Thousands of californians are struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma and ptsd But the crisis is not only about mental health It’s about a severe shortage of qualified clinicians to provide the care that is desperately needed. Californians with behavioral health care needs struggle to find the treatment they need Almost one quarter of adults with a mental illness are unable to receive the treatment they need — a number that has not improved over the past decade. The need for therapists, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists is greater than ever
Under relentless pressure from the pandemic and inflation, wildfires and gun violence, racism and war, californians are crying out for help. Known as the mental health movement, the plan outlined more than $28 billion in projected spending to expand access to treatment, overhaul outdated systems, and provide better care for some of the state’s most vulnerable populations. A team of uc davis experts was tasked with evaluating the services of 15 mental health crisis programs in california Lack of preparedness, overburdened mental health services, increased prevalence of mental health issues and interrupted mental health services will limit access to mental healthcare facilities in the postpandemic era, particularly in lmics. As californians, we now face a reckoning How do we fix a mental health system that has been so broken for so long?
This shift in thinking requires a large scale change in professional training and policy.
OPEN
