A Theoretical, Historical, and Socio-Economic Case for Saving Lives through Strategic Improvement of Mental Health Systems around the World

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56508/mhgcj.v6i1.145

Keywords:

Stigma, global mental health, structural functionalism, socioeconomic asset development, social dynamics, conflict theory, mental health treatment, mental health access

Abstract

Introduction: Comparing mental health systems between different countries illuminates the potential for change by showing us different approaches exist in the global here and now. Globally, people are suffering and dying daily from untreated mental health conditions and those working in these systems have to live in this reality.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how stigma, underfunding, deficits in best practices, confusing systems, and failed strategic planning are all variables causing systems’ deficits that have people unnecessarily suffering and dying around the world.
Methodology: To make the case for change, we use critical analysis to examine mental health systems through an analytic framework that includes history, systems investment, and general treatment approaches. We review mental health care systems through theories of structural functionalism, conflict, social dynamics, and socio-economic asset development.
Results: The historical examination provides vital systems-development insight while the systems investment examination delves into the overall funding structures and strategies of each country. Theoretical analysis reveals how problems seem intractable, but also how progress is always possible.
Conclusion: This examination informs critically thinking advocates, through historical and theoretical lenses, to generate precise calls for win-win strategies that can be individualized per World Health Organization and other advancing treatment recommendations 

Author Biography

Kasparas Žiaučyna, Children and Adult Family Welfare Center

I am Kasparas Ziaucyna, in 2018 completed a bachelor's degree in psychology at a Liberal Arts LCC University in Lithuania, Klaipeda. Then in 2019 completed a master in science in psychology with neuropsychology specialization degree at Maastricht University in Netherlands, Maastricht. From 2020 started working as a counseling psychologist for children and adults at a family's welfare center in Klaipeda, Lithuania. Also, I have been volunteering at a Lithuanian emotional support hotline "Jaunimo Linija" since 2017. 

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PubMed Health. (2016). A guide to psychotherapy in Germany: Where can I find help? National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279513

P?ras, D. (October 10, 2019). Psichikos sveikatos srities deinstitucionalizacija ir su ja susij? išš?kiai Lietuvoje. Bernardinai. https://www.bernardinai.lt/2019-10-10-psichikos-sveikatos-srities-deinstitucionalizacija-ir-su-ja-susije-issukiai-lietuvoje/

P?ras, D., Germanavicius, A., Povilaitis, R., Veniute, M. and Jasilionis, D. (2004). Lithuania mental health country profile. International review of psychiatry (Abingdon, England). 16. 117-25. DOI: 10.1080/09540260310001635168.

P?ras, D., Šumskien?, E., Veni?t?, M., Šumskas, G., Juodkait?, D., Murauskien?, L., Mataityt?-Diržien?, J., Šliužait?, D. (2013). Išš?kiai ?gyvendinant Lietuvos psichikos sveikatos politik?. Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla. ISBN: 9786094592799

Puschner, B., Cosh, S., & Becker, T. (2016). Patient-rated outcome assessment with the German version of the Outcome Questionnaire 45 in people with severe mental illness. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 32 (4), 273-282.

Rogers, E. M. (1983). Diffusion of innovations (4th ed). The Free Press: New York.

Rosenthal, E. (2018). An American sickness: how health care became big business and how you can take it back. Penguin Books: New York.

Salize, H. J., & Rössler, W., & Becker, T. (2007). Mental health care in Germany: current state and trends. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 257 (2), 92-103.

Schwarz, J., Galbursera, L., Bechdolf, A., Birker, T., Deister, A., Duve, A., … von Peter, S. (2020). Changes in German mental health care by implementing a Global

Treatment Budget- A mixed-method process evaluation study. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11(426). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00426

Shapiro, F. (2012). Getting past your past: take control of your life with self-help Techniques from EMDR therapy. Rodale Inc: New York.

Skruibis, P. & Žemaitien?, N. (2015). Lietuvos psichikos sveikatos strategijos ir savižudybi? prevencijos alternatyvus priemoni? planas 2016-2018 m. p. 39-45. Psichikos Sveikatos Perspektyvos.

Skvernelis, S. & Veryga, A. (August 2nd, 2017). Nutarimas d?l psichikos sveikatos strategijos ?gyvendinimo 2007-2016 met? ataskaitos pateikimo lietuvos respublikos seimui. Government of the Republic of Lithuania. Nr. 639. Vilnius

Šukys, R. (August 21st, 2012). D?l psichosocialin?s reabilitacijos paslaug? psichikos sutrikim? turintiems asmenims teikimo tvarkos aprašas. Nr. - 788. Vilnius

Šumskien?, E., Petružyt?, D. (2017). Psichikos sveikatos ir gerov?s paradigm? kaita Lietuvoje. Vilnius: Vilniaus universitetas

Tikkanen, R., Osborn, R., Mossialos, E., Djordjevic, A., & Wharton, G. A. (2020). International health care system profiles: United States. The Commonwealth Fund. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries/united-states

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Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin Publishing Group: New York.

