From Pete Earley: “Dear Pete,
As I read your blog piece on Assisted Outpatient Treatment, I asked myself, what are we committing people living with serious mental illness to?
And why wouldn’t we start with practices that promote engagement, and offer people help that they find meaningful?
I am a clinical social worker who worked in a specialty clinic for people with psychotic disorders for 17 years. I’ve been involved with clinical training and education of mental health professionals for 24 years, in academic psychiatry and social work . . .
The last person I worked with who was given an outpatient commitment after a hospital stay rented a car and drove across the country. We would be foolish to think that we can control people in this way. I don’t understand why we don’t offer treatment and services that people actually want. Last year, I spent a day training at one of our state hospitals in North Carolina. The staff appreciated my talks, but told me that the evidence-based practices that I described simply weren’t available in their patients’ home communities. Why don’t we require state authorities and county governments to actually serve their vulnerable citizens? And why don’t we start with treatment and services that we know work, and that people actually want?”
