on mental health, stigma toward mental illness remains a pervasive and potentially lethal barrier to mental illness recovery. Inc. All rights reserved.