Does the US still have "mental institutions"?

[longstrangetrip5]

Does the US still have "mental institutions"?

I have heard they have been ditched

But on the other hand, I see people who appear to be "mentally ill" on sidewalks and other public places, seemingly incapable of keeping a job or ..and/or an apartment..

I am not so sure we should have gotten rid of them. And even mentally healthy people, if they go through something traumatic (esp in a relationship.. loss thereof, etc) can end up feeling they can't cope..

I heard it was Reagan who had a part in shutting down these kinds of places. But I am wondering if he was a little... over zealous or whatever. Did he believe in mental illness, so called? There is a book called the Myth of Mental Illness. Maybe Reagan read that and... went from there.. ? 

[Tales]

They exist.  I think many have trouble legally being able to retain people.  From what I hear the homeless with mental problems often do not want to stay there.

I think back in the day there were far more churches, men's or women's organizations that would take care of these matters on a more local level.  But the government generally took over these social services and thus they are what is left.

[Chestertonian]

umm...  try googling "psychiatric hospital near me" and seeing what comes up? 

There were more dedicated psychiatric institutions in the past but they were all horrible places so it's probably better that many of them were shut down.  psychiatric treatment was largely ineffective back then anyway, those places were where you went to die.  There are a lot of people on the streets who are severely mentally ill, but due to budget cuts, psychiatric wards on hospitals cannot legally hold involuntary clients for more than a few days.  and so many of these "psych units" are so badly run you're safer living on the street anyway.  it's kind of like prison....people come out learning all these unhealthy coping skills, unhealthy habits, becuse youre surrounded by other sick people.  just like i can go to the hospital and get hospital acquired pneumonia you can get psych ward acquired maladaptive behavioral patterns.

many hospitals have a psych ward...or sometimes even a separate psychiatric ER but generally speaking its always best to be voluntary because the hospitals that take involuntary patients are almost all terrible.  my wife recently got out of a lengthy stay on an eating disorders unit and her doctor convinced her to go voluntary because she'll get better care and if shes' not getting good care, she can get out and go someplace that can help her more.  Honestly if we didnt live in NYC i would fly across the country to go to the place she went--they worked some serious magic there and she is a much much healthier version of herself.  she said the staff, from the doctors to the patient care aides, were all really good to her.  They had a little garden where you could go outside she called it "The cloister garden" and her room had a pretty view of the hudson.  she said the worst thing was not being able to see her kids.  she has been in other places, even supposed catholic hospitals, where the psych unit was in "the bowels" of the hospital and many of the rooms didnt have windows.  Good luck ever seeing the light of day.  There was no outdoor space, no access to the phone apart from one phone call a day, extremely limited visiting hours, it was horrible for her and made her mental health so much worse (and she was there for a suicide attempt so it's hard to imagine things getting worse, but they did).  They overmedicated her, retraumatized her, it was so, so bad.  this time around she feels like the meds are helping and she actually wants to go to the outpatient program they referred her to, whereas every other time she's turned down all follow up care.

I could email the staff and they would give me an update because my disability prevents me from talking on the phone.  I also could text her and she would get back to me certain times of day (mostly breaks, a short period before bed etc) they kept phones at the nurses station and you could sign it out if you wanted to check your email, pay your bills, play a mindless video game etc.  towards the end when she was feeling better they let her video chat with  the kids and stuff.  not being completely isolated from the world, but also safe, was helpful.

I wouldnt want her going anywhere that wasnt the best....columbia, mclean, johns hopkins, etc.  i have to be able to sleep at night knowing shes being treated like a human being. 

it would be amazing if someone founded a traditional Catholic order of sisters or friars who took care people with psychiatric illnesses.  There are almost no traditional Catholic healthcare apostolates period (at least not in the US) and authentic Catholic psychiatric healthcare is virtually non existant, especially at the level of inpatient (or intensive outpatient) care. 

[red solo cup]

Does the US still have "mental institutions"?

I have heard they have been ditched

But on the other hand, I see people who appear to be "mentally ill" on sidewalks and other public places, seemingly incapable of keeping a job or ..and/or an apartment..

I am not so sure we should have gotten rid of them. And even mentally healthy people, if they go through something traumatic (esp in a relationship.. loss thereof, etc) can end up feeling they can't cope..

I heard it was Reagan who had a part in shutting down these kinds of places. But I am wondering if he was a little... over zealous or whatever. Did he believe in mental illness, so called? There is a book called the Myth of Mental Illness. Maybe Reagan read that and... went from there.. ? 

While Reagan gets the blame, the policy was espoused by JFK, where the funding for institutions went from federal to state under block-grants. This also coincided with a push to de-institutionalize people who didn't belong there such as vagrants. People meant well but some were hurt by the whole thing.

[longstrangetrip5]

They exist.  I think many have trouble legally being able to retain people.  From what I hear the homeless with mental problems often do not want to stay there.