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World Health Organization. (2021). Current health expenditure (% of GDP). The World Bank. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS

Yalom, I. (2009). The gift of therapy: an open letter to a new generation of therapists and their patients. HarperCollinsAmerican Medical Association. (2021). AMA history. https://www.ama-assn.org/about/ama-history/ama-history

Arean, P. A., Renn, B. N., & Ratzliff, A. (2020). Making psychotherapy available in the United States: implementation challenges and solutions. Psychiatric Services, https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.202000220 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.202000220

Browne, M., & Keeley, S. (2012). Asking the right questions: a guide to critical thinking (10th ed.). Aldershot, UK: Gower.

Centers for Disease Control. (2022). Health and economic costs of chronic diseases.

CDC 24/7: Saving Lives, Protecting People. https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/costs/index.htm

Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. (2019). National health expenditure data. https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NationalHealthAccountsHistorical

Congressional Budget Office. (2009). Preliminary analysis of H.R. 3962. U.S. Congress. https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/ftpdocs/106xx/doc10688/hr3962rangel.pdf

Dembinskas A., (2003). Psichiatrija. Vaist? žinios. Vilnius. ISBN: 9955-511-21-4

Dolgoff, R., and Feldstein, D. (2007). Chapter 7: ‘Examining a social welfare program: Structural components, alternative program characteristics, and evaluation. Understanding social welfare: A search for social justice (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon

Drake, R. E., & Latimer, E. (2012). Lesson learned in developing community mental health care in North America. World Psychiatry, 11:47-51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wpsyc.2012.01.007

Durkheim, E., & Halls, W.D. (1894). The division of labour in society. Trans. New York: Free Press.

Durlauf, S. N., & Young, H. P. (2001). Social dynamics. MIT Press.

Ermann, M. (2010). Editorial: psychoanalysis in Germany. International Forum of Psychoanalysis, 8(2), 57-58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/080370699436375

Garson, A., & Engelhard, C. L. (2008). Health care half-truths: too many myths, not enough reality. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Göçmen, I. (2013). ‘The role of faith-based organizations in social welfare systems: A Comparison of France, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.’ Nonprofit And Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 42(3), 495-516. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764013482046

Hogan, M.F. (2002). Spending too much on mental illness in all the wrong places. Psychiatric Services, 53(10), 1251-1252. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.53.10.1251

Insel, T. R. (2008). Assessing the economic costs of serious mental illness. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 165 (6), 663-665. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2008.08030366

Kessler, E. M., Agines, S., & Bowen, C. E. (2014). Attitudes towards seeking mental health services among older adults: personal and contextual correlates. Aging & Mental Health, 19 (2), 182-191. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2014.920300

Konish, L. (2019). This is the real reason most Americans file for bankruptcy. CNBC Personal Finance. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/11/this-is-the-real-reason-most-americans-file-for-bankruptcy.html

Marx, K. (1848). The communist manifesto. New York: International Publishers.

McCarthy, K. E. (2012). Insurance exchanges and a public option. OLR Research Report. https://www.cga.ct.gov/2012/rpt/2012-R-0408.htm

Muntianas, V. (April 3rd, 2007). Nutarimas d?l psichikos sveikatos strategijos patvirtinimo. Health Ministry of the Republic of Lithuania. Nr. X-1070. Vilnius.

National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2009). New report card: Nation’s mental health care system. National Alliance on Mental Illness Press Releases. https://www.nami.org/Press-Media/Press-Releases/2009/New-Report-Card-Nation-s-Mental-Health-Care-System

National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2022). Who we are. https://nami.org/About- NAMI/Who-We-Are

National Center for Health Statistics. (2022). Demographic variation in health insurance coverage: United States, 2020. National Health Statistics Reports, 169. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr169.pdf

National Institute of Mental Health. (2011). Post by former NIMH director Thomas Insel: the global cost of mental illness. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/directors/thomas-insel/blog/2011/the-global-cost-of-mental-illness

National Library of Medicine. (2016). A guide to psychotherapy in Germany: where can I find help? PubMed Health: National Institutes of Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279513

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2022). Country statistical profiles. https://www.oecd.org/

PubMed Health. (2016). A guide to psychotherapy in Germany: Where can I find help? National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279513

