From there he went all over Galilee. He used synagogues for meeting places and taught people the truth of God. God’s kingdom was his theme—that beginning right now they were under God’s government, a good government! He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their bad lives. Word got around the entire Roman province of Syria. People brought anybody with a sickness, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them, one and all
Matthew 4:23-24 (The Message)
May I start this series with the understanding that mental illness- a very broad term which I will hopefully explain a little better as we go on- is not the result of sin, nor an expression of God’s disfavor! Mental illness is an illness like any other human malady that besets our bodies and brains. It should not cause shame or fear, but rather compassion for those who suffer (and we all suffer to one degree or another). Now, let us begin…
Discussions about mental illness have ramped up over the years, and they have increased dramatically since COVID-19 and the terrible increases in America’s mass shootings. I have witnessed in my years in mental health, that we have gone from mental health treatment being a societal stigma, to one of open discussion and general understanding that mental health is, well…health.
Over the next several blogs, I hope to give some space to the discussion of what mental illness is, and how do we as a society view it. I hope you will hang with me as we explore the topic.
My early work in the field of mental health was at the State Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. There were over one thousand patients in that hospital at the time, many of who had been there for years, decades even. Most of those patients were severely mentally ill, with psychotic disorders of some sort. Indeed, there were also a fair number who had chronic degenerative neurological disorders, or who had suffered strokes or who had developmental disorders, and they were merely being “warehoused” (bad concept, but that was the word used) at that institution.
My understanding of mental illness was rather restricted. I viewed mental illness as a psychotic disorder (one where a person lost touch with reality), or a significant mood disorder, such as bipolar disorder (which then was named Manic-Depressive Disorder). Typical anxiety and depression, which afflicts a somewhat high percentage of the population, was not really considered, in my reckoning, to be a “mental illness”.
The transition from institutionalizing patients with a mental illness, to community treatment was a new concept, one which I entered at the ground floor. My early work was to help to transition people out of the hospital into the least restrictive treatment environment. I became the liaison from the hospital to the community treatment centers.
Unfortunately, that policy transition, while possibly well-intentioned (I hope), often ended up sending patients from the mental health system to the criminal justice system. Many patients, unable to deal with the pressures of community living, and with inadequate medical support, ended up homeless, or in jail.
So began the era of deinstitutionalization. Tomorrow, we look at what happened next.
Prayer: Lord, you asked us to minister to those most in need, and those forgotten by society. Forgive us in our failures, and give us grace to continue on, Amen
Reflections of a Counselor 