I think back in the day there were far more churches, men's or women's organizations that would take care of these matters on a more local level.  But the government generally took over these social services and thus they are what is left.

the problem being that when the governemnt fails (ha ha to that.. it always does somehow), there is nothing to take its place

Again, there are times when even the best of us feels we cannot cope and so we need somewhere to go to get re-charged. And then there is the fact that a lot of housing is too expensive and so some people have nowhere to go and are homeless for long periods of time.. Low income housing in some states is an utter disaster, rights are violated, tenants are so miserable they would rather be homeless (I know of many cases like that)

[longstrangetrip5]

umm...  try googling "psychiatric hospital near me" and seeing what comes up? 

There were more dedicated psychiatric institutions in the past but they were all horrible places so it's probably better that many of them were shut down.  psychiatric treatment was largely ineffective back then anyway, those places were where you went to die.  There are a lot of people on the streets who are severely mentally ill, but due to budget cuts, psychiatric wards on hospitals cannot legally hold involuntary clients for more than a few days.  and so many of these "psych units" are so badly run you're safer living on the street anyway.  it's kind of like prison....people come out learning all these unhealthy coping skills, unhealthy habits, becuse youre surrounded by other sick people.  just like i can go to the hospital and get hospital acquired pneumonia you can get psych ward acquired maladaptive behavioral patterns.

many hospitals have a psych ward...or sometimes even a separate psychiatric ER but generally speaking its always best to be voluntary because the hospitals that take involuntary patients are almost all terrible.  my wife recently got out of a lengthy stay on an eating disorders unit and her doctor convinced her to go voluntary because she'll get better care and if shes' not getting good care, she can get out and go someplace that can help her more.  Honestly if we didnt live in NYC i would fly across the country to go to the place she went--they worked some serious magic there and she is a much much healthier version of herself.  she said the staff, from the doctors to the patient care aides, were all really good to her.  They had a little garden where you could go outside she called it "The cloister garden" and her room had a pretty view of the hudson.  she said the worst thing was not being able to see her kids.  she has been in other places, even supposed catholic hospitals, where the psych unit was in "the bowels" of the hospital and many of the rooms didnt have windows.  Good luck ever seeing the light of day.  There was no outdoor space, no access to the phone apart from one phone call a day, extremely limited visiting hours, it was horrible for her and made her mental health so much worse (and she was there for a suicide attempt so it's hard to imagine things getting worse, but they did).  They overmedicated her, retraumatized her, it was so, so bad.  this time around she feels like the meds are helping and she actually wants to go to the outpatient program they referred her to, whereas every other time she's turned down all follow up care.

I could email the staff and they would give me an update because my disability prevents me from talking on the phone.  I also could text her and she would get back to me certain times of day (mostly breaks, a short period before bed etc) they kept phones at the nurses station and you could sign it out if you wanted to check your email, pay your bills, play a mindless video game etc.  towards the end when she was feeling better they let her video chat with  the kids and stuff.  not being completely isolated from the world, but also safe, was helpful.

I wouldnt want her going anywhere that wasnt the best....columbia, mclean, johns hopkins, etc.  i have to be able to sleep at night knowing shes being treated like a human being. 

it would be amazing if someone founded a traditional Catholic order of sisters or friars who took care people with psychiatric illnesses.  There are almost no traditional Catholic healthcare apostolates period (at least not in the US) and authentic Catholic psychiatric healthcare is virtually non existant, especially at the level of inpatient (or intensive outpatient) care.

that was interesting.

i too  was wondering why  the Church doesn't do more of this kind of care. It seems the Church is ending all its social programs, even while the more liberal priests are focusing on social justice concerns and ditching moral ones, which moral concerns of course priests are presumed to prioritize?

I have seen priests who literally couldn't care less about homeless people or people with "issues"  I never thought i would be one to say this (heard it when growing up) but

What is the world coming to?

we have no compassion anymore. the liberals claim to have it, but anyone who doesn't have compassion for an infant being ripped apart in the womb and thrown in the trash.. is incapable of true compassion regardless of any other causes they profess to care about

[longstrangetrip5]

Does the US still have "mental institutions"?

I have heard they have been ditched

But on the other hand, I see people who appear to be "mentally ill" on sidewalks and other public places, seemingly incapable of keeping a job or ..and/or an apartment..

I am not so sure we should have gotten rid of them. And even mentally healthy people, if they go through something traumatic (esp in a relationship.. loss thereof, etc) can end up feeling they can't cope..

I heard it was Reagan who had a part in shutting down these kinds of places. But I am wondering if he was a little... over zealous or whatever. Did he believe in mental illness, so called? There is a book called the Myth of Mental Illness. Maybe Reagan read that and... went from there.. ? 

While Reagan gets the blame, the policy was espoused by JFK, where the funding for institutions went from federal to state under block-grants. This also coincided with a push to de-institutionalize people who didn't belong there such as vagrants. People meant well but some were hurt by the whole thing.

maybe the churches should not have given things up to the go vernment?

u mean the go vermin t? LOL

[Xavier]

it would be amazing if someone founded a traditional Catholic order of sisters or friars who took care people with psychiatric illnesses.  There are almost no traditional Catholic healthcare apostolates period (at least not in the US) and authentic Catholic psychiatric healthcare is virtually non existant, especially at the level of inpatient (or intensive outpatient) care.

