Loughner Attack on le Giffords: America's Mental Health Breakdown

[Guest guest]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blackberry/p.html?id=806381





Noel Irwin Hentschel: Loughner Attack on le Giffords: America's

Mental Health Breakdown

â January 9, 2011 13:38:21

The tragic and devastating attack in Tucson, Arizona on U.S. Representative

le Giffords and other innocent victims including the killing of a

9-year-old girl and a federal judge was, sadly, preventable if the exceedingly

ineffective mental health laws in America were changed. America's mental health

system is undeniably broken and must be fixed to ensure that those who need

treatment be required to receive it for the safety and well being of society as

a whole.

If any good is to come out of this horrifying event it must be for legislators

on federal, state and local levels to undertake immediate in-depth hearings that

lead to a definitive change of America's laws for treating mental health

patients. Insurance companies must be required to provide the same health

benefits for mental disease as they do for all other illnesses so that patients

can be properly treated. Legislators must publicly interview expert witnesses

who deal on a daily basis with the overwhelmingly bureaucratic and legal

obstacles in their efforts to try to help people with mental diseases. To this

end, legislators must listen to family members, law enforcement, medical

professionals and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); these are the

ones who know the solutions as well as the obstacles.

As information of this chaotic episode, initially referred to as an

" assassination attack, " evolved and was shared by the media, most people rushed

to the conclusion that either drug cartel gangsters or terrorists from Mexico,

the Middle East or our own homegrown extremists were responsible. It was only

when the perpetrator was finally identified as a young 22-year-old white male

and his irrational Internet rants were read that the media began to describe him

as " one of the crazies " or " nuts. "

This label is particularly painful for those who are advocates for proactively

treating people with mental disorders. Loughner's classmates are reported as

stating that he was " consistently disruptive in class " and " obviously very

disturbed. " Yet who reported this troubling behavior to any officials that could

have tried to help him and what steps if any, were taken, one must inquire. The

bar is so high for proving someone is a threat to themselves or to others that

they literally have to already be in the middle of a horrendous act like this

vicious attack for law enforcement, family or medical professionals to be able

to provide treatment to the disturbed person. What a travesty of justice for all

concerned!

Throughout the day the focus of the media was understandably on the condition of

Representative Giffords presuming that she was the primary target which is

probably why the main experts commenting, at least initially, have been from the

FBI, Secret Service, Homeland Security and other government officials as opposed

to interviewing mental health experts to better understand the how and why this

happened. Mental illness may not be an excuse for crimes but it certainly can be

what caused and motivated someone to commit a crime if the person goes

untreated. Begging one to consider who is ultimately responsible for these

heinous acts and to discuss if there is any culpability by those that ignore the

dire need and calamitous consequences of leaving the current mental health laws

we have unchanged.

There is a critical breakdown of mental health care in America because it is not

considered a disease that is popular to address and there is a definite stigma

attached to admitting mental illness. We can and must do something about it

before more innocent lives are lost including the lives of the sick and

untreated, some who may become perpetrators of crimes. Laws must be enacted that

allow for the hospitalization and proper medical treatment for the amount of

time necessary for recovery followed by compassionate care in a professional

locked or unlocked facility depending on the condition of the patient until they

are able to function in society and they should be assisted to become a

contributing member of the community.

Seventy-two hours, 14 days or even 30 days is not adequate for treating mental

health or substance abuse patients, so they constantly are walking through a

revolving door. One of those revolving doors for a sick person can be into a

local market armed with violent thoughts, until we change the laws. There must

be legal avenues that are not onerous and debilitating emotionally and

financially for families to help their loved ones. It is critical that there be

ongoing counseling, therapy and monitoring of the compliance of proper

medication being taken by the patient to treat the chemical imbalance that

causes mental diseases such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and

bi-polar disorder. For the record, many times this chemical imbalance is

triggered by the use of illegal drugs -- especially marijuana and ecstasy are

culprits particularly if there is any hereditary pre-disposition according to

in-depth studies and analysis by leading psychiatrists in Switzerland and

Germany. It's worth noting that Loughner is reported to have a long history of

marijuana use. Another country with a long history of how the mental health

system should work is Ireland where there are a high proportion of families who

have loved ones with a mental disease. I have participated in numerous

conferences with the most respected psychiatrists in these countries and have

found their experience to be enormously helpful for America to embrace.

