How Bay Area Mental Health Services Fall Short

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Americans just can't afford mental health treatment. Photo courtesy of The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

By Casey Miner, KALW

If someone you loved was suffering from a serious mental illness, or seemed like they were on the verge of a psychotic breakdown, you might think you could turn to a psychiatric hospital for help. But in California, that might not do you much good. Institutions have the right to turn a person away unless they’ve been taken into custody. More than 90 percent of patients in California psych hospitals have dealt with police first.

Mother Jones reporter Mac McClelland learned how the California health system worked after a tragic incident in her own family. She wrote about it in a recent issue of Mother Jones magazine. KALW’s Casey Miner spoke with Mac McClelland about that story and about the gaps in our mental health care system.

Read complete story at KALW Crosscurrents.

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