THE deadly US shooting rampage last week has revived debate about access to mental health care a tough issue as state funds dry up and laws make it difficult to treat people against their will.
So far, authorities have not yet confirmed that the Newtown shooter, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, suffered from any particular psychiatric disorder.
Lanza who shot his mother in their home before killing 20 children and six adults, and then himself, in a primary school reportedly had Aspergers syndrome, a form of autism not usually linked with violent behavior.
Despite the US epidemic of gun violence, with more than 60 mass shootings since 1982, the availability of psychiatric care is dwindling, with hospitals closing and community health services slashed due to budget cuts, doctors say.
We might have wonderful new treatments but you cannot deliver them to the people who need it, Jeffrey Swanson, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Duke University in North Carolina, said.
When asked about the reasons, Swanson said: They dont have insurance, or maybe they are homeless and addicted, or they dont think they are mentally ill. The situation is made even worse by the reduction in the number of facilities providing mental health care services, he added.
Since 2009, the funding allocated by state governments for psychiatric care has fallen by a staggering $4.35 billion, according to the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors.
In the past three years, 10 percent of the available beds in psychiatric hospitals have been lost nationwide, and the trend - which had been halted a decade ago - is only getting worse.
Mental health resources are shrinking - actual psychiatric hospital beds and public funding, said Lisa Gold, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Georgetown University in Washington who also maintains a private practice.
For people without insurance, its even worse, she said. About 30 million Americans do not have health insurance.
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US shooting revives debate over mental health care
