91香蕉视频成人在线

91香蕉视频成人在线 Hosts Conference on Boston Globe's Controversial Spotlight Series

鈥淎t least 17 parents with signs of mental illness allegedly killed their children from 2005 through 2015. And, at least 18 sons and daughters with signs of mental illness were accused of killing their parents,鈥� stated the Boston Globe in the first article of a Spotlight Series on the state鈥檚 Mental Health System. While the series delved into a range of topics and gained the attention of readers, the initial article鈥檚 focus on violence raised major concerns in the mental health community.

91香蕉视频成人在线 took a strong position on the series. Nicholas Covino wrote in an open letter, 鈥淚t is disconcerting that the literary device used to capture people鈥檚 attention in the series seems to be the 鈥榙anger鈥� we should all feel from the mentally ill and not the compassion we should feel. We know that violence is a very small part of the picture of the seriously mentally ill. These folks are much more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators.鈥�

The College also hosted a conference on the Spotlight series, bringing together Boston Globe Spotlight Team members and leaders in the care community to discuss the impact of the articles as well as what they see as the most important challenges in mental health care today.

Scott Allen, Spotlight Team Editor, began the discussion by acknowledging the controversial nature of the articles and explaining their goal of bringing attention to major problems in the Mental Health System. 鈥淚f you look at the stories, they talk about very specific hospitals and health care centers that have abdicated their responsibilities and are letting people out in actively psychotic states, [who] are going off and committing terrible crimes,鈥� he said, noting that a lot of action is needed to fix the system.

Globe Reporter Jenna Russell added that while the stories are about a 鈥渘arrow segment鈥� of the mentally ill population, it is the job of reporters to confront the 鈥渕ost tragic and difficult problems鈥� to better understand why they occur and how to prevent them.

鈥淭he question is whether [that story] will motivate our society to fund things better. We have a very good idea of what works, but what we don鈥檛 have are resources.鈥�

- Dr. Ken Duckworth

Dr. Ken Duckworth, who serves as medical director for both the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Behavioral Health at BC/BS of Massachusetts, maintained that the focus should be on funding. 鈥淭he question is whether [that story] will motivate our society to fund things better. We have a very good idea of what works, but what we don鈥檛 have are resources. It鈥檚 easier to get into Harvard Medical School than into Tewksbury State Hospital,鈥� he said.

Another major issue that needs attention is stigma, as many people aren鈥檛 comfortable sharing their suicidal feelings or admitting they have experienced hearing voices, said Deborah Delman, Executive Director of The Transformation Center. 鈥淲hat we are seeking is the welcome in society as a whole to be able to hear the truth. There is hope and a way forward and we can find that together, but the tabloid approach is not the way that will help people relate.鈥�

Robert Kinscherff, Associate Vice President of Community Engagement at William James College, maintained that 鈥渁 lot of the risk of severe and persistent mental illness and the intersection with the criminal justice system is largely a function of social context and downward social drift.鈥� 

Despite differing opinions on how to frame the issues, President Covino pointed out that the state of the Mental Health System is a problem for everyone. The series, he said, tells the story of a system that 鈥渘eeds tremendous engagement,鈥� which is clear from the 鈥渢remendous adverse consequences鈥� highlighted in the articles. 

As he wrote in his letter, 鈥淚t will require a great deal of work to raise our collective will to create a compassionate and accessible mental health system. Hopefully, the 鈥楽potlight鈥� that is being directed upon this problem will facilitate some needed change.鈥� 

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