According to mental health professional and expert F. Fuller Torrey in his 2008

research book called The Insanity Defense: How America's Failure to Treat the

Seriously Mentally Ill Endangers Its Citizens we are informed that 4,000,000

Americans are believed to have severe psychiatric disorders with a subset of

400,000 homeless and untreated not complying with their needed medications and

another sub-sub set of 40,000 considered the most dangerous, not being treated

or taking meds and demonstrating very violent behavior. This count does not

include the vast numbers who are not properly diagnosed in our nation.

Prisons have become the new mental health institutions across America. A perfect

example of this is the Twin Towers Jail in downtown Los Angeles. It was built in

recent years to house prisoners but instead it is the solution for housing

patients that have committed crimes because they are free to do so of their own

volition instead of being required to comply with mental health treatment. There

are more than 100,000 people living on the streets of Los Angeles that are

homeless. Recent studies undertaken by U.S.C. and provided by First AME Church

in Los Angeles indicate that more than half of these fellow citizens should be

in health care facilities being treated for mental disease, drug addiction and

substance abuse.

For as long as I can remember I have worked to help those with mental diseases

and addictions both within my family as well as caring for those who are on the

streets. I have personally witnessed every aspect of the mental health debacle

in California and in our nation from the nineteen sixties until today including

the defunding and the pleas for help by the people and families affected

directly by it. Unfortunately, the overwhelming consensus by these distressed

families, frustrated law enforcement and medical field professionals is that the

ACLU by fighting and providing funding for laws that supposedly protect the

rights of those afflicted with mental diseases have actually done more to ruin

their lives than to help them.

Funding for mental health, or more accurately the lack of funding for it, is one

of the major hurdles that must be overcome. Our nation's economic woes make it

an even greater challenge for the 112th Congress that Speaker of the House

Boehner recently swore Representative Giffords in to serve. However as a nation

with a conscience if we do NOT invest the time and resources on the critical

breakdown of mental health care in America, today's violent tragedy in Arizona

will be repeated somewhere else, in some way, tomorrow and the day after until

we change the laws. The mental health researcher Torrey points to the killing of

former Congressman Allard Lowenstein on March 12, 1980 by Stanford graduate

Dennis Sweeney who shot him and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia but

left untreated.

As a businessperson, I know what it means to make tough fiscal choices and as a

mother I know what it mean to use " tough love " measures. We need new legislation

that encompasses both of these considerations. For the families who lost their

loved ones and to those who found theirs injured, our thoughts and prayers are

with them. We continue to pray for le Giffords, whose recovery thus far

from a " bullet to the brain " is nothing short of miraculous. We should also

convey our sympathy for the family of Loughner who may have seen the signs

of his illness as illustrated in his delusional rants and nonsensical ramblings

on the internet but like all who have tried to help loved ones, they may have

found it to be disheartening and impossible until the critical breakdown of

America's mental health care is addressed and the laws are changed to protect

the victims and pro-actively treat the sick perpetrator.

There were many heroic efforts in Tucson of people helping to save lives and

comfort the afflicted as a result of this tragedy; hopefully these words from

The Book of Job are an inspirational reminder during this time of deep sadness

in Arizona and across America:

" When I smiled on them they were reassured; mourners took comfort from my

cheerful glance, I chose out their way and presided; I took a king's place in

the armed forces. Whoever heard of me blessed me; those who saw me commended me.

For I rescued the poor who cried out for help, the orphans, and the unassisted;

The blessing of those in extremity came upon me, and the heart of the widow I

made joyful. I wore my honesty like a garment; justice was my robe and my

turban. I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame was I; (Job

29:24-25,11-15). "

Noel Irwin Hentschel serves on the Board of Governors of Cedars-Sinai Hospital,

Los Angeles and is a former Advisory Board Member for Mental Health for the U.K.

