Mass murders and mental illness
The Daily ReflectorOct 16, 2017
I have a confession to make. After seeing thousands of patients with mental health problems over the years, I know that some of them have committed suicide or serious violent crimes and I always have regrets because, in retrospect, I did not take hold of the patient as much as I should have.
However, every patient that I see with depression, anxiety, mood disorders or even schizophrenia is told at the start that injury to themselves or to someone else can happen and therefore they must do exactly what I tell them or I’m not going to give them medications and I will refuse to treat them.
Often it means they must have someone move in with them. In the small cities and towns where I worked, word gets around and the families wanted me to do exactly what I just explained.
In general there is little difference between patients with the same mental illness and the outcome of their treatment depends on how completely patients are followed up. If necessary it must be free.
Mental illness, unlike most physical illnesses, can always turn into a matter of life and death. It seems to me in the case of
In the case of
Like most Americans, I am in favor of gun control, but we also have to improve the diagnosis and treatment of mental health patients.
Winterville