P?ras, D. (October 10, 2019). Psichikos sveikatos srities deinstitucionalizacija ir su ja susij? išš?kiai Lietuvoje. Bernardinai. https://www.bernardinai.lt/2019-10-10-psichikos-sveikatos-srities-deinstitucionalizacija-ir-su-ja-susije-issukiai-lietuvoje/

P?ras, D., Germanavicius, A., Povilaitis, R., Veniute, M. and Jasilionis, D. (2004). Lithuania mental health country profile. International review of psychiatry (Abingdon, England). 16. 117-25. DOI: 10.1080/09540260310001635168. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09540260310001635168

P?ras, D., Šumskien?, E., Veni?t?, M., Šumskas, G., Juodkait?, D., Murauskien?, L., Mataityt?-Diržien?, J., Šliužait?, D. (2013). Išš?kiai ?gyvendinant Lietuvos psichikos sveikatos politik?. Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla. ISBN: 9786094592799

Puschner, B., Cosh, S., & Becker, T. (2016). Patient-rated outcome assessment with the German version of the Outcome Questionnaire 45 in people with severe mental illness. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 32 (4), 273-282. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000254

Rogers, E. M. (1983). Diffusion of innovations (4th ed). The Free Press: New York.

Rosenthal, E. (2018). An American sickness: how health care became big business and how you can take it back. Penguin Books: New York.

Salize, H. J., & Rössler, W., & Becker, T. (2007). Mental health care in Germany: current state and trends. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 257 (2), 92-103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-006-0696-9

Schwarz, J., Galbursera, L., Bechdolf, A., Birker, T., Deister, A., Duve, A., … von Peter, S. (2020). Changes in German mental health care by implementing a Global Treatment Budget- A mixed-method process evaluation study. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11(426). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00426 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00426

Shapiro, F. (2012). Getting past your past: take control of your life with self-help Techniques from EMDR therapy. Rodale Inc: New York.

Skruibis, P. & Žemaitien?, N. (2015). Lietuvos psichikos sveikatos strategijos ir savižudybi? prevencijos alternatyvus priemoni? planas 2016-2018 m. p. 39-45. Psichikos Sveikatos Perspektyvos.

Skvernelis, S. & Veryga, A. (August 2nd, 2017). Nutarimas d?l psichikos sveikatos strategijos ?gyvendinimo 2007-2016 met? ataskaitos pateikimo lietuvos respublikos seimui. Government of the Republic of Lithuania. Nr. 639. Vilnius

Šukys, R. (August 21st, 2012). D?l psichosocialin?s reabilitacijos paslaug? psichikos sutrikim? turintiems asmenims teikimo tvarkos aprašas. Nr. - 788. Vilnius

Šumskien?, E., Petružyt?, D. (2017). Psichikos sveikatos ir gerov?s paradigm? kaita Lietuvoje. Vilnius: Vilniaus universitetas

Tikkanen, R., Osborn, R., Mossialos, E., Djordjevic, A., & Wharton, G. A. (2020). International health care system profiles: United States. The Commonwealth Fund. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries/united-states

Turner, J. H. (1975). Marx and Simmel revisited: reassessing the foundations of conflict theory. Social Forces, 53:4 (618-627) DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2576477

USA.gov. (2022). Advance child tax credit and economic impact payments- stimulus checks. https://www.usa.gov/covid-stimulus-checks

Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin Publishing Group: New York.

World Health Organization. (2011a). Mental health atlas: United States of America. Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/atlas/profiles/usa_mh_profile.pdf?ua=1

World Health Organization. (2011b). Mental health atlas: Germany. Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/atlas/profiles/deu_mh_profile.pdf?ua

World Health Organization. (2011c). Mental health atlas: Lithuania. Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/atlas/profiles/ltu_mh_profile.pdf?ua=1

World Health Organization. (2013). Mental health action plan: 2013-2020. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241506021

World Health Organization. (2020). World Mental Health Day: An opportunity to kick-start a massive scale-up in investment in mental health. News Release. https://www.who.int/news/item/27-08-2020-world-mental-health-day-an-opportunity-to-kick-start-a-massive-scale-up-in-investment-in-mental-health

World Health Organization. (2021). Current health expenditure (% of GDP). The World Bank. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS

Yalom, I. (2009). The gift of therapy: an open letter to a new generation of therapists and their patients. HarperCollins

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Published

2023-01-12

How to Cite

Cecil, D., & Žiaučyna, K. (2023). A Theoretical, Historical, and Socio-Economic Case for Saving Lives through Strategic Improvement of Mental Health Systems around the World. Mental Health: Global Challenges Journal, 6(1), 16–28. https://doi.org/10.56508/mhgcj.v6i1.145

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