Royal Society of Medicine. She is Chair/CEO of Americantours International and

The Noel Foundation based in Los Angeles with offices throughout North America

and China and humanitarian programs in 70 countries. She specializes in World

Religions and Global Ethics at the Franciscan School of Theology.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

[Guest guest]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blackberry/p.html?id=806381





Noel Irwin Hentschel: Loughner Attack on le Giffords: America's

Mental Health Breakdown

â January 9, 2011 13:38:21

The tragic and devastating attack in Tucson, Arizona on U.S. Representative

le Giffords and other innocent victims including the killing of a

9-year-old girl and a federal judge was, sadly, preventable if the exceedingly

ineffective mental health laws in America were changed. America's mental health

system is undeniably broken and must be fixed to ensure that those who need

treatment be required to receive it for the safety and well being of society as

a whole.

If any good is to come out of this horrifying event it must be for legislators

on federal, state and local levels to undertake immediate in-depth hearings that

lead to a definitive change of America's laws for treating mental health

patients. Insurance companies must be required to provide the same health

benefits for mental disease as they do for all other illnesses so that patients

can be properly treated. Legislators must publicly interview expert witnesses

who deal on a daily basis with the overwhelmingly bureaucratic and legal

obstacles in their efforts to try to help people with mental diseases. To this

end, legislators must listen to family members, law enforcement, medical

professionals and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); these are the

ones who know the solutions as well as the obstacles.

As information of this chaotic episode, initially referred to as an

" assassination attack, " evolved and was shared by the media, most people rushed

to the conclusion that either drug cartel gangsters or terrorists from Mexico,

the Middle East or our own homegrown extremists were responsible. It was only

when the perpetrator was finally identified as a young 22-year-old white male

and his irrational Internet rants were read that the media began to describe him

as " one of the crazies " or " nuts. "

This label is particularly painful for those who are advocates for proactively

treating people with mental disorders. Loughner's classmates are reported as

stating that he was " consistently disruptive in class " and " obviously very

disturbed. " Yet who reported this troubling behavior to any officials that could

have tried to help him and what steps if any, were taken, one must inquire. The

bar is so high for proving someone is a threat to themselves or to others that

they literally have to already be in the middle of a horrendous act like this

vicious attack for law enforcement, family or medical professionals to be able

to provide treatment to the disturbed person. What a travesty of justice for all

concerned!

Throughout the day the focus of the media was understandably on the condition of

Representative Giffords presuming that she was the primary target which is

probably why the main experts commenting, at least initially, have been from the

FBI, Secret Service, Homeland Security and other government officials as opposed

to interviewing mental health experts to better understand the how and why this

happened. Mental illness may not be an excuse for crimes but it certainly can be

what caused and motivated someone to commit a crime if the person goes

untreated. Begging one to consider who is ultimately responsible for these

heinous acts and to discuss if there is any culpability by those that ignore the

dire need and calamitous consequences of leaving the current mental health laws

we have unchanged.

There is a critical breakdown of mental health care in America because it is not

considered a disease that is popular to address and there is a definite stigma

attached to admitting mental illness. We can and must do something about it

before more innocent lives are lost including the lives of the sick and

untreated, some who may become perpetrators of crimes. Laws must be enacted that

allow for the hospitalization and proper medical treatment for the amount of

time necessary for recovery followed by compassionate care in a professional

locked or unlocked facility depending on the condition of the patient until they

are able to function in society and they should be assisted to become a

contributing member of the community.

Seventy-two hours, 14 days or even 30 days is not adequate for treating mental

health or substance abuse patients, so they constantly are walking through a

revolving door. One of those revolving doors for a sick person can be into a

local market armed with violent thoughts, until we change the laws. There must

be legal avenues that are not onerous and debilitating emotionally and

financially for families to help their loved ones. It is critical that there be

ongoing counseling, therapy and monitoring of the compliance of proper

medication being taken by the patient to treat the chemical imbalance that

causes mental diseases such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and

bi-polar disorder. For the record, many times this chemical imbalance is

triggered by the use of illegal drugs -- especially marijuana and ecstasy are

culprits particularly if there is any hereditary pre-disposition according to

in-depth studies and analysis by leading psychiatrists in Switzerland and

Germany. It's worth noting that Loughner is reported to have a long history of

marijuana use. Another country with a long history of how the mental health

system should work is Ireland where there are a high proportion of families who

have loved ones with a mental disease. I have participated in numerous

conferences with the most respected psychiatrists in these countries and have

found their experience to be enormously helpful for America to embrace.

