On Monday, British Prime Minister Teresa May announces a number of policies and proposals poised at building a "new center ground"- her highest priority being mental health, especially on the young.
May has urged aggressive government action with emphasis on the mental health status with focus on the young population. According to the PM, younger individuals are at highest risk of suffering from mental health problems.
National Institute of Mental Health have shown studies that prove how young age groups are affected disproportionately. 20 percent of young individuals aged between 13 and 18 are experiencing mental health problems. Studies also show that 50 percent of lifetime mental health issues often onset at age 14 while 75 percent by age 24.
Mental health specialists confirmed however that additional funding is needed to improve delivery of services. The government further confirms that a person suffering from mental health may have an estimated cost of £105bn. May proposes an "additional training for teachers, an extra £15m for community care, and improved support in the workplace." This allocation is equivalent to about $18.2 million. May also expressed her plans to reallocate £67.7 million, equivalent to about $82.2 million, in existing National Health Service funds to "online services, such as allowing symptom checks before getting a face-to-face appointment."
The PM aims to do more than improving the quality of care. May is seeking active support to see an holistic change in the many stereotypes about mental illness. May's advocacy coincides with the celebration of International Men's Day which revealed alarming statistics on high rates of depression and suicide among the male population.
Meanwhile in the United States, growing concerns about the future of mental health care status are expressed especially along with the advance pronouncement of plans to repeal Obamacare. Inability to replace the health care law effectively may affect mental health services.
USA Today confirms that "people helped the most by the ACA are the ones most likely to suffer from poor mental health and addiction." 30 percent of the 20 million Americans insured by Obamacare are suffering from disorders like schizophrenia, anxiety, and addiction with substances. Removing this health security will also mean removal of a significant amount of resources for this people.
Politico reports that last summer, "3,000 therapists signed a self-described manifesto declaring Trumps proclivity for scapegoating, intolerance and blatant sexism a 'threat to the well-being of the people we care for' and urging others in the profession to speak out against him."
The manifesto specifically emphasizes that Trumps candidacy was "legitimizing, even celebrating, a set of personal behaviors that psychotherapists work to reverse every day in their offices."
May's plans shed a lighter note in the international state of mental health. May believe that these reforms will give solutions to the inefficiencies in the healthcare delivery system in UK, specifically concerning mental illness. To date, treatment is available only to a few and many groups in the society are silently suffering, especially women.
The prime minister observed that mental health had been "disregarded as secondary to physical health." May believes that changing that would go "right to the heart of our humanity".
