This Web site is a component of the SAMHSA Health Information Network

Enter Keywords Choose Website This Site Mental Health at HHS All Mental Health

Online Publications Order Publications National Library of Medicine National Academies Press Publications Homepage

printer friendly page e-mail this page bookmark this page shopping cart  current or new account

This Web site is a component of the SAMHSA Health Information Network.

Conclusions

Research and personal testimony confirm that recovery from mental illness is real: there are a range of effective treatments, services, and supports to facilitate recovery. Medical science has devised treatments and services that work, but the system cannot efficiently deliver them. The mental health system is fragmented, in disarray, and in need of dramatic reform.

The system is not oriented to the single most important goal of the people it serves—the hope of recovery. Many more individuals could recover from even the most serious mental illnesses, if they had access to treatment tailored to their needs, to support, and to services in each of their communities. State-of-the-art treatments, based on decades of research, are not being transferred from research to community settings. Meanwhile, many outdated and ineffective treatments are currently being actively supported.

Our Nation needs to replace the institutions it began to empty 50 years ago with efficient and effective community services that people can count on. It needs to integrate programs that are fragmented across levels of government and among many agencies within every level. It should increase its capacity to fulfill unmet needs. It must prevent people from slipping through the cracks.

Tragically, many of the system's failures result in needless personal suffering and disability that carry a heavy societal toll. Mental illness, in comparison with all other diseases and health conditions, is the greatest cause of disability in North America and Western Europe. That was the finding of an authoritative study by the World Health Organization in 2001.

The barriers to mental health care can and must be overcome, and this interim report points to many innovative ways to do so. Across the Nation, many communities have developed and tested programs that blend the wisdom of modern science with the compassion of skilled professionals. These are oases of excellence, and they convince the Commission that excellent care and recovery can become the norm, not the exception. But change will be needed for such exemplary models to become commonplace in our communities. In the coming months, the Commission plans to propose bold new directions for the mental health service delivery system. The President's charge and the hopes of many families struggling with these disorders allow no less.

Table of Contents | Previous | Next