According to mental health professional and expert F. Fuller Torrey in his 2008

research book called The Insanity Defense: How America's Failure to Treat the

Seriously Mentally Ill Endangers Its Citizens we are informed that 4,000,000

Americans are believed to have severe psychiatric disorders with a subset of

400,000 homeless and untreated not complying with their needed medications and

another sub-sub set of 40,000 considered the most dangerous, not being treated

or taking meds and demonstrating very violent behavior. This count does not

include the vast numbers who are not properly diagnosed in our nation.

Prisons have become the new mental health institutions across America. A perfect

example of this is the Twin Towers Jail in downtown Los Angeles. It was built in

recent years to house prisoners but instead it is the solution for housing

patients that have committed crimes because they are free to do so of their own

volition instead of being required to comply with mental health treatment. There

are more than 100,000 people living on the streets of Los Angeles that are

homeless. Recent studies undertaken by U.S.C. and provided by First AME Church

in Los Angeles indicate that more than half of these fellow citizens should be

in health care facilities being treated for mental disease, drug addiction and

substance abuse.

For as long as I can remember I have worked to help those with mental diseases

and addictions both within my family as well as caring for those who are on the

streets. I have personally witnessed every aspect of the mental health debacle

in California and in our nation from the nineteen sixties until today including

the defunding and the pleas for help by the people and families affected

directly by it. Unfortunately, the overwhelming consensus by these distressed

families, frustrated law enforcement and medical field professionals is that the

ACLU by fighting and providing funding for laws that supposedly protect the

rights of those afflicted with mental diseases have actually done more to ruin

their lives than to help them.

Funding for mental health, or more accurately the lack of funding for it, is one

of the major hurdles that must be overcome. Our nation's economic woes make it

an even greater challenge for the 112th Congress that Speaker of the House

Boehner recently swore Representative Giffords in to serve. However as a nation

with a conscience if we do NOT invest the time and resources on the critical

breakdown of mental health care in America, today's violent tragedy in Arizona

will be repeated somewhere else, in some way, tomorrow and the day after until

we change the laws. The mental health researcher Torrey points to the killing of

former Congressman Allard Lowenstein on March 12, 1980 by Stanford graduate

Dennis Sweeney who shot him and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia but

left untreated.

As a businessperson, I know what it means to make tough fiscal choices and as a

mother I know what it mean to use " tough love " measures. We need new legislation

that encompasses both of these considerations. For the families who lost their

loved ones and to those who found theirs injured, our thoughts and prayers are

with them. We continue to pray for le Giffords, whose recovery thus far

from a " bullet to the brain " is nothing short of miraculous. We should also

convey our sympathy for the family of Loughner who may have seen the signs

of his illness as illustrated in his delusional rants and nonsensical ramblings

on the internet but like all who have tried to help loved ones, they may have

found it to be disheartening and impossible until the critical breakdown of

America's mental health care is addressed and the laws are changed to protect

the victims and pro-actively treat the sick perpetrator.

There were many heroic efforts in Tucson of people helping to save lives and

comfort the afflicted as a result of this tragedy; hopefully these words from

The Book of Job are an inspirational reminder during this time of deep sadness

in Arizona and across America:

" When I smiled on them they were reassured; mourners took comfort from my

cheerful glance, I chose out their way and presided; I took a king's place in

the armed forces. Whoever heard of me blessed me; those who saw me commended me.

For I rescued the poor who cried out for help, the orphans, and the unassisted;

The blessing of those in extremity came upon me, and the heart of the widow I

made joyful. I wore my honesty like a garment; justice was my robe and my

turban. I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame was I; (Job

29:24-25,11-15). "

Noel Irwin Hentschel serves on the Board of Governors of Cedars-Sinai Hospital,

Los Angeles and is a former Advisory Board Member for Mental Health for the U.K.