That's a wonderful idea for a very worthy vocation. I wish there would be such an order one day. Monks like St. Francis of Assisi took care of people no one else would take care of, as did St. Vincent De Paul. Government is not necessarily an impediment. Priests as well in my opinion should be formed also by the physical works of mercy, because without love and sacrifice, even Divine Office and Holy Mass will not be as powerful in their effects as they otherwise would. Jesus lays so much emphasis on seeing His face in the poor and the sick, in the oppressed and the downtrodden, saying 25:35  "For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: 25:36  Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me." We could say not only do unto others as you would have them do unto you, but based on this text, do unto your neighbor as you would do unto God. I.e. see the face of Christ in all, especially the suffering, because He is there. That's what St. Francis lived and what Catholics, especially those with vocations, need to rediscover and deeply live again imo.

[longstrangetrip5]

it would be amazing if someone founded a traditional Catholic order of sisters or friars who took care people with psychiatric illnesses.  There are almost no traditional Catholic healthcare apostolates period (at least not in the US) and authentic Catholic psychiatric healthcare is virtually non existant, especially at the level of inpatient (or intensive outpatient) care.

That's a wonderful idea for a very worthy vocation. I wish there would be such an order one day. Monks like St. Francis of Assisi took care of people no one else would take care of, as did St. Vincent De Paul. Government is not necessarily an impediment. Priests as well in my opinion should be formed also by the physical works of mercy, because without love and sacrifice, even Divine Office and Holy Mass will not be as powerful in their effects as they otherwise would. Jesus lays so much emphasis on seeing His face in the poor and the sick, in the oppressed and the downtrodden, saying 25:35  "For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: 25:36  Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me." We could say not only do unto others as you would have them do unto you, but based on this text, do unto your neighbor as you would do unto God. I.e. see the face of Christ in all, especially the suffering, because He is there. That's what St. Francis lived and what Catholics, especially those with vocations, need to rediscover and deeply live again imo.

wow... that was beautiful.

I have had the same thought, but again, it seems the Church is so worldly and most priests only seem to care about themselves and their "brotherhood" of priests. It is just another men's club, it seems (at times), which of course, when you consider that many priests belong to those secret boy's clubs (FMs), well... not surprising we find self-absorbed, essentially un-Christian "priests"

the Church used to have orphanages and shelters. Now they don't even have Catholic schools!

things are getting very bizarre in the Church...

sometimes it seems it is not a Christian Church anymore

If it weren't for the Real Presence-------

[Carleendiane]

The government, being non-Christian, in my eyes IS an impediment. It's provision usurps the charity we are called to extend. The more the ungodly government provides, the less the visible Church provides. Human nature, unfortunately. I absolutely LOVE the idea of the Church seeing to the needs of those with emotional, trauma induced, and just plain organic mental issues! Please, Lord.  To be in such a state, the availability of the sacraments, being surrounded with those devoted to helping with the affliction, care for the soul AND body would assure if not cure, at least relief for the suffering.

[Greg]

Does the US still have "mental institutions"?

They are guarded by men who ask for your thumb print and take a picture of you.

Provided you have a foreign passport you are allowed to leave again.

[longstrangetrip5]

Does the US still have "mental institutions"?

They are guarded by men who ask for your thumb print and take a picture of you.

Provided you have a foreign passport you are allowed to leave again.

which is why the hapless homeless don't want to be there, ditto homeless shelters. Yeh, you can leave the latter, but "they" will know all about where you are going and why

creepy world we live in. Rand Paul, keep fighting for privacy. So far the only privacy we have is the right to kill our helpless children in the womb. How that has anything to do with privacy is still rather beyond me.. A woman should be able to murder in her own womb, whcih is a private place?    Maybe she should think about that Place before there is a human being living there? Just a thought.... and as to rape: it is not the child's fault, so... yeh, we have had R v W around so long we forget the M word.. we have become Nazis who call human beings... something other than human beings (useless eaters...and etc)

sigh

   

[Greg]

Joke went right over your head obviously

I need to be less subtle, clearly.

[longstrangetrip5]

The government, being non-Christian, in my eyes IS an impediment. It's provision usurps the charity we are called to extend. The more the ungodly government provides, the less the visible Church provides. Human nature, unfortunately. I absolutely LOVE the idea of the Church seeing to the needs of those with emotional, trauma induced, and just plain organic mental issues! Please, Lord.  To be in such a state, the availability of the sacraments, being surrounded with those devoted to helping with the affliction, care for the soul AND body would assure if not cure, at least relief for the suffering.

well, the way some Churches are these days, it doesn't look like anyone should depend on THEM for any help. Priests can't even relate to those who have financial needs. They are supported by the Church and have job security. Even priests validly accused of molesting children have job security... or did. I hope  that has been corrected..

[drummerboy]

The USSR had many wonderful mental institutions