Delivering Services to Individuals With Severe Mental Illness: SAMHSA Falls Short

In the wake of the December 2012 mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and its role in caring for people with severe mental illness. The author was among those who testified at the hearing. In this Open Forum she raises points made in that hearing—for example, that in embracing the recovery model and certain evidence-based practices, SAMHSA has been derelict in its duty to attend to the sickest individuals, those with chronic psychosis. She calls on the agency to embrace and promote a more balanced and pragmatic agenda.