Royal Society of Medicine. She is Chair/CEO of Americantours International and

The Noel Foundation based in Los Angeles with offices throughout North America

and China and humanitarian programs in 70 countries. She specializes in World

Religions and Global Ethics at the Franciscan School of Theology.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

[Guest guest]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blackberry/p.html?id=806381





Noel Irwin Hentschel: Loughner Attack on le Giffords: America's

Mental Health Breakdown

â January 9, 2011 13:38:21

The tragic and devastating attack in Tucson, Arizona on U.S. Representative

le Giffords and other innocent victims including the killing of a

9-year-old girl and a federal judge was, sadly, preventable if the exceedingly

ineffective mental health laws in America were changed. America's mental health

system is undeniably broken and must be fixed to ensure that those who need

treatment be required to receive it for the safety and well being of society as

a whole.

If any good is to come out of this horrifying event it must be for legislators

on federal, state and local levels to undertake immediate in-depth hearings that

lead to a definitive change of America's laws for treating mental health

patients. Insurance companies must be required to provide the same health

benefits for mental disease as they do for all other illnesses so that patients

can be properly treated. Legislators must publicly interview expert witnesses

who deal on a daily basis with the overwhelmingly bureaucratic and legal

obstacles in their efforts to try to help people with mental diseases. To this

end, legislators must listen to family members, law enforcement, medical

professionals and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); these are the

ones who know the solutions as well as the obstacles.

As information of this chaotic episode, initially referred to as an

" assassination attack, " evolved and was shared by the media, most people rushed

to the conclusion that either drug cartel gangsters or terrorists from Mexico,

the Middle East or our own homegrown extremists were responsible. It was only

when the perpetrator was finally identified as a young 22-year-old white male

and his irrational Internet rants were read that the media began to describe him

as " one of the crazies " or " nuts. "

This label is particularly painful for those who are advocates for proactively

treating people with mental disorders. Loughner's classmates are reported as

stating that he was " consistently disruptive in class " and " obviously very

disturbed. " Yet who reported this troubling behavior to any officials that could

have tried to help him and what steps if any, were taken, one must inquire. The

bar is so high for proving someone is a threat to themselves or to others that

they literally have to already be in the middle of a horrendous act like this

vicious attack for law enforcement, family or medical professionals to be able

to provide treatment to the disturbed person. What a travesty of justice for all

concerned!

Throughout the day the focus of the media was understandably on the condition of

Representative Giffords presuming that she was the primary target which is

probably why the main experts commenting, at least initially, have been from the

FBI, Secret Service, Homeland Security and other government officials as opposed

to interviewing mental health experts to better understand the how and why this

happened. Mental illness may not be an excuse for crimes but it certainly can be

what caused and motivated someone to commit a crime if the person goes

untreated. Begging one to consider who is ultimately responsible for these

heinous acts and to discuss if there is any culpability by those that ignore the

dire need and calamitous consequences of leaving the current mental health laws

we have unchanged.

There is a critical breakdown of mental health care in America because it is not

considered a disease that is popular to address and there is a definite stigma

attached to admitting mental illness. We can and must do something about it

before more innocent lives are lost including the lives of the sick and

untreated, some who may become perpetrators of crimes. Laws must be enacted that

allow for the hospitalization and proper medical treatment for the amount of

time necessary for recovery followed by compassionate care in a professional

locked or unlocked facility depending on the condition of the patient until they

are able to function in society and they should be assisted to become a

contributing member of the community.

Seventy-two hours, 14 days or even 30 days is not adequate for treating mental

health or substance abuse patients, so they constantly are walking through a

revolving door. One of those revolving doors for a sick person can be into a

local market armed with violent thoughts, until we change the laws. There must

be legal avenues that are not onerous and debilitating emotionally and

financially for families to help their loved ones. It is critical that there be

ongoing counseling, therapy and monitoring of the compliance of proper

medication being taken by the patient to treat the chemical imbalance that

causes mental diseases such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and

bi-polar disorder. For the record, many times this chemical imbalance is

triggered by the use of illegal drugs -- especially marijuana and ecstasy are

culprits particularly if there is any hereditary pre-disposition according to

in-depth studies and analysis by leading psychiatrists in Switzerland and

Germany. It's worth noting that Loughner is reported to have a long history of

marijuana use. Another country with a long history of how the mental health

system should work is Ireland where there are a high proportion of families who

have loved ones with a mental disease. I have participated in numerous

conferences with the most respected psychiatrists in these countries and have

found their experience to be enormously helpful for America to embrace.

