History of Mental Health Policy
What act created the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) ?
What is the Mental Health Act of 1946
What right did the Wyatt v. Stickney case establish for mental health patients?
The right to treatment in state hospitals
What year was the first Community Mental Health Centers Act passed?
1963
What term is used for the rising deaths caused by opioid misuse and despair?
“Deaths of Despair”
What does DSM stand for?
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Who was president when the community mental health centers act was signed?
Who is President John F. Kennedy
What was the main ruling in Donaldson v. O’Connor?
States cannot involuntarily confine patients who are not dangerous.
What primary change was made in the 1965 version of the Community Mental Health Act?
It allowed funds to be used to staff Community Mental Health Centers.
Name one organization created to combat drunk driving?
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
What is one major criticism of psychotropic medications?
Drugs are pushed for profit, with limited transparency or off-label use
Which early 20th-century movement promoted sterilizing the “hereditarily deficient”?
What is the Eugenics Movement
What happened in Buck v. Bell (1927), and why is it controversial?
The Supreme Court approved (8-1) the sterilization of people considered “feeble-minded” upholding eugenics laws. Justice Holmes said, “Three generations of imbeciles are enough.”
Name three services CMHCs were supposed to provide
What are some pros of decriminalizing drug use?
Reduces incarceration, allows tax revenue, and funds can be redirected to prevention/treatment
By 2015, how many children were diagnosed with ADHD?
Around 3.5 million
Name two factors that made reform possible during the 1960s.
1. Surplus of funds
2. New medications
3. New literature
4. JFK’s support ( community-based care )
What 1998 law required employers with more than 50 employees to include mental health coverage?
The Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, which went into effect January 1, 1998
What was the downfall of the CMHC system during the 1980s?
Federal funding was cut; block grants to states replaced direct federal funding
What are some cons of decriminalizing drug use?
Increased health risks, lack of control over intake, higher crime or foster care involvement
Why did the criminal justice system struggle with mentally ill inmates?
Many were released without support, became homeless, or ended up incarcerated, and prisons weren’t equipped to handle them.
Who was Dr. Robert H. Felix, and what was his role in mental health reform?
A psychiatrist who led the movement to establish a federal mental health organization. He was a key proponent of the National Mental Health Act of 1946, which paved the way for NIMH's formal establishment in 1949, with Felix serving as its first director
What did the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act accomplish?
Requires that health insurance plans cover mental health and substance use disorder benefits at the same level as medical/surgical benefits
The process of moving people out institutional settings into community-based or independent living care.
What is deinstitutionalization?
What major social problem is directly linked to substance abuse?
Crime
homelessness
social instability
What does NAMI stand for and why was it formed?
The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill was founded by patients and families protesting the poor treatment of the mentally ill.