Surgeon General David Satcher's Report Notes Shame And Costs Deter Many From Seeking Treatment For Mental Disorders

Jet, Jan 17, 2000

Nearly one in five Americans suffers from a mental disorder which can be successfully treated, according to U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher's first annual report on mental health.

In the extensive review of research on mental disorders, Dr. Satcher concludes that shame and difficulty paying for care are keeping millions of Americans from treatments that have proved effective.

The report encourages all Americans who suspect they have a mental disorder to seek help.

"Mental disorders are not character flaws but are legitimate illnesses that respond to specific treatments, just as other health conditions respond to medical interventions," the report said.

"Society no longer can afford to view mental health as separate and unequal to general health."

The report noted that about one in five Americans, or 50 million people, suffer from some kind of mental disorder and two thirds of them never seek treatment, including nearly half of those with a severe mental illness.

The report, a scientific rather than political document, makes no specific policy recommendations. But mental health advocates said they would seize it in fighting for equal health insurance coverage of mental ailments, better treatments in prisons and more accountability in public spending.

The study, "Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General," reviews 3,000 academic studies on mental health and mental illness and has been in the works since Satcher took office in early 1998.

The report's principal recommendation to the American people "is to seek help if you have a mental health problem or think you have symptoms of a mental disorder."

And Satcher urges friends, family, teachers, ministers, coaches and others who may spot someone with a problem to encourage them to seek help.

Satcher argues that people with mental health problems and mental illness can live happier, more productive lives with the help of therapy and medication.

Without help, someone who begins sad can become clinically depressed and ultimately even suicidal. Untreated, the most severely ill can end up homeless or criminals.

"To a great extent, we are dumping our mental health problems on the streets of America," Satcher said. "We are dumping them into our jails and prisons--there's no question about that."