According to mental health professional and expert F. Fuller Torrey in his 2008

research book called The Insanity Defense: How America's Failure to Treat the

Seriously Mentally Ill Endangers Its Citizens we are informed that 4,000,000

Americans are believed to have severe psychiatric disorders with a subset of

400,000 homeless and untreated not complying with their needed medications and

another sub-sub set of 40,000 considered the most dangerous, not being treated

or taking meds and demonstrating very violent behavior. This count does not

include the vast numbers who are not properly diagnosed in our nation.

Prisons have become the new mental health institutions across America. A perfect

example of this is the Twin Towers Jail in downtown Los Angeles. It was built in

recent years to house prisoners but instead it is the solution for housing

patients that have committed crimes because they are free to do so of their own

volition instead of being required to comply with mental health treatment. There

are more than 100,000 people living on the streets of Los Angeles that are

homeless. Recent studies undertaken by U.S.C. and provided by First AME Church

in Los Angeles indicate that more than half of these fellow citizens should be

in health care facilities being treated for mental disease, drug addiction and

substance abuse.

For as long as I can remember I have worked to help those with mental diseases

and addictions both within my family as well as caring for those who are on the

streets. I have personally witnessed every aspect of the mental health debacle

in California and in our nation from the nineteen sixties until today including

the defunding and the pleas for help by the people and families affected

directly by it. Unfortunately, the overwhelming consensus by these distressed

families, frustrated law enforcement and medical field professionals is that the

ACLU by fighting and providing funding for laws that supposedly protect the

rights of those afflicted with mental diseases have actually done more to ruin

their lives than to help them.

Funding for mental health, or more accurately the lack of funding for it, is one

of the major hurdles that must be overcome. Our nation's economic woes make it

an even greater challenge for the 112th Congress that Speaker of the House

Boehner recently swore Representative Giffords in to serve. However as a nation

with a conscience if we do NOT invest the time and resources on the critical

breakdown of mental health care in America, today's violent tragedy in Arizona

will be repeated somewhere else, in some way, tomorrow and the day after until

we change the laws. The mental health researcher Torrey points to the killing of

former Congressman Allard Lowenstein on March 12, 1980 by Stanford graduate

Dennis Sweeney who shot him and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia but

left untreated.

As a businessperson, I know what it means to make tough fiscal choices and as a

mother I know what it mean to use " tough love " measures. We need new legislation

that encompasses both of these considerations. For the families who lost their

loved ones and to those who found theirs injured, our thoughts and prayers are

with them. We continue to pray for le Giffords, whose recovery thus far

from a " bullet to the brain " is nothing short of miraculous. We should also

convey our sympathy for the family of Loughner who may have seen the signs

of his illness as illustrated in his delusional rants and nonsensical ramblings

on the internet but like all who have tried to help loved ones, they may have

found it to be disheartening and impossible until the critical breakdown of

America's mental health care is addressed and the laws are changed to protect

the victims and pro-actively treat the sick perpetrator.

There were many heroic efforts in Tucson of people helping to save lives and

comfort the afflicted as a result of this tragedy; hopefully these words from

The Book of Job are an inspirational reminder during this time of deep sadness

in Arizona and across America:

" When I smiled on them they were reassured; mourners took comfort from my

cheerful glance, I chose out their way and presided; I took a king's place in

the armed forces. Whoever heard of me blessed me; those who saw me commended me.

For I rescued the poor who cried out for help, the orphans, and the unassisted;

The blessing of those in extremity came upon me, and the heart of the widow I

made joyful. I wore my honesty like a garment; justice was my robe and my

turban. I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame was I; (Job

29:24-25,11-15). "

Noel Irwin Hentschel serves on the Board of Governors of Cedars-Sinai Hospital,

Los Angeles and is a former Advisory Board Member for Mental Health for the U.K.

