This is a fabulous article about a serious issue in getting mental health treatment and substance use treatment. The hurdles to quality health care are many. I love how you made sharing your story such an important point, but I'd love more guidance on how to share and where to share. Last year, I called every single one of the 8 providers in my town and was told that none were taking new patients~ except for the last one who only had an intern. Even spending all of that time on the phone calling doctor after doctor after doctor is a hurdle~ and all of the doctors were listed in the insurance company's portal as accepting new patients. Of course, what happens when people can't get the care they need? The situation gets more serious until those people are hospitalized and/or incarcerated~ because, as a country or system, we would rather put the mentally ill in jail instead of working to create a system that catches them before they get that far.
Thank you for the comment and for sharing a bit about your own story. It happens all too often, situations like yours. Our system is failing those who need it most and we need as many people as possible speaking up. For sharing your story, there are simple places to start. Write an op-ed to your local paper sharing your story and offering some solutions. Reach out to your local television station and help them share how these gaps work against your community and it's health. Leverage those links to them send to your elected officials at all levels - local, state, and national. Become the leader for the moment. This issue is not new but surprisingly few people are aware of it until they try and get help themselves!
This is a fabulous article about a serious issue in getting mental health treatment and substance use treatment. The hurdles to quality health care are many. I love how you made sharing your story such an important point, but I'd love more guidance on how to share and where to share. Last year, I called every single one of the 8 providers in my town and was told that none were taking new patients~ except for the last one who only had an intern. Even spending all of that time on the phone calling doctor after doctor after doctor is a hurdle~ and all of the doctors were listed in the insurance company's portal as accepting new patients. Of course, what happens when people can't get the care they need? The situation gets more serious until those people are hospitalized and/or incarcerated~ because, as a country or system, we would rather put the mentally ill in jail instead of working to create a system that catches them before they get that far.
Thank you for the comment and for sharing a bit about your own story. It happens all too often, situations like yours. Our system is failing those who need it most and we need as many people as possible speaking up. For sharing your story, there are simple places to start. Write an op-ed to your local paper sharing your story and offering some solutions. Reach out to your local television station and help them share how these gaps work against your community and it's health. Leverage those links to them send to your elected officials at all levels - local, state, and national. Become the leader for the moment. This issue is not new but surprisingly few people are aware of it until they try and get help themselves!