NYC First Lady Describes Ambitious Plan to Improve City’s Mental Health Care

“Our mental health moment is now,” said New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray in a passionate Opening Session address at APA’s fall meeting, IPS: The Mental Health Services Conference, held earlier this month in Washington, D.C.

She said support for improving mental health access and services has never been stronger. “Across the country, communities large and small are coming together to shatter the stigma of mental illness and develop real solutions.”

McCray, who received the APA Patient Advocacy Award from APA President Maria A. Oquendo, M.D., described ThriveNYC: Mental Health Roadmap, an ambitious program in New York City to improve access to care to citizens of New York City with mental illness. The program, a signature achievement of the First Lady’s, is founded on six principles as described on the ThriveNYC website.

McCray said that within those six principles, ThriveNYC encompasses 54 separate initiatives. “It’s our roadmap to changing the way people think about mental health and the way the city and its partners deliver services,” she said. “Our goal is to change the culture around mental health and approach it like physical health because people need to know that mental illness is treatable, and they can do something about it.”

McCray especially emphasized the importance of advocacy and the growing consensus—across political lines—for fundamental mental health system reform. “Over the last months, I’ve traveled down to D.C. twice to speak with leaders about the need for federal action. And I’m pleased to note that we’re starting to see progress,” she said.

“Secretary Hillary Clinton recently released a mental health policy agenda, which reflects many of the principles embedded in ThriveNYC. Needless to say, it is unprecedented for mental health to receive this kind of attention.”

She also noted that “there is exciting bipartisan movement in Congress” around two versions of a mental health reform bill—the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2016 (HR 2646) and The Mental Health Reform Act of 2016 (S 2680).

“I am eager to partner with all of you to push Washington to do right by the millions of Americans who have been touched by mental illness and substance misuse,” she said.

McCray also spoke of her own family’s experience with mental illness when her 18-year-old daughter required treatment for depression, anxiety, and addiction. “Here was our child, in terrible pain. And I wished I could love her into wellness. But I didn’t know where to turn. … Thankfully, our family got lucky. We connected with wonderfully caring professionals and found enough of what we were looking for. I’m proud to say that our daughter is doing well and recently graduated from college. But even after our own family’s crisis subsided, I could not forget how difficult her journey was, and how difficult it must be for other families. … And that is how ThriveNYC was born.”

In comments to Psychiatric News following her remarks, McCray said the single most important role psychiatrists can plan in assisting the goals of ThriveNYC is advocacy. “The APA has so much power.” ■