Royal Society of Medicine. She is Chair/CEO of Americantours International and

The Noel Foundation based in Los Angeles with offices throughout North America

and China and humanitarian programs in 70 countries. She specializes in World

Religions and Global Ethics at the Franciscan School of Theology.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

[Guest guest]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blackberry/p.html?id=806381





Noel Irwin Hentschel: Loughner Attack on le Giffords: America's

Mental Health Breakdown

â January 9, 2011 13:38:21

The tragic and devastating attack in Tucson, Arizona on U.S. Representative

le Giffords and other innocent victims including the killing of a

9-year-old girl and a federal judge was, sadly, preventable if the exceedingly

ineffective mental health laws in America were changed. America's mental health

system is undeniably broken and must be fixed to ensure that those who need

treatment be required to receive it for the safety and well being of society as

a whole.

If any good is to come out of this horrifying event it must be for legislators

on federal, state and local levels to undertake immediate in-depth hearings that

lead to a definitive change of America's laws for treating mental health

patients. Insurance companies must be required to provide the same health

benefits for mental disease as they do for all other illnesses so that patients

can be properly treated. Legislators must publicly interview expert witnesses

who deal on a daily basis with the overwhelmingly bureaucratic and legal

obstacles in their efforts to try to help people with mental diseases. To this

end, legislators must listen to family members, law enforcement, medical

professionals and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); these are the

ones who know the solutions as well as the obstacles.

As information of this chaotic episode, initially referred to as an

" assassination attack, " evolved and was shared by the media, most people rushed

to the conclusion that either drug cartel gangsters or terrorists from Mexico,

the Middle East or our own homegrown extremists were responsible. It was only

when the perpetrator was finally identified as a young 22-year-old white male

and his irrational Internet rants were read that the media began to describe him

as " one of the crazies " or " nuts. "

This label is particularly painful for those who are advocates for proactively

treating people with mental disorders. Loughner's classmates are reported as

stating that he was " consistently disruptive in class " and " obviously very

disturbed. " Yet who reported this troubling behavior to any officials that could

have tried to help him and what steps if any, were taken, one must inquire. The

bar is so high for proving someone is a threat to themselves or to others that

they literally have to already be in the middle of a horrendous act like this

vicious attack for law enforcement, family or medical professionals to be able

to provide treatment to the disturbed person. What a travesty of justice for all

concerned!

Throughout the day the focus of the media was understandably on the condition of

Representative Giffords presuming that she was the primary target which is

probably why the main experts commenting, at least initially, have been from the

FBI, Secret Service, Homeland Security and other government officials as opposed

to interviewing mental health experts to better understand the how and why this

happened. Mental illness may not be an excuse for crimes but it certainly can be

what caused and motivated someone to commit a crime if the person goes

untreated. Begging one to consider who is ultimately responsible for these

heinous acts and to discuss if there is any culpability by those that ignore the

dire need and calamitous consequences of leaving the current mental health laws

we have unchanged.

There is a critical breakdown of mental health care in America because it is not

considered a disease that is popular to address and there is a definite stigma

attached to admitting mental illness. We can and must do something about it

before more innocent lives are lost including the lives of the sick and

untreated, some who may become perpetrators of crimes. Laws must be enacted that

allow for the hospitalization and proper medical treatment for the amount of

time necessary for recovery followed by compassionate care in a professional

locked or unlocked facility depending on the condition of the patient until they

are able to function in society and they should be assisted to become a

contributing member of the community.

Seventy-two hours, 14 days or even 30 days is not adequate for treating mental

health or substance abuse patients, so they constantly are walking through a

revolving door. One of those revolving doors for a sick person can be into a

local market armed with violent thoughts, until we change the laws. There must

be legal avenues that are not onerous and debilitating emotionally and

financially for families to help their loved ones. It is critical that there be

ongoing counseling, therapy and monitoring of the compliance of proper

medication being taken by the patient to treat the chemical imbalance that

causes mental diseases such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and

bi-polar disorder. For the record, many times this chemical imbalance is

triggered by the use of illegal drugs -- especially marijuana and ecstasy are

culprits particularly if there is any hereditary pre-disposition according to

in-depth studies and analysis by leading psychiatrists in Switzerland and

Germany. It's worth noting that Loughner is reported to have a long history of

marijuana use. Another country with a long history of how the mental health

system should work is Ireland where there are a high proportion of families who

have loved ones with a mental disease. I have participated in numerous

conferences with the most respected psychiatrists in these countries and have

found their experience to be enormously helpful for America to embrace.

