Free Report Example on Mental Health

Introduction

Mental health facilities help reduce the burden of illnesses from psychiatric disorders. According to Samartzis and Talias (2019), mental illnesses account for 13% of the total disease burden worldwide. There is also evidence that psychiatric problems account for about 33% of adult disability globally (Lake & Turner, 2017). Accordingly, these illnesses not only cause personal suffering but also result in enormous socioeconomic costs. Today's most severe mental health problems are bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, and schizophrenia.

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Mental Health Facilities

There are several mental health facilities in my community. However, accessible ones are Alexandria Community Mental Health Centre, Riverside Mental Health and Medical Clinic, and Full Circle Mental Health Services, PLLC. Other facilities include Greenbrook TMS NeuroHealth Centers and Turning Point Counselling Services. Together, these institutions offer a wide range of mental health services to treat psychiatric disorders. Alexandria Community Mental Health Centre has specialized in offering adult outpatient services to people with psychiatric conditions. The major ones are individual, family, group counseling, and case management to help coordinate services. This facility has also specialized in a mental health evaluation, medication management, and treatment of substance abuse disorders.

Riverside Mental Health and Medical Clinic provide compassionate and comprehensive health services in depression management, crisis management, and anger management. Also, it offers culturally competent services in stress management and medication-assisted treatment. Together, Alexandria's mental health hospitals rely on evidence-based practices to meet patients' health needs. Some of these interventions are medication treatment, evaluation and management, and integrated treatment for co-occurring psychiatric illnesses.

Distance

The distance from my nearest emergency room to Alexandria Community Mental Health Centre is about 150 meters. This distance is ideal because it results in a shorter length of stay (LOS) during patients' transportation to the emergency department (ED). Also, it reduces LOS for patients that require transfer to eternal mental health facilities.

According to O’Neil et al. (2016), long LOD places behavioral health patients at a higher risk as it prolongs stay in a psychiatric facility. This situation is detrimental to patients with cognitive disorders, those with a history of violence, children, and adults above 65 who are likely to have prolonged LOS in the emergency room (O'Neil et al., 2016). The distance between Alexandria Community Mental Health Centre and ED helps reduce transportation costs, and more importantly, lower LOS to avoid straining ED resources. Research has shown that patients with homicidal ideation, children, and older adults are more likely to require transport to an eternal mental health hospital (O’Neil et al., 2016). Alexandria Community Mental Health attends to these groups of patients. With a short distance between ED and the facility, it easier to transport patients that require both internal and external inpatient psychiatric care.

Conclusion

The case managers and I have identified critical issues that limit access to mental and behavioral health services. These concerns are stigma around mental health and inadequate capacity to take care of demand. Social stigma discourages patients from seeking treatment. Here, discrimination can have far-reaching effects on patients as it can worsen their mental health. However, this problem can be addressed by using providers and staff members to encourage equity between physical and mental wellness. Also, these professionals can talk about mental health openly to discourage social stigma. This solution's rationale is based on the idea that equity between mental and physical wellness makes people perceive the treatment of psychiatric disorders as an integral part of improving people's well-being and overall health.

References

Lake, J., & Turner, M. S. (2017). Urgent need for improved mental health care and a more collaborative model of care. The Permanente Journal.
https://doi.org/10.7812/tpp/17-024

O’Neil, A., Sadosty, A., Pasupathy, K., Russi, C., Lohse, C., & Campbell, R. (2016). Hours and miles: Patient and health system implications of the transfer for psychiatric bed capacity. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 17(6), 783-790.
https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2016.9.30443

Samartzis, L., & Talias, M. A. (2019). Assessing and improving the quality of mental health services. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(1), 249.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010249.