March 30th, 2009

Yesterday’s Patriot-News featured an op-ed by Alyce Spector, president of the Mental Health Association of the Capital Region, Inc. 

Wrote Spector:

How do we know that the economic downturn is affecting the mental health of people in our communities? There is no formal data on the number of Americans who are now seeking mental health assistance during this recession.

What we do know is there is a significant rise in unprecedented numbers of referrals that are being reported by psychologists.

Mental health professionals call it “collateral damage stemming from the present economic situation.” Clinical psychologists are reporting that more than 75 percent of their patients want to discuss their dismal circumstances and bad feelings due to the economy.

About one in five people in this country live with a mental illness. It is predicted by 2010 we will see a staggering increase in mental health issues. In talking with families, friends and in reading the newspapers, we are aware of the full impact of lost jobs, loss of wages, loss of insurance, the inability to support the basic necessities of a household, divorce due to lack of finances, food bank shortages, people living in tent cities and overloads in medical, psychological and social services.

Stress is imploding in communities everywhere. It is important that people know how to handle these stressful problems impacting on them, their children and their communities.

Read the rest of Spector’s piece on PennLive.