Is Reagan responsible for the mental health care crisis in this country?

DCal430

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2011
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During the Reagan presidency we took a major step backwards in terms of Mental healthcare.

Reagan ended nearly all government support for mental healthcare.
Patients who were being treated and housed at mental health facilities were order to be throw onto the streets without any support.
Mental health patients were basically left out in the cold without any support, Reagan had them made homeless and destitute without one caring for them, and without any access to proper medical care.

I think his actions really set mental healthcare in the US back decades, we still haven't recovered from his actions IMHO.
 

nehalem256

Lifer
Apr 13, 2012
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During the Reagan presidency we took a major step backwards in terms of Mental healthcare.

Reagan ended nearly all government support for mental healthcare.
Patients who were being treated and housed at mental health facilities were order to be throw onto the streets without any support.
Mental health patients were basically left out in the cold without any support, Reagan had them made homeless and destitute without one caring for them, and without any access to proper medical care.

I think his actions really set mental healthcare in the US back decades, we still haven't recovered from his actions IMHO.

Wasn't Reagan shot by a mentally ill person early in his term?

Doesn't seem like things were too good even before Reagan was president.

Reagan was really responsible for most of the problems in the US today.

Including those that began in the 1970s. That Ronald Reagan sure was an amazing man.:rolleyes:
 

Carmen813

Diamond Member
May 18, 2007
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Ending state hospitalization of people with mental illness was probably one of the best things that has been done, ever. The fact is that the vast, overwhelming, majority of people with severe and persistent mental illness are NOT dangerous. People with Mental Illness are targeted every time a tragedy occurs, yet the most recent shootings have been committed by people who are from the middle class.

Programs like Assertive Community Treatment, or Mental Health Intensive Case Management, are MUCH better solutions to helping people with severe and persistent mental illness than trying to make them invisible by tossing them in a "psychiatric" hospital.

This discourse simply needs to stop or we will not ever get to address the real causes of violence in our society.
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
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This is a forum. Why don't you post what you know instead of making insipid little nothing posts?

You could try looking things up too. Not all of us have your apparent substantial abundance of free time.

For others I suggest looking into Byberry hospital in Philly.
 

DCal430

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2011
6,020
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Ending state hospitalization of people with mental illness was probably one of the best things that has been done, ever. The fact is that the vast, overwhelming, majority of people with severe and persistent mental illness are NOT dangerous. People with Mental Illness are targeted every time a tragedy occurs, yet the most recent shootings have been committed by people who are from the middle class.

Programs like Assertive Community Treatment, or Mental Health Intensive Case Management, are MUCH better solutions to helping people with severe and persistent mental illness than trying to make them invisible by tossing them in a "psychiatric" hospital.

This discourse simply needs to stop or we will not ever get to address the real causes of violence in our society.

Reagan had these people thrown onto the streets with no support. No assitance and no healthcare or medication.
 
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Slick5150

Diamond Member
Nov 10, 2001
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Ending state hospitalization of people with mental illness was probably one of the best things that has been done, ever. The fact is that the vast, overwhelming, majority of people with severe and persistent mental illness are NOT dangerous. People with Mental Illness are targeted every time a tragedy occurs, yet the most recent shootings have been committed by people who are from the middle class.

Programs like Assertive Community Treatment, or Mental Health Intensive Case Management, are MUCH better solutions to helping people with severe and persistent mental illness than trying to make them invisible by tossing them in a "psychiatric" hospital.

This discourse simply needs to stop or we will not ever get to address the real causes of violence in our society.

People that actually work in mental health would disagree with everything you posted there. But I'm sure you know more than they do.
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
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People that actually work in mental health would disagree with everything you posted there. But I'm sure you know more than they do.

Umm, he has professional standing in his field. As I mentioned before I suggest you look up Byberry Hospital in Philly. Those asylum horror films? They aren't based entirely on fiction.
 

uclaLabrat

Diamond Member
Aug 2, 2007
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Umm, he has professional standing in his field. As I mentioned before I suggest you look up Byberry Hospital in Philly. Those asylum horror films? They aren't based entirely on fiction.
I don't know much about byberry, but Dcal's assessment is pretty much what happened to the camarillo state hospital as far as I remember.
 

IGBT

Lifer
Jul 16, 2001
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the retrograde mental health care and psychiatric care largely came about from numerous ACLU law suits. Check the public record. Your ACLU has blood on it's hands.
 

AyashiKaibutsu

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2004
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I don't know Reagan's involvement in it, but this is the first time I heard people try to defend the way the closure of asylums went. It was almost 100% botched and its pretty indefensible to try to say otherwise. Yes, they needed to be closed with the introduction of viable treatments for the people inside them, but throwing people into destitution without proper care was not the way to do it.
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
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I don't know Reagan's involvement in it, but this is the first time I heard people try to defend the way the closure of asylums went. It was almost 100% botched and its pretty indefensible to try to say otherwise. Yes, they needed to be closed with the introduction of viable treatments for the people inside them, but throwing people into destitution without proper care was not the way to do it.

