The Ideal Scene For a State Department of Mental Health

An Ideal Scene expresses the way an area ought to be. In other words, if you had your "druthers" ("I'd rather...") what would things look like and how would they operate in the best of all possible worlds? We can state unequivocally that the scene in most state mental health departments and facilities is abominable. If they were really doing their jobs right, their patients would be recovering and being sent, sane, back into society as productive individuals. It doesn't take much research to find out that isn't the case, just Google "psychiatric abuse."

In Missouri, for example, the annual budget for the state department of mental health is well over $1 billion. It has been generally increasing for the last thirty-seven years while state psychiatric facilities continue to abuse their patients. In fact, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch exposed the outrageous level of abuse in Missouri psychiatric facilities in a series of articles called "Broken Promises, Broken Lives" published June 11-14, 2006. They said, "Mentally retarded and mentally ill people in Missouri have been sexually assaulted, beaten, injured and left to die by abusive and neglectful caregivers in a system that for years has failed at every level to safeguard them."

[See the resource for a graph of the Missouri Department of Mental Health annual budgets.]

Similar situations can be found in other states. For example, on December 30, 2007 the Atlanta Journal-Constitution published "A Hidden Shame: Danger And Death In Georgia's Mental Hospitals" saying that "despite intense scrutiny, conditions are still substandard for many patients in seven state facilities."

The following would be necessary characteristics of an ideal state mental health department. If your state's department of mental health doesn't fit these criteria, where are your letters to your own state representatives and senators telling them to get busy and fix it? It's all laid out for you here, now go write those letters.

No person should ever be forced to undergo electric shock treatment, psychosurgery, coercive psychiatric treatment, or the enforced administration of mind-altering drugs. Governments should outlaw such abuses. Prosecute as a criminal offense any and all cases of physical damage caused through psychiatry's use of electroshock, brain surgery or abusive drug "treatment."

People in desperate circumstances must be provided proper and effective medical care. Medical, not psychiatric, attention, good nutrition, a healthy, safe environment and activity that promotes confidence will do far more than the brutality of psychiatry's drug treatments. Housing and work will do more for the homeless than the life-debilitating effects of psychiatric drugs and other psychiatric treatments that destroy responsibility.

The use of physical and mechanical restraints should be outlawed. Until this occurs, any psychiatric staff member-and the psychiatrist who authorized the procedure-should be criminally culpable should the restraint result in physical damage or death.

Insist the community treatment laws that rely upon mandatory and thereby coercive measures be abolished, and dismantle or prevent "mental health courts" which are another conduit for drugging our communities.

Clearview
Counseling Centers


Our team uses an individualistic approach that
promotes diversity and inclusion, supports our clients’ needs, and creates an
environment where all feel supported and understood. We collaborate with our
clients to develop a treatment plan that addresses their needs and respects
their values, beliefs, experiences, and viewpoints.


Our
Purpose


Creating a supportive, caring, and compassionate
environment where clients feel safe to begin their healing journeys and helping
them gain new skills to improve their quality of life.


Our
Mission


To provide high-quality mental health services, be
compassionate of the needs of our clients, and offer a comprehensive array of
services anchored in the use of evidence-based practices, exceeding clients’
expectations, and delivering positive clinical outcomes.


Our
Vision


To become a premier mental health provider for
individuals, couples, and families in El Paso County, Texas. To work diligently
to exceed the quality standards of the mental health profession and treat
clients as our family members and loved ones. Our vision is consistent with
“Doing What is Best for our Clients!”


Reaching
our Goals


Helping clients meet their goals is our top priority.
During the first session, clinicians will complete a thorough assessment to
better understand the challenges impacting each client. After the assessment,
the client and the clinician will collaborate to develop a treatment plan. Here
is a list of goals that might be in a treatment plan:


·       Developing healthy
boundaries


·       Expressing
emotions appropriately


·       Communicating
effectively


·       Improving
self-esteem


·       Engaging in
positive affirmation


·       Managing angry
outburst


·       Life-skill
development


Contact Us


10921 Pellicano Drive, Suite 122, El Paso, Mental Health Therapist In El Paso TX 79935


(915) 200-4002

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