According to mental health professional and expert F. Fuller Torrey in his 2008

research book called The Insanity Defense: How America's Failure to Treat the

Seriously Mentally Ill Endangers Its Citizens we are informed that 4,000,000

Americans are believed to have severe psychiatric disorders with a subset of

400,000 homeless and untreated not complying with their needed medications and

another sub-sub set of 40,000 considered the most dangerous, not being treated

or taking meds and demonstrating very violent behavior. This count does not

include the vast numbers who are not properly diagnosed in our nation.

Prisons have become the new mental health institutions across America. A perfect

example of this is the Twin Towers Jail in downtown Los Angeles. It was built in

recent years to house prisoners but instead it is the solution for housing

patients that have committed crimes because they are free to do so of their own

volition instead of being required to comply with mental health treatment. There

are more than 100,000 people living on the streets of Los Angeles that are

homeless. Recent studies undertaken by U.S.C. and provided by First AME Church

in Los Angeles indicate that more than half of these fellow citizens should be

in health care facilities being treated for mental disease, drug addiction and

substance abuse.

For as long as I can remember I have worked to help those with mental diseases

and addictions both within my family as well as caring for those who are on the

streets. I have personally witnessed every aspect of the mental health debacle

in California and in our nation from the nineteen sixties until today including

the defunding and the pleas for help by the people and families affected

directly by it. Unfortunately, the overwhelming consensus by these distressed

families, frustrated law enforcement and medical field professionals is that the

ACLU by fighting and providing funding for laws that supposedly protect the

rights of those afflicted with mental diseases have actually done more to ruin

their lives than to help them.

Funding for mental health, or more accurately the lack of funding for it, is one

of the major hurdles that must be overcome. Our nation's economic woes make it

an even greater challenge for the 112th Congress that Speaker of the House

Boehner recently swore Representative Giffords in to serve. However as a nation

with a conscience if we do NOT invest the time and resources on the critical

breakdown of mental health care in America, today's violent tragedy in Arizona

will be repeated somewhere else, in some way, tomorrow and the day after until

we change the laws. The mental health researcher Torrey points to the killing of

former Congressman Allard Lowenstein on March 12, 1980 by Stanford graduate

Dennis Sweeney who shot him and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia but

left untreated.

As a businessperson, I know what it means to make tough fiscal choices and as a

mother I know what it mean to use " tough love " measures. We need new legislation

that encompasses both of these considerations. For the families who lost their

loved ones and to those who found theirs injured, our thoughts and prayers are

with them. We continue to pray for le Giffords, whose recovery thus far

from a " bullet to the brain " is nothing short of miraculous. We should also

convey our sympathy for the family of Loughner who may have seen the signs

of his illness as illustrated in his delusional rants and nonsensical ramblings

on the internet but like all who have tried to help loved ones, they may have

found it to be disheartening and impossible until the critical breakdown of

America's mental health care is addressed and the laws are changed to protect

the victims and pro-actively treat the sick perpetrator.

There were many heroic efforts in Tucson of people helping to save lives and

comfort the afflicted as a result of this tragedy; hopefully these words from

The Book of Job are an inspirational reminder during this time of deep sadness

in Arizona and across America:

" When I smiled on them they were reassured; mourners took comfort from my

cheerful glance, I chose out their way and presided; I took a king's place in

the armed forces. Whoever heard of me blessed me; those who saw me commended me.

For I rescued the poor who cried out for help, the orphans, and the unassisted;

The blessing of those in extremity came upon me, and the heart of the widow I

made joyful. I wore my honesty like a garment; justice was my robe and my

turban. I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame was I; (Job

29:24-25,11-15). "

Noel Irwin Hentschel serves on the Board of Governors of Cedars-Sinai Hospital,

Los Angeles and is a former Advisory Board Member for Mental Health for the U.K.

Royal Society of Medicine. She is Chair/CEO of Americantours International and

The Noel Foundation based in Los Angeles with offices throughout North America

and China and humanitarian programs in 70 countries. She specializes in World

Religions and Global Ethics at the Franciscan School of Theology.

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