I don't know who is defending how it was done, rather why it was sought and who was really responsible. As has been mentioned, the ACLU sought to free the inmates, and the courts agreed. You now have what was asked for but not what was wanted- "Congratulations, you're free and have a nice life".

This should have been handled with forethought but like most things involving the government and health care it was act first and put out fires the wrong way later. Even so how Reagan (of whom I'm no fan) can be blamed for the courts and congress.
 

nehalem256

Lifer
Apr 13, 2012
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Really???? Reagan left office Jan 1989 and Pete Wilson chose to close Camraillo in 1996/97.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camarillo_State_Mental_Hospital

Liberals continually blame Reagan for things that began in the the early 70s... why not things that happen 7+ years after he was president too?

the retrograde mental health care and psychiatric care largely came about from numerous ACLU law suits. Check the public record. Your ACLU has blood on it's hands.

So basically this is another case of liberals getting their way and then complaining about the consequences.
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
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Folks fear the unknown. They project on it all their own fears, traumatic events from their own childhood which are locked down and buried away. This is why we are mentally ill. We are all in denial. But it is the conservative mind that is the hobgoblin home of paranoia regarding mental illness because it is the conservative brain that responds to fear. For this reason every conservative politician faces a test as to whether he will play to the worst of out fears to get elected. Reagan did and so do most others.
 

techs

Lifer
Sep 26, 2000
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I don't know Reagan's involvement in it, but this is the first time I heard people try to defend the way the closure of asylums went. It was almost 100% botched and its pretty indefensible to try to say otherwise. Yes, they needed to be closed with the introduction of viable treatments for the people inside them, but throwing people into destitution without proper care was not the way to do it.

This.
Deinstitutionalization became a means to save money. When the horrors of mental hospitals became known in the 70's and 80's legal cases were launched that forced states to adequately care for and treat the hospitalized mentally ill. This cost a lot of money. When further court cases were launched to force the states to provide the least restrictive environment the states used that as a reason to empty the hospitals without providing adequate community care.
 

Cerb

Elite Member
Aug 26, 2000
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Do I have to join the circlejerk, or can I just watch?
:hmm: We should have more chicks arguing in here, instead of them being stuck in OT and L&R. :awe:

Anyway, we have to make it easier to force people that may need it to be given treatment. We do not need to lock everybody that's weird up. There's no reason we can't have our cake and eat it too, as far as mental health care goes. Get those who would not be dangerous integrated into society, but make sure that anyone who might be dangerous won't be able to refuse treatment. I don't want to see people just locked away; but if somebody potentially dangerous stops treatment, we need to do something, and if family thinks they need help for their own safety or safety of others, it should not be hard to get them checked out--yet, it often is.
 

Sonikku

Lifer
Jun 23, 2005
15,749
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No one person is to blame. If you're looking for a betrayel to the American People for personal gain, look no further than Ted Kennedy. He, like Jimmy Carter, wanted to work towards healthcare reform in America and supported Carter in making motions to that effect. However, Ted yanked his crucial support out from under Carter at a critical moment, wanting to make healthcare reform a part of his own presidential legacy.

In the end, Ted never got the nomination, Carter lost his re-election bid and Reagan took his place, ending any chance to fix the healthcare problems in the country. The healthcare and pharmaceutical industries are too powerful and have too strong a death grip on government with Lobbyists and special interest groups to do anything about it now.
 
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sportage

Lifer
Feb 1, 2008
11,493
3,159
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You can't ignore the obvious...
Yes Reagan was responsible. Plus...
Ketchup is a vegetable.
Trees cause pollution.
Acted in movies with a monkey.
Hair dye can cause brain damage.
He cheated on his wife.
And he was a bad actor.
(don't get me started)
 

Agent11

Diamond Member
Jan 22, 2006
3,535
1
0
Ending state hospitalization of people with mental illness was probably one of the best things that has been done, ever. The fact is that the vast, overwhelming, majority of people with severe and persistent mental illness are NOT dangerous. People with Mental Illness are targeted every time a tragedy occurs, yet the most recent shootings have been committed by people who are from the middle class.

Programs like Assertive Community Treatment, or Mental Health Intensive Case Management, are MUCH better solutions to helping people with severe and persistent mental illness than trying to make them invisible by tossing them in a "psychiatric" hospital.

This discourse simply needs to stop or we will not ever get to address the real causes of violence in our society.

Economic situation does not disqualify you from having a mental illness.