We are at a critical moment in time: we must reshape mental health policy in the US

Stigmatized attitudes toward mental health have contributed to decades of harmful policies. Evelyn Tomaszewski, assistant professor in the Department of Social Work, advocates for a human rights-based approach to address outdated and harmful policy practices. 

Public policy plays a critical role in the protection and promotion of mental health. Research by Assistant Professor of Social Work Evelyn Tomaszewski analyzes over 80 years of national and global mental health policy trends. The study is the first comprehensive review of policy, noting the historical and ongoing impacts of stigma, discrimination, and the structural barriers to reaching mental health equity. The aim of the article is to shift perceptions of mental health care and advocate for future policy to be built upon a human rights-based approach.  

“We are at a critical moment in time. Comprehensive, culturally relevant and engaged community-driven public health policy is being undermined, defunded, and devalued. Advocates for comprehensive mental health policies are committed to mitigating stigma and discrimination and reshaping the mental health landscape to focus on communities, prevention, and inclusion. Yet, major gaps still exist. This requires a call to action,” said Tomaszewski, MSW program director. 

“Efforts to reform mental health policy require interdisciplinary and community-driven policies and practice initiatives that can promote and commit to mental health equity in the US,” said Tomaszewski. 

The paper calls for commitment at the government level to address political determinants of health by developing legislation from an equity lens, and outlines action items for national and international governance, research, education, and outreach. Tomaszewski suggests expanding essential ACA services to include behavioral health into primary care, for the US to ratify several United Nations Conventions, including the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and engaging people with relevant lived experiences in program and policy development. 

“Eighty Years of National Mental Health Policy: Exploring the Inclusion of a Human Rights Approach” was published in September in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry as a part of a special issue in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice.