the mental health system issue is minor here, as to causation of and curing of Adam's issues...based on what we know.
I've written on more than one thread, but the real facts are there are two things that can be done with a disturbed...particularly developmentally disturbed...young person...and adult, as well. Talk therapy of some kind 45 minutes of week of talking to a psychologist. And a referral and appointment to a psychiatrist...15 minutes max every 3-6 weeks...either in person or over the internet. Thus, you're off to the the pharmacy to partake in one of the many anti-psychotics "expensive and incomplete guessing" about something they know very little...the brain chemistry of the individual.
It would be heavily weighted towards parents bringing in children...it happened with ADHD...throngs thought the pill was the solution to inappropriate behavior. it was, but more often not...and short-term. But as for the Doc: Try this one, ok, now that one or these together, OK, well here's another et al. A psychological evaluation for one or both divorcing spouses, can cost upwards of $10,000 each.
Even if we provided free mental health care, which I agree would be helpful to some extent, the cost would put Obamacare costs into the region of very cheap. Or, they could make it an insurance and force everyone to get it so as to cut the cost, but that's not likely. Mental health talk therapy ... other types come and go ... requires weeks and often years at an average cost of $600 a month, plus the meds...$.50 to $8 apiece.
If mental health care were accessed by everyone who needs it or they or someone else thinks they do, and for often negligible progress, it is so far from affordable to be laughable. Ending Mental health is one of the first thing Reagan did to balance California's budget. Reason...has to show justification for the huge costs and mostly the results aren't there. Not much different anywhere else...the buck stops...at home or in Juvie or Prison.
The greatest users will be children because it's hard to tell what is a stage, hormone, bad home, bad school, bad friends, nasty parent's divorce, all of the above....etc. (We still don't know about Adam) And there is NOTHING that can be done about most of those. The hope that they will outgrow it and/or not act out in society...the Best Guess.
After all of this, the government, the Human Services department, private providers, all set it aside and end up sending them one place ... home.
Now we come to guns. Those are tangible items that lend themselves to management far easier than trying to solve all the emotional and mental ills of our society, particularly the young ones who are also the most vulnerable to gun horror...at home and in the outer world. Gun Management and training and registration vs. increased mental health care. Both ... but the first will definitely support the second.
One last thought...there is revenue ... lots of it ... in Gun Management...and it is tangible and lends itself to Objectives. It is a black hole in national Mental Health cost, highly Subjective and intangible with questionable outcome.
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