(July 28, 2016) The vast majority of the mentally ill are not violent and the vast majority of violent acts are not committed by the mentally ill.
But we should not be naively politically correct in the other direction- and act as if untreated mental illness isn’t a risk factor for violence. It is, and family members are often the victims.
Fuller Torrey has [released a report] to put this issue into perspective. Dr. Torrey is founder of the Treatment Advocacy Center, a national nonprofit dedicated to eliminating barriers to timely and effective treatment of serious mental illness.
Dr. Torrey writes:
“There are approximately 4,000 family homicides in the United States each year. Individuals with serious mental illness are responsible for 29% of these, or approximately 1,150 homicides. This is 7% of all homicides in the U.S. The adequate treatment of individuals with serious mental illness would prevent the majority of family homicides associated with serious mental illness.”
There is nothing more terrifying than living with the constant worry that your family member will harm you- particularly if there is no treatment available for him/her or if he/she refuses whatever treatment is available.
Family violence is the canary in the coal mine of our neglect of the severely ill- just the most extreme manifestation of the many forms of suffering we inflict on them and their families by failing to provide adequate housing, treatment, and social services.
I have observed firsthand the mental health systems for, and the housing of, the mentally ill in most of the developed countries in the world and have concluded that the US today is perhaps the worst place and worst time to be mentally ill.
The defunding and privatization of services has led to 350,000 mentally ill inappropriately imprisoned, 250,000 homeless, and to the tragedies of family violence reported here.
There are two necessary solutions. First, and uncontroversial, is better housing and access to treatment. Our country has badly neglected the severely ill- and we, they, and their families are paying the price. Legislation now before Congress may finally help to reform our mental health nonsystem.
Second, and more controversial, is the need for involuntary treatment for those most obviously in need of treatment and most unwilling to participate in it.
We mustn’t blame our uniquely US…violence problem on the mentally ill. Most are decent, well behaved people who do no harm.
But we also must not neglect the need to treat mental illness when it is a clear risk factor for violence.
ALLEN FRANCES
PROFESSOR EMERITUS, DUKE UNIVERSITY
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